2016 Scottish Parliament election

The 2016 Scottish parliament election was held on Thursday, 5 May 2016[1] to elect 129 members to the Scottish Parliament. It was the fifth election held since the devolved parliament was established in 1999. It was the first parliamentary election in Scotland in which 16 and 17 year olds were eligible to vote, under the provisions of the Scottish Elections (Reduction of Voting Age) Act.[2][3] It was also the first time the three largest parties were led by women.

2016 Scottish Parliament election
5 May 2016 (2016-05-05)
All 129 seats to the Scottish Parliament
65 seats needed for a majority
Opinion polls
TurnoutConstituency – 55.8% Increase 5.3 pp
Regional – 55.8% Increase 5.3pp
  First party Second party Third party
 
Nicola Sturgeon election infobox 3.jpg
RuthDavidsonMSP.jpg
Kezia Dugdale 2016 (cropped).jpg
Leader Nicola Sturgeon Ruth Davidson Kezia Dugdale
Party SNP Conservative Labour
Leader since 14 November 2014 4 November 2011 15 August 2015
Leader's seat Glasgow Southside Edinburgh Central Lothian
Last election 69 seats 15 seats 37 seats
Seats before 64 15 38
Seats won 63 31 24
Seat change Decrease6 Increase16 Decrease13
Constituency vote 1,059,898 501,844 514,261
 % and swing 46.5% Increase1.1% 22.0% Increase8.1% 22.6% Decrease9.2%
Regional vote 953,587 524,222 435,919
 % and swing 41.7% Decrease2.3% 22.9% Increase10.6% 19.1% Decrease7.2%
  Fourth party Fifth party
 
Scottish Green Leadership 2016.jpg
Willie_Rennie_2016.jpg
Leader Patrick Harvie /
Maggie Chapman		 Willie Rennie
Party Scottish Green Liberal Democrats
Leader since 22 November 2008 /
25 November 2013		 17 May 2011
Leader's seat Glasgow /
Contested North
East Scotland 		 North East Fife
Last election 2 seats 5 seats
Seats before 2 5
Seats won 6 5
Seat change Increase4 Steady
Constituency vote 13,172 178,238
 % and swing 0.6% Increase0.6% 7.8% Decrease0.1%
Regional vote 150,426 119,284
 % and swing 6.6% Increase2.2% 5.2% Steady
The left side shows constituency winners of the election by their party colours. The right side shows regional winners of the election for the additional members by their party colours.
First Minister before election

Nicola Sturgeon
SNP

 First Minister after election

Nicola Sturgeon
SNP

Parliament went into dissolution on 24 March 2016, allowing the official period of campaigning to get underway. Five parties had MSPs in the previous parliament: Scottish National Party (SNP) led by First Minister Nicola Sturgeon, Scottish Labour led by Kezia Dugdale, Scottish Conservatives led by Ruth Davidson, Scottish Liberal Democrats led by Willie Rennie, Scottish Greens, led by their co-conveners Patrick Harvie and Maggie Chapman. Of those five parties, four changed their leader since the 2011 election.

During the campaign, a series of televised debates took place, including party leaders of the elected parties. BBC Scotland held the first leaders' debate on 24 March, STV broadcast the next on 29 March, and BBC Scotland hosted the final debate on 1 May.

The election resulted in a hung parliament with the Scottish National Party winning a third term in government, but falling two seats short of securing a second consecutive overall majority.[4][5] The Conservatives saw a significant increase in support and replaced the Labour Party as the second-largest party and main opposition in the Scottish Parliament. This was the first time that Labour had finished in third place at a Scottish election in 98 years.[4][5] The Scottish Greens won six seats on the regional list and overtook the Liberal Democrats, who remained on five seats.[4][5]

Although the SNP had lost their majority, it was still by far the largest single party in the Scottish Parliament, with more than double the seats of the Conservatives. Accordingly, Sturgeon announced she would form a minority SNP government. She was voted in for a second term as First Minister on 17 May.[6]

