Scottish Election 2021 results LIVE: SNP finish one short of a majority on 64 | Scottish Conservatives hold key seat of Aberdeenshire West | Alex Salmond fails to win seat | Kaukab Stewart becomes first woman of colour elected to Scottish Parliament | Full regional vote list announced
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As Day Two of the election count continues, stay up-to-date with The Scotsman election live blog.
Scottish Parliament elections 2021 LIVE: SNP win election with 64 seats - one short of majority
Key Events
- SNP win election with 64 seats - one short of majority
- Sturgeon hails ‘emphatic’ victory
- Tories second with 31 seats, Labour third with 22
- No seats for Salmond’s Alba party
- Police investigate possible voter fraud in Edinburgh
- Kaukab Stewart becomes first woman of colour elected
SNP hold Carrick, Cumnock and Doon Valley
The SNP’s Elena Whitham has replaced outgoing Health Secretary Jeanne Freeman as the local MSP for Carrick, Cumnock and Doon Valley.
SNP hold Mid Fife & Glenrothes
Jenny Gilruth holds on to her Mid Fife and Glenrothes seat for the SNP
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Chris McEleny, AlbaIt’s looking unlikely that we will be making the breakthrough we were hoping for....I think we have put the fire back in the bellies of the independence movement.
Salmond predicts more SNP defections
Alex Salmond has described Nicola Sturgeon as too cautious on independence and claimed the SNP were “sending their troops over the top and are piling up perhaps even a million list votes which will elect nobody”.
Less than 24 hours after suggesting to The Scotsman that he may not stay on as Alba leader after the election, Mr Salmond said he would help the party “bloom” despite admitting that it is unlikely to win any seats at the Holyrood election.
He created the pro-independence party six weeks ago with the aim of achieving a super-majority for leaving the UK at the Scottish Parliament.
Alba only fielded candidates on Scotland’s eight regional lists, calling for SNP voters to back it with their second ballots in an effort to “max the Yes”.
But Mr Salmond and Kenny MacAskill, who defected from the SNP to join Alba, said initial results suggested it would not return any MSPs.
Speaking on the Through a Scottish Prism podcast on Saturday, Mr Salmond said he would now focus on growing the party into an electoral force.
Read the full story:
Scottish Election 2021 results: Alex Salmond says Nicola Sturgeon 'too cautious' on independence and predicts more SNP defections
Alex Salmond has described Nicola Sturgeon as too cautious on independence and claimed the SNP were “sending their troops over the top and are piling up perhaps even a million list votes which will elect nobody”.