Scottish Election 2026 result: John Swinney falls short of SNP majority as Reform and Labour tie for second

The First Minister said his party had won a “commanding” victory following a dramatic day which also saw the Greens make huge gains, including securing their first ever constituency MSPs in Glasgow and Edinburgh.

Meanwhile, Scottish Labour suffered its worst result in the history of devolution. Party leader Anas Sarwar could now face questions over his political future.

“We are hurting as a party tonight and I see it as my job now to hold us together, as we regroup and chart the course ahead,” he said in an email to party members yesterday evening.

READ MORE: Scottish Election results 2026 LIVE

Katrina Faccdenda, who sits on Labour's Scottish Executive Committee (SEC), representing trade unions, laid into Mr Sarwar's campaign and told The Scotsman she will use a meeting of the SEC next week to call on him to go.

The final result, which came after the Highlands regional list result was announced after 1am, sees the SNP down five on 58, Reform and Labour both on 17, Greens on 15, Conservatives 12, and Lib Dems on 10.

Elsewhere, Labour suffered a historic defeat in Wales after 27 years in power, as well as losing more than 1,300 councillors across England. Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer said he is "not going to walk away" amid rumours of a looming leadership challenge.

In an email sent shortly after Mr Sarwar’s, he told Scottish party members: “Today is tough, but the results do not weaken my determination to deliver for Scotland, they strengthen it.”

During the election campaign, Mr Swinney repeatedly emphasised the need to secure an overall majority to “break the logjam” on the constitution and force Downing Street to agree to another independence referendum.

Asked about this yesterday when it became apparent this would not be achieved, the First Minister appeared to signal a rethink.

“I obviously believe fundamentally in Scottish independence, it’s at the heart of my political life and my aspirations for Scotland, and I’m certain there will be a pro-independence majority in the Scottish Parliament,” he said.

“So what parliament has got to do in the years to come is to consider the aspirations of all parties, consider the aspirations of those who want Scotland to be an independent country, and I will want to do as much as I can to advance that agenda in the circumstances that we face.”

He said he would “like to enjoy a more co-operative relationship” with the UK Labour government.

“There has been a souring of relationships over the last nine months with the UK Government – it’s all been about the politics of the election,” he said.

“Now the Labour Government has just been hammered in Scotland and 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.”

Mr Swinney added: “So 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.”

The Scottish Liberal Democrats secured their best election result since 2007, including winning Skye, Lochaber and Badenoch, the seat formerly held by deputy first minister Kate Forbes.

This victory will have had particular resonance, as it is the area once associated with Charles Kennedy, the party’s late leader.

Lib Dem Liam McArthur, who was the first MSP to be returned in the election, did so with the largest ever share of the vote, holding on to his island constituency with 70 per cent of the ballots cast

But one of the biggest results of the day came when the Greens won Edinburgh Central, ousting senior SNP minister Angus Robertson.

Lorna Slater secured a majority of 4,582, while Mr Robertson was pushed into third place, behind Labour. He was the SNP’s campaigns director charged with overseeing its election drive, as well as the party’s former Westminster leader.

It was his second electoral defeat in less than a decade, after losing his Westminster seat in 2017.

Mr Robertson said he fell victim to a “wave” of support for the Greens across Scotland and the wider UK.

"This isn't an Edinburgh Central phenomenon," he told The Scotsman. "This has also been happening in Glasgow, as it's been happening in larger cities in England as well."

He said he was "disappointed", but also pointed to the impact of "significant" boundary changes in the constituency.

"We have to recognise that the victory of the Scottish Green Party in Edinburgh Central is historic," Mr Robertson said. "It's the first time that they've ever won a constituency, and I'm sure [Ms Slater] will go on to represent Edinburgh Central well."

The Greens also won Glasgow Southside, where councillor Holly Bruce beat SNP minister Kaukab Stewart in the seat formerly held by Nicola Sturgeon.

Elsewhere, the SNP won in Shetland, which had been held by the Liberal Democrats since the start of devolution, and also took the Eastwood constituency from the Scottish Conservatives.

The Tories saw their worst ever Holyrood result, having suffered due to the rise of Reform.

SNP Westminster leader Stephen Flynn was elected as the MSP for Aberdeen Deeside and North Kincardine, with fellow SNP MP Stephen Gethins also swapping Westminster for Holyrood after being elected in Dundee City East.

Mr Sarwar, who retained his place in Holyrood after winning a regional seat in Glasgow, conceded defeat for Scottish Labour after just seven constituency seats were declared.

“My party is hurting – we’re disappointed,” he said. “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.”

Mr Swinney claimed Labour had fought a “fundamentally negative campaign”.

He said: “They have essentially said to people to vote against the SNP, they’ve not given people any reasons to vote for the Labour Party.”

Malcolm Offord, the leader of Reform UK in Scotland, earlier pledged to “hold the government to account” on devolved matters and “stop the debate about constitutional matters reserved to Westminster”.

He added: “Let’s focus on the day job, let’s focus on the roads, the schools, the hospitals, the police – let’s focus on making the people of Scotland’s lives better.”

Lord Offord said the Tories are no longer a “national party” as he accused them of “splitting the unionist vote”.

Reacting to Reform wins in local elections in England, he described the results as “historic”.

He added: “Not just historic for Reform, but historic for the UK.

“When you think about it, until about 40 years ago, the two parties would always get 90 per cent-plus of the votes.

“Now, it’s just the total collapse of the Labour vote, and Conservatives have gone backwards again after a total collapse of two years ago. So it’s a very different landscape.”