Scottish Election 2021 Thursday RECAP: Polling across Scotland closes as Nicola Sturgeon fights for SNP majority | Anas Sarwar's Labour tries to overtake Douglas Ross's Conservatives | Dogs pictured at polling places
Polling stations were open from 7am till 10pm, in an election which could be crucial in determining Scotland’s future within the UK.
Follow this recap which takes a look back at the news and events as they unfolded throughout the day.
Scottish Election 2021 RECAP: The updates from around the country as Scotland went to the polls
Key Events
- Scots headed to the polls on Thursday to elect next Scottish Government
- Polling stations were open from 7am till 10pm
- Sturgeon and SNP pushing to win overall majority at Holyrood
Nicola Sturgeon vows to work with Anas Sarwar’s Scottish Labour and does not rule out coalition with Scottish Greens
Sturgeon says she will work with Labour and does not rule out coalition with Greens
Nicola Sturgeon has vowed to collaborate with Scottish Labour to rebuild the Scottish economy in the wake of the coronavirus pandemic.
Scottish election 2021: Will the SNP win a majority? Seven key questions the Scottish Parliament vote will answer
Here are seven key questions the Scottish Parliament election will answer for voters
SNP dominance in Holyrood may be a foregone conclusion ahead of Thursday’s vote, but there are still several important questions the result will answer.
Scottish election 2021: SNP set to win today but it’s a victory of style over substance – John McLellan
SNP will win today but here's why it's a victory of style over substance – John McLellan
Voting in the Scottish Parliament election will be well under way by the time most of you see this column and whether my prose is purple or otherwise it’s unlikely to make much difference at this stage to the way you cast your vote. Or if you vote at all.
Sturgeon meets voters at polling station and supports former refugee candidate
First Minister Nicola Sturgeon has met voters at a Glasgow polling station on the morning of what her party has dubbed one of Scotland’s most important elections.
The SNP leader visited Annette Street Primary School in Govanhill – part of her Glasgow Southside constituency – along with Roza Salih, who is the lead SNP candidate on the Glasgow regional list.
Ms Salih will become the first former refugee to be elected to Holyrood if she wins a seat, with this year’s poll being the first in which people with refugee status are entitled to vote.
At the polling station, Ms Sturgeon and Ms Salih met three Syrian Scots who have lived in Scotland for eight years – 63-year-old Adnan Abdulbaki, and Iqbal Abdulbaki and Abdulruhman Abdulbaki, both 20 – as they prepared to cast their vote.
Ms Sturgeon said it is “great we’ve got everybody who lives here able to vote”, saying it is an “exciting” and “special thing to do”, to which they agreed.
She expressed hope that Ms Salih will be an SNP MSP once the votes are counted this weekend.
Scottish Election 2021: Nicola Sturgeon meets voters at polling station as party leaders cast their votes
Nicola Sturgeon meets voters at polling station as party leaders cast their votes
First Minister Nicola Sturgeon has met voters at a Glasgow polling station on the morning of what her party has dubbed one of Scotland’s most important elections.
Anas Sarwar votes at his local polling station in Pollokshields , Glasgow.
Scottish Election 2021: Will there be a Scottish election exit poll? This is when we will know the result of the Holyrood ballot
This is why there won’t be an exit poll for the Scottish election result
People across Scotland are heading to the polls today, but it could be some time before we know who has won the Holyrood election.