Date

Under the Scotland Act 1998, an ordinary election to the Scottish Parliament would normally have been held on the first Thursday in May four years after the 2011 election, i.e. in May 2015.[7] In May 2010, the new UK Government stated in its coalition agreement that the next United Kingdom general election would also be held in May 2015.[8] This proposal was criticised by the Scottish National Party and Labour, as it had been recommended after the 2007 election that elections with different voting systems should be held on separate days: a recommendation which all of the political parties had then accepted.[9] In response to this criticism, Deputy Prime Minister Nick Clegg offered the right to vary the date of the Scottish Parliament election by a year either way.[10] All the main political parties then stated their support for delaying the election by a year.[11][12] The Fixed-term Parliaments Act 2011, a statute of the UK Parliament, moved the date of the Scottish Parliament election to 5 May 2016.[1]

The date of the poll may be varied by up to one month either way by the monarch, on the proposal of the Presiding Officer.[7]

If Parliament itself resolves that it should be dissolved, with at least two-thirds of the Members (i.e. 86 Members) voting in favour, the Presiding Officer proposes a date for an extraordinary election and the Parliament is dissolved by the monarch by royal proclamation.

It does not necessarily require a two-thirds majority to precipitate an extraordinary election, because under the Scotland Act Parliament is also dissolved if it fails to nominate one of its members to be First Minister within certain time limits, irrespective of whether at the beginning or in the middle of a parliamentary term. Therefore, if the First Minister resigned, Parliament would then have 28 days to elect a successor (s46(2)b and s46(3)a). If no new First Minister was elected then the Presiding Officer would ask for Parliament to be dissolved under s3(1)a. This process could also be triggered if the First Minister lost a vote of confidence by a simple majority (i.e. more than 50%), as they must then resign (Scotland Act 1998 s45(2)). To date the Parliament has never held a vote of no confidence in a First Minister.

No extraordinary elections have been held to date. Any extraordinary elections would be in addition to ordinary elections, unless held less than six months before the due date of an ordinary election, in which case they supplant it. The subsequent ordinary election reverts to the first Thursday in May, a multiple of four years after 1999.[13]

It was envisaged that the election would still have taken place as scheduled if Scotland had voted in favour of independence in 2014.[14]

Retiring MSPs
Constituency/Region Departing MSP Party
Edinburgh Central Marco Biagi[15] Scottish National Party
Cunninghame South Margaret Burgess[16]
Caithness, Sutherland and Ross Rob Gibson[17]
Carrick, Cumnock and Doon Valley Adam Ingram[18]
Edinburgh Eastern Kenny MacAskill[19]
Strathkelvin and Bearsden Fiona McLeod[20]
Aberdeenshire East Alex Salmond[21]
Skye, Lochaber and Badenoch Dave Thompson[22]
North East Scotland Richard Baker[23] Scottish Labour
Edinburgh Northern and Leith Malcolm Chisholm[24]
Renfrewshire South Hugh Henry[25]
West Scotland Margaret McDougall[26]
Greenock and Inverclyde Duncan McNeil[27]
South Scotland Graeme Pearson[28]
Mid Scotland and Fife Richard Simpson[29]
Glasgow Drew Smith[30]
Lothian Gavin Brown[31] Scottish Conservatives
Cameron Buchanan[32]
Galloway and West Dumfries Alex Fergusson[33]
West Scotland Annabel Goldie[34]
Highlands and Islands Jamie McGrigor[35]
North East Scotland Nanette Milne[33]
Highlands and Islands Mary Scanlon[36]
Mid Fife and Glenrothes Tricia Marwick[37] Presiding Officer

Deselected MSPs

Changes to the SNP's selection procedures the previous year in order to ensure gender balance of candidates meant that any incumbent constituency MSP who chose to retire would have their replacement selected from an all-woman shortlist. The only ways for a new male candidate to receive a constituency nomination would be to stand in a constituency currently held by an opposition MSP or to run a de-selection campaign against a sitting MSP. For that reason there were far more challenges than normal within the SNP, but only two were successful:

Constituency Selected candidate Deselected MSP Party Retained position on regional list
Angus North and Mearns Mairi Evans Nigel Don[38] Scottish National Party Yes (North East Scotland)
Edinburgh Western Toni Giugliano Colin Keir[39] No

Election system, seats, and regions
Main article: List of Scottish Parliament constituencies and electoral regions (2011–present)

The total number of Members of the Scottish Parliament (MSPs) elected to the Parliament is 129.

