SNP minority likely amid Green and LibDem gains – Daily Business

The SNP remained on target to form a minority government as Labour admitted defeat and the LibDems made significant gains.

SNP leader John Swinney won is Perthshire seat comfortably and declared: “It is becoming clear that the SNP will emerge as the largest party.”

“I will simply do all that I can do to make Scotland a successful country and to improve the lives of the people of our country.”

Dejected Scottish Labour leader Anas Sarwar appeared at the Glasgow count and said: “We made an argument for change and ultimately, it’s an argument we lost.”

He said he had tried to make his party’s campaign about Scotland and stood by his calls earlier this year for the Prime Minister, Sir Keir Starmer, to stand down.

Giving no suggestion of himself standing down, he said: “My party is hurting today and it’s my job to hold it together. We will continue to fight for the change we believe Scotland so desperately needs.”

There was some joy for Labour when the SNP lost Na h-Eileanan an Iar to Labour whose Labour candidate Donald MacKinnon won by just 154 votes, though the SNP gained the Shetland Islands from the Liberal Democrats.

Daniel Johnson became the first MSP to win Edinburgh south west for three successive terms. He said he did not know whether he would continue as Labour spokesman on the economy but he would “continue talking about the economy as we have so much potential.

“We have not been a serious parliament on the economy and we have to change that.”

Former Scottish Greens co-leader Lorna Slater claimed the scalp of ex-Cabinet Minister Angus Robertson to become the party’s first candidate to win a constituency.

The SNP fell into third place behind Labour.  Holly Bruce quickly became the second after she won the Glasgow Southside seat.

Ms Slater, who was the Circularity minister until the Bute House Agreement between the SNP and Greens was torn up, indicated that the SNP may not week a formal coalition, but said her party would be ready to serve.

After accepting defeat, Mr Robertson said he hoped his support for culture and the arts would continue into the new parliament and suggested he might work with Ms Slater on a future independence referendum.

The SNP’s Stephen Flynn won Aberdeen Deeside and North Kincardine but Conservative Liam Kerr was only 1,244 votes behind.

After winning his Edinburgh north west seat, LibDem leader Alex Cole-Hamilton spoke about an “astonishing revival of liberalism” across Scotland.

Reform has taken an average of 16% of the vote but were not expected to win a constituency seat. The party will be hoping to do better on the regional list.

Party leader Malcolm Offord came third in the Inverclyde constituency as the SNP held on. However, he is still likely to become an MSP as he is Reform UK’s top candidate on the West Scotland list.