2026 Scottish Parliament election

Leader Ross Greer /
Gillian Mackay Russell FindlayAlex Cole-HamiltonParty Green Conservative Liberal DemocratsLeader since 29 August 2025 27 September 2024 20 August 2021Leader's seat West Scotland /
Central Scotland and Lothians West West Scotland Edinburgh North WesternLast election 8 seats 31 seats 4 seats Seats before 7 28 5 Seats won 15 12 10 Seat change

7

19

6 Constituency vote 52,528 271,740 261,458 % and swing 2.3%

1.0pp11.8%

10.1pp11.4%

4.4ppRegional vote 321,964 271,550 215,624 % and swing 14.0%

5.9pp11.8%

11.7pp9.4%

4.3pp

Results by constituencies and regions

An election for the Scottish Parliament was held on 7 May 2026 to elect all 129 members of the Scottish Parliament. It was the seventh general election since the devolved parliament was established in 1999. The governing Scottish National Party (SNP) secured a fifth consecutive term as they emerged as the largest party, despite losing six seats and falling seven short of a majority.

In the previous election, held five years prior, Nicola Sturgeon led the SNP to a fourth term in government, falling only a seat short of a majority. The party later entered a power-sharing agreement with the Scottish Greens. Sturgeon resigned in 2023 and was succeeded by Humza Yousaf. Yousaf ended the agreement with the Greens and later resigned after the Greens tabled a motion of no confidence vote. Swinney succeeded him amid party turmoil in the SNP. In the 2024 UK general election, Scottish Labour won a landslide and made a resurgence of support - its best result since 2010 in Scotland. Polls in the run-up to the election campaign suggested the SNP would emerge as the largest party for a fifth Holyrood election running, although focus weighed on who would emerge as the second largest, with the rise of Reform UK across the UK.

The SNP won the election with 58 MSPs, falling seven short of a majority. Reform and Labour both won 17 seats, followed by the Greens on 15, the Conservatives on 12 and the Liberal Democrats on 10. It was the worst performance at a Scottish Parliament election for both Labour and Conservatives, with the former's seat share decreasing for the sixth consecutive election. Conversely, the Greens had their best-ever result, going into double figures for the first time and winning their first constituency seats. Reform enjoyed a rise in support, although they were the only party not to win constituency seats.

The key issues dominating the election included the economy; income tax and the cost of living, healthcare, energy, housing and immigration - although the latter is a reserved issues, it remained a topic of debate. The SNP also argued the case for another referendum on Scottish independence. This was the first election contested using the new constituency boundaries implemented following the Second Periodic review. The election was held on the same day as the local elections in England and the Senedd election in Wales, in which Plaid Cymru were victorious. With Sinn Féin also in government in Northern Ireland, this would mark the first time that all three devolved nations were governed by first ministers opposed to the United Kingdom.