The First Periodical Review of the Scottish Parliament's constituencies and regions by the Boundary Commission for Scotland, was announced on 3 July 2007. The Commission published its provisional proposals for the regional boundaries in 2009.

The Scottish Parliament uses an Additional Members System, designed to produce approximate proportional representation for each region. There are 8 regions, each sub-divided into smaller constituencies. There are a total of 73 constituencies. Each constituency elects one MSP by the plurality (first past the post) system of election. Each region elects 7 additional MSPs using an additional member system. A modified D'Hondt method, using the constituency results, is used to elect these additional MSPs.[40][41]

The Scottish Parliament constituencies have not been coterminous with Scottish Westminster constituencies since the 2005 general election, when the 72 former UK Parliament constituencies were replaced with a new set of 59, generally larger, constituencies (see Scottish Parliament (Constituencies) Act 2004). The boundaries used for the Scottish Parliament elections were then revised for the 2011 election. The Boundary Commission also recommended changes to the electoral regions used to elect "list" members of the Scottish Parliament,[42] which were also implemented in 2011.

Campaign

On 29 February 2016, BBC Scotland's Scotland 2016 current affairs programme held a debate focusing on education featuring the Education Minister Angela Constance and three party leaders: Kezia Dugdale, Ruth Davidson and Willie Rennie.[43]

On 24 March 2016, BBC Scotland held a debate in Glasgow which was televised that featured Dugdale, Davidson, Rennie, Nicola Sturgeon, Patrick Harvie and David Coburn.[44]

On 29 March 2016, STV hosted a televised leaders' debate, featuring the five leaders of the parties which held seats in the last Parliament.[45]

From 5–26 April 2016, Scotland 2016 also held a series of weekly subject debates on Tuesday nights. The subjects were Tax, Health, Energy & Environment, and Housing.[46] Of these, six parties (SNP, Labour, Conservatives and Liberal Democrats, the Scottish Greens and UKIP) were invited to the Tax debate.

Parties contesting the election

The official nomination period closed on 1 April 2016, lists of candidates were then published by local councils once the applications had been processed.[47]

In March 2015, the Scottish Greens balloted their members to select candidates for their regional lists.[48] The SNP released their regional candidate list in October 2015.[49] The Conservative regional candidate list followed in December.[50] In January 2016, RISE – Scotland's Left Alliance announced list candidates for all regions except the North East.[51] Labour had announced a new selection process for regional candidates in November 2013,[52] then revealed their full list of regional candidates in February 2016.[53] UKIP's regional candidates were picked by their executive committee, prompting one prospective candidate to resign his party membership.[54]

Contesting constituency and regional ballot

The SNP, the Scottish Labour, the Scottish Conservatives and the Scottish Liberal Democrats fielded candidates in all 73 constituencies.[55]

Contesting regional ballot only

Contesting constituency ballot only

Opinion polling
Main article: Opinion polling for the 2016 Scottish Parliament election

The chart shows the relative state of the parties since polling began from 2012, until the date of the election. The constituency vote is shown as semi-transparent lines, while the regional vote is shown in full lines.

Average 30 day trend line of poll results for the 2016 Scottish Parliament election. Results from 29 January 2012 to 4 May 2016

