Holyrood elections 2026: What happened in Edinburgh - Greens oust Angus Robertson and win three list seats; Lib Dems get two MSPs

And the Greens then went on to win three of the seven list seats in the Edinburgh and Lothians East region, giving them a total of four MSPs across the Lothians.

Ms Slater said: “Across Scotland, more people have voted Green than at any time in our country's history and, as a result, we will have more Green MSPs than ever before in Holyrood. I am delighted that here in Edinburgh and Lothians East we have been a big part of that success.”

Meanwhile, the Lib Dems won the new seat of Edinburgh Northern, with Forth ward councillor Sanne Dijkstra-Downie beating the SNP’s Euan Hyslop. Scottish Lib Dem leader Alex Cole-Hamilton was re-elected with a 13,016 majority in the renamed Edinburgh North Western.

Labour’s Daniel Johnson won with an increased majority in Edinburgh Southern. Simita Kumar, leader of the SNP group on the city council was elected MSP for Edinburgh South Western. And the SNP’s Ben Macpherson held on in Edinburgh North Eastern and Leith.

As well as the three Greens, the regional list - the proportional representation element of the election - gave two seats to Labour, one to the Tories and one to Reform.

Edinburgh Central had been the most eagerly anticipated result. The contest had been seen as a close three-way fight, but in the end Ms Slater won by 4,582 votes, with Labour in second place and Mr Robertson finishing third.

It is the second electoral defeat in less than a decade for the party's former Westminster seat. He was ousted as MP for Moray in the House of Commons by the then Scottish Tory chief Douglas Ross in 2017.

In a speech after the declaration, he offered "heartfelt congratualtions" to Ms Slater. And he said it was a "small comfort in defeat" that her victory was by "a fellow progressive candidate".

He continued: "It has been an honour to represent Edinburgh Central and its diverse communities over the last five years.

“And it has been a tremendous honour to serve as the Cabinet Secretary for the Constitution, External Affairs and Culture. Edinburgh is the beating heart of Scotland's culture, arts and festival and I;m proud to have introduce multi-year funding changes for the sector and to have worked with Screen Scotland to help film and TV be n target to be a £1 billion annual industry.

"I'm confident that the Scottish Parliament will again have a majority of members committed to Scotland’s right to choose its future as an independent country and I'll look forward to that referendum when it comes - working together with Lorna perhaps - to help deliver a Yes result."

The other dramatic result in the Capital was the Lib Dems' victory in Edinburgh Northern. In her speech after the result was declared, she said: "It is a huge honour to stand here as the first MSP for the brand new constituency of Edinburgh Northern. I want to thank every single person who placed their trust in me. And to those who chose a different party, I hear you and I will work hard to earn your trust too.

"Like many people in north Edinburgh, I wasn't born here but I've made this city my home. This city has give me, as it has done for many others, the cahcne to build a life and a family and find a community I love and today it has given me another opportunity to give something back."

Labour's Daniel Johnson increased his majority in Edinburgh Southern, wining by 4,963 votes over the SNP's Deidre Brock. He said afterwards: "We must have a politics built on tolerance and solidarity, a politics that seeks to unite rather than divide. That's what I will be dedicating myself to and I will work with anyone who seeks to deliver those ideals."

Simita Kumar was elected in Edinburgh South Western with a 3,289 majority over Labour. She said: "My priorities will be to make sure there was a level playing field for everyone across South Western. We've got quite a variation in wealth distribution and access to services. So for me, it's about levelling that and more importantly having hope over fear."

There had been speculation that the Greens could win Edinburgh North Eastern & Leith in addition to Central, but the SNP's Ben Macpherson retained the seat with a 2,071 majority over the Green's Kate Nevens - who still got elected as one of the new Green list MSPs, along with Edinburgh councillor Kayleigh Kinross-O’Neill.

To cheers from Green activists at the count, Ms Nevens said: "This is momentous. I'm really looking forward to being part of one of the biggest ever groups of Scottish Greens and standing for hope not hate in the next parliament."

And the other Green list MSP, Q Manivannan, told the audience at the count: "I am transgender Tamil immigrant, my pronouns are they/them. I am for some in this country everything they hate and despise and I am standing here as your MSP now with care.

"They say politics is the art of the possible. The politics of care, I'd say, expand what's possible for everyone left behind, pushed out or never invited in. This is what diversity looks like in power."

Labour list MSP Katherine Sangster, elected along with Irshad Ahmad, said: "Myself and Irshad will work incredibly hard for the communities of the Lothians and I promise I will not let you down."

The new Reform MSP Angela Ross said she would now have to stop repeating her mantra that 80 per cent of Reform candidates were not politicians. And she said: "We've heard the voice of the people. We have knocked on doors and what we were hearing is that people are no longer being served by their government and we are seeking to change that."

Tory Miles Briggs, the only Lothian list MSP to be returning to Holyrood, acknowledged it had been “a difficult election for the Scottish Conservatives”.

He continued: “As the only incumbent list MSP returning, I'm sure that my new six colleagues will soon realise that we have to work together as regional MSPs to fight for Lothian. We need to have a better funding formula for our health service and our council - we are the lowest-funded council and lowest-funded health board. The next Scottish Parliament has to change that. That's something all of us need to make a priority.”

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