So who is the main opposition in the Scottish Parliament - Reform or Labour? How will it work?

We take a look at what the opposition will look like in this newly-elected parliament.

The dust has settled on another Holyrood election, and there are opposition MSPs of all political persuasions looking forward to taking up their seat next week.

John Swinney’s SNP has, as polls predicted, remained the largest party in Scotland, but fell short of the 65 seats needed for an outright majority.

However, opposition support has fragmented, with both Scottish Labour and Reform UK tied for second place on 17 seats apiece. This has never happened before in the Scottish Parliament.

Reform UK are the second biggest party in Scotland, tied with Scottish Labour.placeholder image
Reform UK are the second biggest party in Scotland, tied with Scottish Labour. | Steve Welsh/Press Association

The Scottish Greens had a stellar day at the polls finishing on 15 seats, followed by the Scottish Conservatives on 12 and the Scottish Lib Dems on 10.

This is still not as fragmented as the “rainbow parliament” elected in 2003, but it still raises a number of questions on how exactly it will all work.

One of the first hurdles to cross is who gets to go first at the weekly first minister’s questions - Anas Sarwar for Scottish Labour, or Lord Malcolm Offord for Reform UK? Will they need to draw straws? Will they take turn about?

It was a poor day at the polls for Scottish Labour leader Anas Sarwar.placeholder image
It was a poor day at the polls for Scottish Labour leader Anas Sarwar. | Andrew Milligan/Press Association

Unfortunately, it will still be a few days until that particular question is answered.

A spokesman for the Scottish Parliament said: “The implications of the result and what this means for parliamentary business will be considered by the parliamentary bureau.

“Arrangements will be confirmed once those discussions have concluded.”

The parliamentary bureau will not meet until after the new presiding officer is elected, which is currently scheduled for Thursday afternoon.

The parliamentary bureau is made up of Holyrood’s presiding officer and a representative from each of the parties elected to the parliament. As soon as a new presiding officer is elected, they will write to party leaders to get nominations on who will join the bureau.

It is expected this will take place on Friday.

One thing we can say with more certainty, however, is that each opposition party will get to ask a question at FMQs. As long as a party has at least five members, its leader has the right to ask a formal FMQ, a threshold every single opposition party has managed to reach.

How the opposition parties work with the governing party is still to be determined. Amongst the things on First Minister John Swinney’s to-do list, apart from forming the next government, will be to meet with the leaders of all the main parties, starting next week.

However, he has said he will not be meeting anyone from Reform UK. He has also said that while he is “obliged” under the ministerial code to answer any questions put to him by Nigel Farage’s party during FMQs, he is not obligated to do any cooperation talks.

Mr Swinney said he is going to do this to stop "troubling rhetoric” gaining any footholds in Scotland. He has also previously told The Scotsman he will not do any budget negotiations with Reform UK.

There is one other issue opposition parties may well raise in the first few days of the parliament - what toilets do the two newly-elected trans MSPs for the Scottish Greens use?

Iris Duane, left, is congratulated by Holly Bruce and Patrick Harvie after being elected.placeholder image
Iris Duane, left, is congratulated by Holly Bruce and Patrick Harvie after being elected. | Andrew Milligan/Press Association

A year ago new rules were brought into place banning trans people from using parliament toilets that do not align with their biological sex.

Gender-neutral facilities are however provided, and a spokesman for the parliament said there will be “an augmentation of our existing provision of gender-neutral facilities”, including designating an existing shower and toilet in the non-public parts of the building as gender-neutral.

The spokesman added: “As an employer, workplace provider, service provider and public authority, we provide male-only and female-only facilities as well as gender-neutral and accessible facilities.”

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