Result
↓
63 31 24 6 5
SNP Conservative Labour Green LD
← 2016 Scottish Parliament election[65] →
Party Constituencies Regional additional members Total seats
Votes %±Seats±Votes %±Seats±Total± %
SNP 1,059,898 46.5 Increase1.1 59 Increase6 953,587 41.7 Decrease2.3 4 Decrease12 63 Decrease6 48.8
Conservative 501,844 22.0 Increase8.1 7 Increase4 524,222 22.9 Increase10.6 24 Increase12 31 Increase16 24.0
Labour 514,261 22.6 Decrease9.2 3 Decrease12 435,919 19.1 Decrease7.2 21 Decrease1 24 Decrease13 18.6
Scottish Green 13,172 0.6 Increase0.6 0 Steady 150,426 6.6 Increase2.2 6 Increase4 6 Increase4 4.7
Liberal Democrats 178,238 7.8 Decrease0.1 4 Increase2 119,284 5.2 Steady 1 Decrease2 5 Steady 3.9
UKIP — — — — — 46,426 2.0 Increase1.1 0 Steady 0 Steady 0.0
Solidarity — — — — — 14,333 0.6 Increase0.5 0 Steady 0 Steady 0.0
Scottish Christian 1,162 0.1 Steady 0 Steady 11,686 0.5 Decrease0.3 0 Steady 0 Steady 0.0
RISE — — — — — 10,911 0.5 new 0 new 0 new 0.0
Women's Equality — — — — — 5,968 0.3 new 0 new 0 new 0.0
A Better Britain – Unionist Party — — — — — 2,453 0.1 new 0 new 0 new 0.0
Clydesdale and South Scotland Independent 909 0.0 new 0 new 1,485 0.1 new 0 new 0 new 0.0
Animal Welfare — — — — — 1,819 0.1 new 0 new 0 new 0.0
Libertarian 119 0.0 new 0 new 1,686 0.1 new 0 new 0 new 0.0
National Front — — — — — 617 0.0 0.0 0 Steady 0 Steady 0.0
Communist — — — — — 510 0.0 0.0 0 Steady 0 Steady 0.0
TUSC 3,540 0.1 new 0 new — — — — — 0 new 0.0
Independent 6,011 0.3 Decrease0.3 0 Steady 4,420 0.2 Steady 0 Decrease1 0 Decrease1 0.0
Valid votes2,279,15499.6Decrease0.1 2,285,75299.8Increase0.1 
Spoilt votes9,2150.4Increase0.1 3,8120.2Decrease0.1 
Total2,288,369100 73–2,289,564100 56–129–100
Electorate/Turnout4,099,90755.8Increase5.3 4,099,90755.8Increase5.3 

Votes summary
Popular Vote (Constituency)
SNP
 
 46.5%
Labour
 
 22.6%
Conservative
 
 22.0%
Liberal Democrats
 
 7.8%
Green
 
 0.6%
Other
 
 0.5%
Popular Vote (Regional)
SNP
 
 41.7%
Conservative
 
 22.9%
Labour
 
 19.1%
Green
 
 6.6%
Liberal Democrats
 
 5.2%
UKIP
 
 2.0%
Other
 
 2.5%
Parliament seats
SNP
 
 48.8%
Conservative
 
 24.0%
Labour
 
 18.6%
Green
 
 4.7%
Liberal Democrats
 
 3.9%

Central Scotland
Scottish Parliament election, 2016: Central Scotland
Constituency Elected member Result
Airdrie and Shotts Alex Neil SNP hold
Coatbridge and Chryston Fulton MacGregor SNP gain from Labour
Cumbernauld and Kilsyth Jamie Hepburn SNP hold
East Kilbride Linda Fabiani SNP hold
Falkirk East Angus MacDonald SNP hold
Falkirk West Michael Matheson SNP hold
Hamilton, Larkhall and Stonehouse Christina McKelvie SNP hold
Motherwell and Wishaw Clare Adamson SNP gain from Labour
Uddingston and Bellshill Richard Lyle SNP gain from Labour
Scottish parliamentary election, 2016: Central Scotland
Party Elected candidates Seats +/− Votes % +/−%
SNP 0 -3 129,082 47.7% +1.3%
Labour Richard Leonard
Monica Lennon
Mark Griffin
Elaine Smith		 4 +1 67,103 24.8 -10.5%
Conservative Margaret Mitchell
Graham Simpson
Alison Harris		 3 +2 43,602 16.1 +9.7%
Scottish Green 0 0 12,722 4.7% +2.3%

