Scottish Parliament Elections 2026: Here's the big winners and losers from a day of drama
The Scottish Parliament elections have once again carved out winners and losers
With every election high, come election lows. For every cheer at a hard-fought win, are also tears as dreams are shattered.
The 2026 Holyrood has been no different, with surprise wins and losses across the country.
Lorna Slater - Scottish Greens
Former Scottish Greens co-leader Lorna Slater has caused one of the biggest upsets of the election, gaining the party’s first ever constituency seat in Edinburgh Central.
She unseated the SNP’s campaign manager Angus Robertson, who fell into third place.
Speaking on the election podium, she thanked the party for running “the best campaign we’ve ever had” and said she had seen particular support from young people.
Holly Bruce - Scottish Greens
Holly Bruce managed to nab the Scottish Greens’ second constituency seat in Nicola Sturgeon’s own back yard.
She said: “It feels surreal but we’ve been knocking our pan in on the south side and now we’re seeing that pay off.”
She said she will campaign for free bus travel in Glasgow and rent controls.
Hannah Goodlad - SNP
It was the result no-one saw coming - the SNP taking Shetland off of the Lib Dems.
The most northerly part of Scotland has been represented by the Lib Dems since the 1950s, and the polls suggested there would be no issues for Alex Cole-Hamilton’s party here.
So it was a shock when Hannah Goodlad won 47 per cent of the vote.
She said the “hard work” begins now to make sure Shetland’s voice is heard in Holyrood.
David Green - Lib Dems
It was the upset we all saw coming - the Lib Dems won Caithness, Sutherland and Ross, unseating government minister Maree Todd.
He said he was a “bag of emotions” after being elected, and added: “I’ll work day in day out for you - that’s my message to [my constituents].”
Paul McLennan - SNP
At the beginning of the day, SNP sources were doubtful of their chances of holding onto East Lothian Coast and Lammermuirs.
However, Paul McLennan managed to hold on by the skin of his teeth, winning the seat by just 418 votes. It is not a thumping victory, but given how worried the party was at losing this seat to Labour, it is a massive sigh of relief for the party.
Kirsten Oswald - SNP
Former MP managed to win Eastwood off of veteran Conservative MSP Jackson Carlaw.
It was a close call, with Ms Oswald winning 12,722 votes to Mr Carlaw’s 11,990.
She will be celebrating tonight as she now returns to frontline politics after losing her Westminster seat in 2024.
Alex Cole-Hamilton - Lib Dem
Alex Cole-Hamilton was always going to win Edinburgh North Western, and the party had been somewhat arrogant about how big his majority was going to be.
However, the champagne corks will be popping in Lib Dem HQ after this election, as their party leader won a whopping 22,959 votes, over 13,000 ahead of the SNP in second place.
Given the Lib Dem gains in other parts of the country, this election can only be described as a fantastic day in the office for Mr Cole-Hamilton.
Angus Robertson - SNP
In a huge scalp for the Greens, Angus Robertson slummed to third place behind Lorna Slater and Labour’s James Dalgleish in the flagship Edinburgh Central constituency.
The result had been predicted by several polls but that won’t have made it any easier on the SNP’s outgoing external affairs, constitution and culture secretary.
Mr Robertson was gracious in defeat, but it will be a very difficult one to take for the SNP’s campaign co-oridnator.
Kaukab Stewart - SNP
It was always going to be tough taking over from Nicola Sturgeon in Glasgow Southside, but falling to the Scottish Greens, by more than 3,000 votes will be a painful one.
The result will be even more difficult for her to take, given she was an SNP minister.
But with the SNP not winning anything on the regional list in Glasgow, Ms Stewart will not be returning to Holyrood in the next term.
The focus will be on Ms Bruce’s winning campaign for the Greens, but it will feel like a devasting defeat for Ms Stewart.
Anas Sarwar - Labour
It’s been a hard old day for the Scottish Labour leader. Not only did he admit defeat when only seen seats had bene declared, but Mr Sarwar had to stand on stage as he lost his constituency seat to the SNP for Glasgow Cathcart and Pollok.
After appearing quite emotional as he left the stage, Mr Sarwar did not return to hear the decelration of the regional list seats on which he will be returned to office.
A brutal day at the office for Mr Sarwar.
Jackson Carlaw - Conservatives
Tipped as a potential next presiding officer, the former Scottish Tory leader was tipped to retain his Eastwood constituency in the west of Scotland.
Doing so would have very likely sent current Scottish Conservative leader, to the dustbin. But failing to hold his seat means Mr Carlaw will not return to Holyrood and has started rumours of several Lib Dem MSPs who might fancy a shot in the big chair as presiding officer.
Monica Lennon - Labour
It’s hard not to feel bad for Monica Lennon.
An MSP who has achieved more than any of her Labour colleagues in parliament with her world-leading period poverty legislation, Ms Lennon failed to win her Rutherglen and Cambuslang seat.
To make matters even worse, Ms Lennon was only placed in fourth place on the Glasgow regional list by Scottish Labour bosses, meaning she will not return to Holyrood.
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