Scottish Labour leader Anas Sarwar has pledged to form a “credible alternative” to the SNP in the next five years, despite the party’s worst performance north of the border since devolution.
The party returned 22 MSPs, down from 24 in 2016, but the head of the party – himself only in post for 10 weeks – managed to counter polls which had them falling even further.
When he took over, Mr Sarwar was facing down poll numbers as low as 14%, with some considering the Scottish Greens as a possibility for third place at the expense of Labour.
Anas Sarwar was able to counter dismal poll numbers ahead of the election (Jane Barlow/PA)
Another Scottish independence referendum is the “will of the country”, First Minister Nicola Sturgeon has said in a victory speech.
The SNP and Scottish Greens have won a total of 68 seats in Holyrood, with more gains expected as further regional list results are announced.
Speaking on Saturday, the First Minister said her first focus would be on the coronavirus pandemic, but that the people of Scotland should be able to decide on the constitutional question “when the time is right”.
An independence referendum was pledged in the manifesto of both the SNP and the Scottish Greens, who have already picked up an extra seat on the Central Scotland list.
Tory MSP Alexander Burnett has expressed his pride at the party retaining the Aberdeenshire West seat and dashing SNP hopes for a majority in the Scottish Parliament election.
Mr Burnett returns for another term at Holyrood with 19,709 votes while SNP candidate Fergus Mutch received 16,319 votes.
Also on the ballot were Labour’s Andrew Philip Brown (2,382 votes) and Rosemary Bruce of the Lib Dems (3,363).
Votes cast: Andrew Philip Brown (Scottish Labour Party) – 2,382 votes (5.69% share)Rosemary Bruce (Scottish Liberal Democrats) – 3,363 (8.03%)Alexander Burnett (Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party) – 19,709 (47.05%)Fergus Mutch (Scottish National Party) – 16,319 (38.96%)
When asked about stopping the SNP majority, Mr Burnett said: “There were a few comments about that which I’d seen on social media – I tried to stay away from it most of last night to do my nerves some good.