2021 Scottish Parliament Election

Overall 2021 Result

Total MSPs Elected 2021


64 SNP (62 Constituency, 2 Regional)
31 Conservative (26 Regional, 5 Constituency)
22 Labour (20 Regional, 2 Constituency)
8 Green (all Regional)
4 Liberal Democrat (all Constituency)

Coverage and Analysis

In addition to the seven parties reported consistently for every constituency and region, there are a range of other minor parties and Independents who contested this election. The regional result for each of these minor parties is shown below. 

Almost none of these made any impact – the one exception being Independent Green Voice, whose inexplicably strong performance speaks to voter confusion that almost certainly cost the Scottish Green Party two seats. That indirect confusion, comedically enough, likely made them the sixth most influential party in this election.

  • Holyrood Hub
    • This was my pre-election page, which will show you everything that happened in the run up to the election including polling, the Battlegrounds series, and Party Profiles
  • The Headline Figures
    • Analysis of the main figures from the election.
  • Where the Votes Came From
    • A party-by-party look at vote distributions across the country.
  • Swings and Roundabouts
    • Where did parties do better than last time, and where did they do worse?
  • Mapping the Marginals
    • What seats will be the marginal battlegrounds for 2026?
  • A Host of Hypotheticals
    • I love electoral reform, so here’s a bunch of possible tweaks to the voting system and what they’d have looked like in this election.
  • Reforming AMS
    • A realistic proposal to reform the voting system without totally overhauling it.

Central Scotland

Central Scotland MSPs Elected 2021


9 SNP (all Constituency)
3 Labour (all Regional)
3 Conservative (all Regional)
1 Green (Regional)

Central Scotland Constituencies

Glasgow Region

Glasgow MSPs Elected 2021


9 SNP (all Constituency)
4 Labour (all Regional)
2 Conservative (all Regional)
1 Green (Regional)

Glasgow Constituencies

Highlands and Islands Region

Highlands and Islands MSPs Elected 2021


7 SNP (6 Constituency, 1 Regional)
4 Conservative (all Regional)
2 Liberal Democrat (all Constituency)
1 Labour (Regional)
1 Green (Regional)

Highlands and Islands Constituencies

Lothian Region

Lothian MSPs Elected 2021


7 SNP (all Constituency)
3 Conservative (all Regional)
3 Labour (2 Regional, 1 Constituency)
2 Green (all Regional)
1 Liberal Democrat (Constituency)

Lothian Constituencies

Mid Scotland and Fife Region

Mid Scotland and Fife MSPs Elected 2021


8 SNP (all Constituency)
4 Conservative (all Regional)
2 Labour (all Regional)
1 Green (Regional)
1 Liberal Democrat (Constituency)

Mid Scotland and Fife Constituencies

North East Scotland Region

North East Scotland MSPs Elected 2021


9 SNP (all Constituency)
5 Conservative (4 Regional, 1 Constituency)
2 Labour (all Regional)
1 Green (Regional)

North East Scotland Constituencies

South Scotland Region

South Scotland MSPs Elected 2021


7 SNP (6 Constituency, 1 Regional)
6 Conservative (3 Constituency, 3 Regional)
3 Labour (all Regional)

South Scotland Constituencies

West Scotland Region

West Scotland MSPs Elected 2021


8 SNP (all Constituency)
4 Labour (3 Regional, 1 Constituency)
4 Conservative (3 Regional, 1 Constituency)
1 Green (Regional)

West Scotland Constituencies

Minor Party Results

In addition to the seven parties reported consistently for every constituency and region, there are a range of other minor parties and Independents who contested this election. The regional result for each of these minor parties is shown below. 

Almost none of these made any impact – the one exception being Independent Green Voice, whose inexplicably strong performance speaks to voter confusion that almost certainly cost the Scottish Green Party two seats. That indirect confusion, comedically enough, likely made them the sixth most influential party in this election.

Data Display Approach

Holyrood elections always have a substantial range of options on the ballot paper, which it can be impractical to break down individually. The 2021 elections are tied with 2007 for offering voters the most options in Holyrood’s history, with an average of 18 different entries on the paper in each region.

In the interests of clarity, I thought it would make sense to explain the consistent approach to displaying this data on Ballot Box Scotland.

Constituency Vote

As the largest number of candidates contesting any constituency is 9, it’s reasonably easy to display individual results for each candidate. Results will be provided for each individual candidate in a constituency. 

Regional Vote

As the number of individual ballot options ranged from 15 to 22, and most of those have very little support, it would be difficult to consistently and usefully display this data. The five existing Holyrood parties plus Alba and All for Unity are reported individually, with all other candidates grouped under “others.”

A breakdown for the minor candidates is then shown at the bottom of each of the regional pages.