Scottish Parliament 2026

Following the most disproportionate result in Holyrood’s history, it’s high time we started thinking about how to do things differently, and what would be most effective.

It’s all well and good looking at the headline figures, but you’ve got to get right down into the thick of support and swings – in both votes – across constituencies to really understand what happened last week.

An open letter from Ballot Box Scotland urging significant improvements to reporting on Scottish Parliament elections; or, why does a hobbyist publish more data than the BBC?

Although Holyrood’s partly proportional system makes marginal seats less important, they’re still an interesting and integral part of what makes elections exciting. Here’s how the marginals changed last week.

A dull campaign has nonetheless sent shockwaves through Scottish politics, with a whole new party in parliament and big gains for the smaller established parties at the expense of those, formerly, larger.

The polls are now open, and all that’s left for parties to do is get their own supporters to actually cast their ballot. In the meantime, here’s a run through the most likely outcomes.

The big beasts of Scottish politics, by rights the SNP should be headed to a bruising election. Instead, Labour’s total collapse has opened the door to a big SNP win and potentially even a majority.

Oh, how the Scottish Conservatives have fallen: from de-toxified champions of the Union under the socially liberal Ruth Davidson, back to the Nasty Party.

Anas Sarwar’s dreams of Bute House have become nightmares, as a floundering UK Government drags its Scottish (and Welsh) arms down with it.

Currently headed for their best result in history, even accounting for a history of underperforming against polling, the Greens may become a truly national party for the first time this year.