Glasgow
Scottish Parliament election, 2016: Glasgow
Constituency Elected member Result
Glasgow Anniesland Bill Kidd SNP hold
Glasgow Cathcart James Dornan SNP hold
Glasgow Kelvin Sandra White SNP hold
Glasgow Maryhill and Springburn Bob Doris SNP gain from Labour
Glasgow Pollok Humza Yousaf SNP gain from Labour
Glasgow Provan Ivan McKee SNP gain from Labour
Glasgow Shettleston John Mason SNP hold
Glasgow Southside Nicola Sturgeon SNP hold
Rutherglen Clare Haughey SNP gain from Labour
Scottish parliamentary election, 2016: Glasgow
Party Elected candidates Seats +/− Votes % +/−%
SNP 0 -2 111,101 44.8% +4.9%
Labour Anas Sarwar
Johann Lamont
James Kelly
Pauline McNeill		 4 +1 59,151 23.8% -11.1%
Conservative Adam Tomkins
Annie Wells		 2 +1 29,533 11.9% +5.8%
Scottish Green Patrick Harvie 1 ±0 23,398 9.4% +3.5%

Highlands and Islands
Scottish Parliament election, 2016: Highlands and Islands
Constituency Elected member Result
Argyll and Bute Michael Russell SNP hold
Caithness, Sutherland and Ross Gail Ross SNP hold
Inverness and Nairn Fergus Ewing SNP hold
Moray Richard Lochhead SNP hold
Na h-Eileanan an Iar Alasdair Allan SNP hold
Orkney Liam McArthur Liberal Democrats hold
Shetland Tavish Scott Liberal Democrats hold
Skye, Lochaber and Badenoch Kate Forbes SNP hold
Scottish Parliament election, 2016: Highlands and Islands
Party Elected candidates Seats +/− Votes % +/−%
SNP Maree Todd 1 -2 81,600 39.7% -7.8%
Conservative Douglas Ross
Edward Mountain
Donald Cameron		 3 +1 44,693 21.8% +10.1%
Liberal Democrats 0 ±0 27,223 13.3% +1.1%
Labour Rhoda Grant
David Stewart		 2 ±0 22,894 11.2% -3.3%
Scottish Green John Finnie 1 +1 14,781 7.2% +2.1%

Lothian
Scottish Parliament election, 2016: Lothian
Constituency Elected member Result
Almond Valley Angela Constance SNP hold
Edinburgh Central Ruth Davidson Conservative gain from SNP
Edinburgh Eastern Ash Denham SNP hold
Edinburgh Northern and Leith Ben Macpherson SNP gain from Labour
Edinburgh Pentlands Gordon MacDonald SNP hold
Edinburgh Southern Daniel Johnson Labour gain from SNP
Edinburgh Western Alex Cole-Hamilton Liberal Democrats gain from SNP
Linlithgow Fiona Hyslop SNP hold
Midlothian North and Musselburgh Colin Beattie SNP hold
Scottish Parliament election, 2016: Lothian
Party Elected candidates Seats +/− Votes % +/−%
SNP 0 0 118,546 36.2% -2.9%
Conservative Miles Briggs
Gordon Lindhurst
Jeremy Balfour		 3 +1 74,972 22.9% +11.3%
Labour Kezia Dugdale
Neil Findlay		 2 -1 67,991 20.8% -4.1%
Scottish Green Alison Johnstone
Andy Wightman		 2 +1 34,551 10.6% +3.0%
Independent 0 -1 — — -6.6%

Margo MacDonald had been elected on the Lothian regional list in 2011, as an Independent; she died in 2014.

Mid Scotland and Fife
Scottish Parliament election, 2016: Mid Scotland and Fife
Constituency Elected member Result
Clackmannanshire and Dunblane Keith Brown SNP hold
Cowdenbeath Annabelle Ewing SNP gain from Labour
Dunfermline Shirley-Anne Somerville SNP hold
Kirkcaldy David Torrance SNP hold
Mid Fife and Glenrothes Jenny Gilruth SNP hold
North East Fife Willie Rennie Liberal Democrats gain from SNP
Perthshire North John Swinney SNP hold
Perthshire South and Kinross-shire Roseanna Cunningham SNP hold
Stirling Bruce Crawford SNP hold
Scottish Parliament election, 2016: Mid Scotland and Fife
Party Elected candidates Seats +/− Votes % +/−%
SNP 0 -1 120,128 41.3% -3.9%
Conservative Murdo Fraser
Liz Smith
Alexander Stewart
Dean Lockhart		 4 +2 73,293 25.2% +11.0%
Labour Claire Brennan-Baker
Alex Rowley		 2 -1 51,373 17.6% -7.4%
Liberal Democrats 0 -1 20,401 7.0% +1.2%
Scottish Green Mark Ruskell 1 +1 17,860 6.1% +1.9%

