SNP election – The SNP won the Scottish Parliament election, securing another term. Labour and Reform tied for second, while Greens set a record in new seats.
A decisive SNP election win has handed Scotland’s government a renewed mandate, even as rival parties regrouped after a campaign that hinged on independence and the shape of Holyrood’s next majority.
The SNP secured another five years in office after winning 58 seats in the Scottish Parliament.. That was down from the 64 it won in 2021 and short of the number needed for an outright majority. but it remained far ahead of every rival as the party’s lead translated into continued control of government.
Labour and Reform finished in joint second place, each winning 17 MSPs. The tie underscored how difficult it was for Anas Sarwar to convert Labour’s campaign push into the parliamentary strength he needed to form the next Scottish Government.
For Scottish Conservatives, the result was particularly stark.. The party fell to just 12 MSPs. described as a record low. and slipped from being the second-biggest party to the second-smallest.. In parallel. the Liberal Democrats improved their position. raising their total to 10 MSPs—up by six from 2021—even as they remained the smallest party in the chamber.
The Scottish Greens delivered what was described as a record performance, winning their first-ever constituency seats in Glasgow and Edinburgh.. Their overall tally reached 15 MSPs. placing them in fourth and signaling a political shift that. Greens leaders argued. could reshape how quickly new issues get pushed onto the agenda in Holyrood.
SNP leader John Swinney called the result an “emphatic” win, saying the party had again earned the trust of voters. He promised to act as first minister for all of Scotland and argued that his focus would be on improving people’s lives, regardless of how they voted.
Swinney had campaigned for an outright majority. repeatedly presenting that outcome as necessary for pursuing a second referendum on Scottish independence.. Even though the SNP did not secure the seat level to make that argument in the simplest way. supporters pointed out that the next parliament will contain the biggest pro-independence majority yet. with 73 MSPs belonging to parties that back independence.
Speaking as the Greens’ results became clear. co-leader Gillian Mackay characterized the party’s breakthrough as a “seismic result” and said it would help “change Scotland.” She pointed to policy achievements associated with the Greens’ previous presence in government. citing measures such as free bus travel for people under 22. the scrapping of peak rail fares. and ending school meal debt.. With the party’s increased representation, she argued it could now attempt more.
Mackay also framed the election as occurring against two pressures: what she described as a failing Labour government in Westminster and a cost-of-living crisis continuing to affect household budgets.. In her view. those conditions make Green proposals more urgent than ever. and she said her party would seek to deliver what voters demand after using the campaign to press for better.
Sarwar’s path to power narrowed sharply during the count. and in an unusual moment he effectively conceded defeat after fewer than 10 seats were declared.. While Labour did win the seat of Na h-Eileanan an Iar from the SNP. it was presented as the only meaningful high point. with Labour failing to capture any of its target seats in the central belt.
Despite the broader outcome. Sarwar was re-elected on the Glasgow regional list. and his deputy Jackie Baillie held onto her Dumbarton constituency.. Before the final result was announced. Sarwar told journalists at the count in Glasgow that he had tried to keep the campaign focused on Scotland. adding that while there had been a national wave that Labour tried to overcome. the immediate question for him was what the election meant.
Labour’s wider performance across the UK was also described as poor. with the party losing power in Wales and facing major local setbacks in England through thousands of council seat losses.. Former Welsh first minister Eluned Morgan did not win re-election and resigned as leader. compounding the sense that Labour faced headwinds beyond Scotland.
Sarwar had not resigned at the time of reporting and said his party was “hurting today,” arguing his job was to hold it together.
Malcolm Offord. leading Reform. acknowledged that the party did not achieve the hoped-for results. while insisting it had built a “very solid based.” He said Reform’s approach in the new Holyrood term would concentrate on devolved matters—trying to keep the chamber focused on day-to-day issues such as schools and roads. and on the practical concerns voters raise at their doors.
Before the election, Reform held only one MSP following a defection from the Conservatives, Graham Simpson. Offord’s new cohort of MSPs will represent the party’s expanded presence, even as the Conservatives and others argued that Reform’s vote share had unintended consequences.
The Scottish Conservatives quickly blamed Reform for their own poor result and for enabling the SNP to win.. Russell Findlay said during the campaign that Reform had been a “gift” to the SNP and argued that Reform helped the SNP “sneak home” in constituencies that Conservatives believed they might otherwise have won.. Findlay added that Reform’s outcome was likely not what Reform voters wanted. portraying Reform as a facilitator for the SNP’s continued lead.
Liberal Democrats delivered a mixed but overall positive set of results. The party took three constituencies from the SNP and increased its representation with additional list seats. However, it lost Shetland to the Nationalists, a reversal that tempered gains elsewhere in the party’s tally.
Alex Cole-Hamilton said he was excited about the new parliamentary group he would be joining next week and suggested he would be willing to work with the SNP government on an issue-by-issue basis, rather than through wholesale agreement.
The election also drew attention beyond Scotland.. President Donald Trump offered congratulations to John Swinney on social media. posting that the SNP leader had won re-election for first minister.. Trump’s message referenced Swinney’s efforts as well as his claim that coordination involving the King and the Queen of the United Kingdom had supported tariff relief for Great Scottish Whiskey. calling the result a “big electoral victory.”
For Scotland’s politics. the immediate challenge is how the next Holyrood majority politics will operate with the SNP governing again. Labour repositioning after missing its target. and the Greens aiming to convert record constituency wins into further influence.. With independence still central to the debate and pro-independence numbers remaining high. the election win sets the terms for what comes next in debates over Scotland’s future and how devolved priorities are managed in the years ahead.
SNP election results Scottish Parliament John Swinney Scottish Greens Labour Reform tie Donald Trump Scotland