DEVOLVED ELECTIONS

Scotland

Scottish Parliament elections, results and an explanation of how Scotland elects its MSPs.

129MSPs

73constituency MSPs

56regional MSPs

2votes per elector

LATEST ELECTION · 7 MAY 2026

Scottish Parliament election

The SNP won 58 of the 129 seats. Scottish Labour and Reform UK each won 17, followed by the Scottish Greens on 15.

Official results ↗

2026 RESULT

Seats by party

1Scottish National Party58 seats

2Scottish Labour17 seats

3Reform UK17 seats

4Scottish Greens15 seats

5Scottish Conservatives12 seats

6Scottish Liberal Democrats10 seats

HOW IT WORKS

Additional Member System

1Constituency vote73 MSPs elected in single-member constituencies.

2Regional vote56 MSPs elected across eight regions.

8MSPs represent each voterOne constituency MSP plus seven regional MSPs.

5Election cycleScottish Parliament elections normally take place every five years.

SINCE DEVOLUTION

Scottish election history

Seven Scottish Parliament elections have been held since the Parliament was established in 1999.

LARGEST PARTY

Seats after each election

2026SNP58 seats →2021SNP64 seats →2016SNP63 seats →2011SNP69 seats →2007SNP47 seats →2003Labour50 seats →1999Labour56 seats →

PARTICIPATION

Turnout history

2026Scottish Parliament53.2%

2021Scottish Parliament63.5%

2016Scottish Parliament55.6%

2011Scottish Parliament50.4%

2007Scottish Parliament51.7%

2003Scottish Parliament49.4%

1999Scottish Parliament58.2%

Constituency-ballot turnout. The 2021 election remains the highest-turnout Scottish Parliament election.

1999First electionLabour was the largest party with 56 seats.

2011Only majorityThe SNP won 69 of 129 seats, the only outright majority in Scottish Parliament election history.

63.5%Record turnoutTurnout reached its Scottish Parliament high at the 2021 election.

How Scotland elects its Parliament

Scottish Parliament elections use the Additional Member System (AMS), combining constituency contests with regional representation. Voters receive two ballot papers: one for a constituency candidate and one for a political party or independent candidate in their region.

The constituency side elects 73 MSPs. A further 56 regional MSPs are allocated across eight electoral regions, seven in each, to make the overall result more proportional than the constituency results alone.

Holyrood is not Westminster

A Scottish Parliament election chooses MSPs to make decisions on devolved matters. A UK general election chooses MPs to sit in the House of Commons. Scotland therefore uses AMS for Holyrood but First Past the Post for Westminster.

The two-vote system also means Scottish election results contain two distinct sets of vote shares: constituency votes and regional-list votes. They should not be treated as interchangeable.

Official sources

Scottish Parliament 2026 results ↗ · Electoral Commission: how voting works ↗