North East Scotland
Scottish Parliament election, 2016: North East Scotland
Constituency Elected member Result
Aberdeen Central Kevin Stewart SNP hold
Aberdeen Donside Mark McDonald SNP hold
Aberdeen South & North Kincardine Maureen Watt SNP hold
Aberdeenshire East Gillian Martin SNP hold
Aberdeenshire West Alexander Burnett Conservative gain from SNP
Angus North & Mearns Mairi Evans SNP hold
Angus South Graeme Dey SNP hold
Banffshire & Buchan Coast Stewart Stevenson SNP hold
Dundee City East Shona Robison SNP hold
Dundee City West Joe Fitzpatrick SNP hold
Scottish Parliament election, 2016: North East Scotland
Party Elected candidates Seats +/− Votes % +/−%
SNP 0 -1 137,086 44.7% -8.1%
Conservative Alex Johnstone
Ross Thomson
Peter Chapman
Liam Kerr		 4 +2 85,848 28.0% +13.9%
Labour Jenny Marra
Lewis MacDonald		 2 -1 38,791 12.6% -3.8%
Liberal Democrats Mike Rumbles 1 ±0 18,444 6.0% -0.8%
Scottish Green 0 ±0 15,123 4.9% +1.0%

South Scotland
Scottish Parliament election, 2016: South Scotland
Constituency Elected member Result
Ayr John Scott Conservative hold
Carrick, Cumnock and Doon Valley Jeane Freeman SNP hold
Clydesdale Aileen Campbell SNP hold
Dumfriesshire Oliver Mundell Conservative gain from Labour
East Lothian Iain Gray Labour hold
Ettrick, Roxburgh and Berwickshire John Lamont Conservative hold
Galloway and West Dumfries Finlay Carson Conservative hold
Kilmarnock and Irvine Valley Willie Coffey SNP hold
Midlothian South, Tweeddale and Lauderdale Christine Grahame SNP hold
Scottish Parliament election, 2016: South Scotland
Party Elected candidates Seats +/− Votes % +/−%
SNP Joan McAlpine
Emma Harper
Paul Wheelhouse		 3 -1 120,217 38.3% -2.7
Conservative Rachael Hamilton
Brian Whittle		 2 +2 100,753 32.1% +12.6
Labour Claudia Beamish
Colin Smyth		 2 0 56,072 17.8% -7.5
Scottish Green 0 0 14,773 4.7% +1.6
Liberal Democrats 0 -1 11,775 3.7% -1.7

West Scotland
Scottish Parliament election, 2016: West Scotland
Constituency Elected member Result
Clydebank and Milngavie Gil Paterson SNP hold
Cunninghame North Kenneth Gibson SNP hold
Cunninghame South Ruth Maguire SNP hold
Dumbarton Jackie Baillie Labour hold
Eastwood Jackson Carlaw Conservative gain from Labour
Greenock and Inverclyde Stuart McMillan SNP gain from Labour
Paisley George Adam SNP hold
Renfrewshire North and West Derek Mackay SNP hold
Renfrewshire South Tom Arthur SNP gain from Labour
Strathkelvin and Bearsden Rona Mackay SNP hold
Scottish Parliament election, 2016: West Scotland
Party Elected candidates Seats +/− Votes % +/−%
SNP 0 -2 135,827 42.2% +0.6%
Labour Mary Fee
Neil Bibby
Ken Macintosh		 3 ±0 72,544 22.5% -10.2%
Conservative Jamie Greene
Maurice Golden
Maurice Corry		 3 +1 71,528 22.2% +9.5%
Scottish Green Ross Greer 1 +1 17,218 5.3% +2.4%

Target seats

Below are listed all the constituencies which required a swing of less than 5% from the 2011 result to change hands.

