The SNP may have won again but Scottish politics has been upended

"Two years later, Starmer's unpopularity proved an insurmountable obstacle for Sarwar, despite record donations to Scottish Labour and a formidable electoral machine, honed over the past five years. And with only a handful of constituencies declared, he decided to concede defeat before the real scale of Labour losses across the country was known. More than 12 hours later, when the final regional results were declared after 1am, it was clear that Holyrood politics had been upended."

"Scottish Labour had tied in second place behind the SNP with Reform UK, the party that previously attacked Sarwar's loyalty to Scotland in a racist ad. And a party that the SNP leader, John Swinney, has described as an acute threat to devolution. While, unlike Westminster, Holyrood has no official opposition, the second-placed party leads first minister's questions every week. A tie has not happened before, but the assumption is that Scottish Labour and Reform UK will take turns."

"The newly elected SNP MSP Ivan McKee thanked voters in his Glasgow constituency for rejecting those that seek to divide our communities, but despite making fewer inroads than some polls had predicted, Reform picked up 17 seats on the regional list allocations. It failed, however, to make any breakthroughs on the constituency vote, with its Scottish leader, Malcolm Offord, trailing in third place in his native Inverclyde."

"In fourth place, the buoyant Scottish Greens secured what its co-leader Gillian Mackay described as a seismic result, gaining MSPs in every area of th"

Scottish Labour leaders conceded defeat before the full scale of losses became clear, after Starmer’s unpopularity proved decisive despite record donations and an established electoral machine. Final regional results showed Holyrood politics upended, with Scottish Labour tied in second place behind the SNP alongside Reform UK. Reform had previously attacked Sarwar’s loyalty to Scotland in a racist advertisement and is described by the SNP leader as an acute threat to devolution. Although Holyrood has no official opposition, the second-placed party leads first minister’s questions weekly, and the tie is expected to alternate. Reform gained 17 regional list seats but made no constituency breakthroughs, with its leader trailing in Inverclyde. The Scottish Greens gained MSPs across every area, described as a seismic result.

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