Scottish Parliament 2026

Don’t let the SNP vs Labour contest in much of this region fool you, there’s an important Conservative contest and a cornerstone of any Lib Dem revival to watch here too.

A formerly largely rural region adds some Glasgow commuter belt seats which tweaks 2021 in the Greens’ favour. A big question here will be whether the Conservatives can keep the border seats solidly blue.

The SNP are at risk of ruining proportionality in the North East, which could really scupper Labour, the Greens and Lib Dems, as well as somewhat deflating Reform in their best region.

In 2021 the SNP were threatened in Perthshire by the Conservatives, but this time it’s Labour in South Fife who may be able to pick up some constituencies, whilst both the Greens and Lib Dems are angling for two MSPs.

If the SNP are currently at risk of warping proportionality in much of Scotland, in the Lib Dems’ preferred scenario they are the ones doing so in Highlands and Islands.

Scotland’s largest city translates to a trimmed down region for the next election, something that counter-intuitively might slightly ease the Greens’ path to finally claiming a second MSP here.

Radical changes have come to the Capital and its environs, setting up some potentially intriguing constituency contests for the Lib Dems and Greens.

A substantially redrawn region may prove an interesting test for Reform UK’s strength in post-industrial Scotland.