SNP targets
Rank Constituency Winning party 2011 Swing to gain SNP's place 2011 Result
1 East Lothian Labour 0.24 2nd Labour Hold
2 Greenock & Inverclyde Labour 0.91 SNP Gain
3 Edinburgh Northern & Leith Labour 0.97
4 Motherwell & Wishaw Labour 1.21
5 Uddingston & Bellshill Labour 1.43
6 Galloway & West Dumfries Conservative 1.44 Conservative Hold
7 Ayr Conservative 1.67
8 Glasgow Pollok Labour 1.36 SNP Gain
9 Cowdenbeath Labour 2.43
10 Dumbarton Labour 2.87 Labour Hold
11 Glasgow Maryhill & Springburn Labour 3.15 SNP Gain
12 Rutherglen Labour 3.28
13 Renfrewshire South Labour 4.81

Labour targets
Rank Constituency Winning party 2011 Swing to gain Labour's place 2011 Result
1 Glasgow Anniesland SNP 0.02 2nd SNP Hold
2 Kirkcaldy SNP 0.33
3 Edinburgh Central SNP 0.41 Conservative Gain
4 Paisley SNP 0.49 SNP Hold
5 Edinburgh Southern SNP 1.03 Labour Gain
6 Aberdeen Central SNP 1.23 SNP Hold
7 Clydebank & Milngavie SNP 1.26
8 Glasgow Shettleston SNP 1.39
9 Glasgow Kelvin SNP 1.80
10 Strathkelvin & Bearsden SNP 2.67
11 Renfrewshire North & West SNP 2.85
12 Glasgow Cathcart SNP 3.04
13 East Kilbride SNP 3.26
14 Edinburgh Eastern SNP 3.64
15 Airdrie and Shotts SNP 4.19
16 Hamilton, Larkhall & Stonehouse SNP 4.37
17 Carrick, Cumnock & Doon Valley SNP 4.50

Conservative targets
Rank Constituency Winning party 2011 Swing to gain Con place 2011 Result
1 Edinburgh Pentlands SNP 2.93 2nd SNP Hold
2 Eastwood Labour 3.16 2nd Conservative Gain
3 Dumfriesshire Labour 4.97 2nd

Liberal Democrat targets
Rank Constituency Winning party 2011 Swing to gain LD's place 2011 Result
1 Edinburgh Southern SNP 2.45 3rd Labour Gain
2 Edinburgh Western SNP 4.02 2nd Lib Dem Gain
3 North East Fife SNP 4.37 2nd

Incumbents defeated
Constituency/Region MSP Party MSP Since Office previously held
Uddingston and Bellshill Michael McMahon Labour 1999 Shadow Minister for Community
Central Scotland Siobhan McMahon 2011 Shadow Minister for Public Services and Wealth Creation
Margaret McCulloch 2011
Motherwell, Wishaw and Hamilton John Pentland 2011 Shadow Minister for Opportunity
Glasgow Maryhill and Springburn Patricia Ferguson 1999
Glasgow Provan Paul Martin 1999
Glasgow Hanzala Malik 2011
Anne McTaggart 2011 Shadow Minister for Democracy
Lothian Sarah Boyack 1999 Spokesperson for Environmental Justice
Dunfermline Cara Hilton 2013 Shadow Minister for Opportunity
Mid Scotland and Fife Jayne Baxter 2012 Shadow Minister for Community
Dumfriesshire Elaine Murray 1999 Shadow Minister for Justice
North East Scotland Lesley Brennan 2016
Highlands and Islands Mike MacKenzie Scottish National Party 2011
North East Fife Roderick Campbell 2011
Edinburgh Southern Jim Eadie 2011
Aberdeenshire West Dennis Robertson 2011
Angus North and Mearns

(stood for North East Scotland)

 Nigel Don 2007 Convener of the Scottish Parliament Delegated Powers and Law Reform Committee
North East Scotland Christian Allard 2013
South Scotland Aileen McLeod[66] 2011 Minister for Environment, Climate Change and Land Reform
Chic Brodie 2011
West Scotland Stewart Maxwell 2003 Convener of the Scottish Parliament Education and Culture Committee
North East Scotland Alison McInnes Liberal Democrats 2007
South Scotland Jim Hume 2007
Central Scotland John Wilson Scottish Greens* 2007
Highlands and Islands Jean Urquhart RISE* 2011

* Formerly SNP

See also

Other elections in the UK being held on the same day

UK parliamentary by-elections

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Party manifestos
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