Scottish Election results 2021 RECAP: Alex Salmond concedes Alba unlikely to win seats | SNP's Angus Robertson takes Edinburgh Central from Scottish Conservatives | Nicola Sturgeon and John Swinney win constituencies | Labour's Jackie Baillie holds onto Dumbarton | Turnout surges | Interactive constituency map
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Take a look back on the events as they happened throughout the day.
Scottish Election 2021 RECAP: Election results and updates from across Scotland
Key Events
- Angus Robertson takes Edinburgh Central from Tories
- Sturgeon plays down chances of SNP majority
- SNP take Ayr from Tories in tight race
- Salmond concedes Alba unlikely to win seats
- SNP gain East Lothian from Labour
The Scotsman’s turnout analysis
The conventional wisdom from much of the Scottish political bubble is that high turnout will likely favour the SNP, but in what appears to be a highly tactical election that is not guaranteed.
Scottish Election 2021 results: What do the early turnout figures mean?
Turnout at the Holyrood election appears to be up compared to 2016, but with few results announced it is not clear what exactly this will mean when all of the results have been counted.
Glasgow count managers ‘did not believe’ wheelchair user was real candidate
A Scottish Parliamentary hopeful who uses a wheelchair was left stranded outside a counting hall in Glasgow after managers refused to believe she was a real candidate.
Election count managers ‘did not believe’ wheelchair user was Labour candidate
A Scottish Parliamentary hopeful who uses a wheelchair was left stranded outside a counting hall in Glasgow after managers refused to believe she was a real candidate.
John Swinney holds Perthshire North
Scotland’s Deputy First Minister John Swinney has retained his Perthshire North seat.
Mr Swinney polled a total of 19,860 votes, extending his majority over the Conservatives in the constituency.
Tory candidate Murdo Fraser came in second with 15,807 votes, with Labour in third place and the Liberal Democrats fourth.
Mr Swinney said he was “absolutely over the moon” to be re-elected to the Scottish Parliament again.
Nazi-style salutes seen at Glasgow count
A candidate in Glasgow Southside, wearing a home-made yellow Star of David badge, gave a Nazi-style salute on the counting hall floor of the Emirates Arena after subjecting Humza Yousaf to a series of racially-charged questions.
Scottish Election 2021 results: Nazi-style salutes at Glasgow count condemned by Humza Yousaf
A candidate in Glasgow Southside, wearing a home-made yellow Star of David badge, gave a Nazi-style salute on the counting hall floor of the Emirates Arena after subjecting Humza Yousaf to a series of racially-charged questions.
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John Swinney’s victory remarks
After retaining his Perthshire North seat, Deputy First Minister John Swinney said: “It is an enormous pleasure to see the prospects of the return of an SNP government for a fourth historic term, given the scale of the vote that my party is experiencing the length and breadth of the country.
“I pledge myself to do all that I can in the next parliamentary term to ensure the interests of the people of Scotland are safeguarded and supported and taken forward to ensure that the people of Scotland have a choice on their future as they should have.”
He later told the BBC it “looks as if the SNP is going to be the leading and largest party in this election”, but would not be drawn on the prospects of an outright majority.
Read the full story:
Scottish Election 2021 results: John Swinney holds North Perthshire
John Swinney has held his seat in Perthshire North with an increased majority for the SNP.
SNP cling on in Banffshire and Buchan Coast
The SNP have held the seat of Banffshire and Buchan Coast, despite a 10 per cent swing in vote share towards the Scottish Conservatives.
Candidate Karen Adam won 14,920 votes, just ahead of the Tories’ Mark Findlater on 14,148 votes.
Previously held by Stewart Stevenson, the SNP boasted a majority of 6,683 in the seat from 2016, which was cut to just 772.
Labour’s Georgia Strachan won 2,169 votes while Liberal Democrat Alison Simpson took 1,071.