John Swinney insisted the SNP had won the election 'emphatically' despite his party failing to secure an overall majority at Holyrood. The SNP secured 58 MSPs, seven short of a majority and down from 64 in 2021, after more than 16 hours of counting.
Labour ties with Reform UK for second place
Scottish Labour recorded its worst ever Holyrood result, tying for second place with Reform UK at 17 MSPs each. This was a drop from the 22 seats Anas Sarwar's party won five years ago. Reform UK, which had only one MSP before the election, saw all its MSPs elected via the regional list system, with Scottish leader Lord Malcolm Offord winning a seat in the West of Scotland after losing in Inverclyde.
Other parties' performances
The Scottish Greens returned a record high of 15 MSPs, while the Tories slumped to 12 MSPs, down from 31 at the last election and their worst ever Holyrood result. The Scottish Liberal Democrats increased their total to 10 MSPs.
Reform UK impact and key constituency battles
There were suggestions that votes for Reform had helped the SNP in areas such as Eastwood, outside Glasgow, where the SNP won the seat from the Tories. The SNP also picked up the Shetland constituency from the Liberal Democrats, who had held the seat since the first Holyrood elections in 1999. SNP Westminster leader Stephen Flynn and fellow MP Stephen Gethins are both set to swap London for Edinburgh after being elected to Holyrood. However, the party lost its campaign director Angus Robertson, who had also been constitution, external affairs and culture secretary, when his revised Edinburgh Central seat was captured by the Greens.
Swinney calls for respect from UK Government
Speaking after winning a mandate to be returned as First Minister, Mr Swinney said the relationship between the Scottish Government and UK Government had 'soured' over recent months. 'I'd like to enjoy a more co-operative relationship with the United Kingdom Government,' he said. Adding that Labour had 'just been hammered in Scotland', Mr Swinney said: 'I hope that lesson is learned in Downing Street that there's now got to be respect for the Scottish Government exercised by the UK Government.' He continued: 'My message to Downing Street tonight is very, very clear – they have got a lot of listening to do to the fact that Labour have been hammered here in Scotland and an SNP Government, after 19 years in office, has just been emphatically returned to office, and Scotland needs respect as a consequence of that election outcome.'
Reactions from party leaders
Scottish Labour leader Mr Sarwar admitted his party was 'hurting' after the result but indicated he would not be stepping down. Speaking in Glasgow earlier on Friday, Mr Sarwar said: 'My party is hurting – we're disappointed. We advocate for change, we didn't win that argument, but it's my job to hold us together and that's a job I intend to do.' Scottish Tory leader Russell Findlay said that 'given the national backdrop and the historically good result we achieved in 2021', his party was 'always likely to lose seats this time around'. He said he was 'pleased' Tories had retained the 'bulk' of their constituencies, but continued: 'I'm disappointed to have lost so many excellent parliamentary colleagues. We warned repeatedly during the campaign that Reform were a gift to the SNP – and so it's proved. Despite not winning a single constituency seat, Reform have let the SNP sneak home in several constituencies they would otherwise have lost.'
Greens celebrate record result
Lorna Slater, the first constituency MSP for the Scottish Greens, said it had been a 'fantastic day' for her party. Her defeated opponent Mr Robertson said boundary changes in the constituency had been a 'significant contributory factor'. But he added: 'At the end of the day what matters most is who gets the most votes, and that wasn't me.' Scottish Green co-leader Gillian Mackay hailed the 'seismic result' for her party that she said would 'change our politics and change Scotland'. She said: 'Scotland has elected a record number of Green MSPs, and I couldn't be prouder of our new team. We have won our first constituencies and, for the first time, everyone in our country is represented by at least one Scottish Green MSP.'
