Scottish election results 2026 live: Scottish Labour leader says his party has ‘lost the argument for change’
Will any big names lose their seats?published at 13:48 BST
Phil Sim
Scotland political correspondent
Image source, PA MediaImage caption,
Jackie Baillie has held the Dumbarton seat since 1999
There are a number of significant figures at risk in this election.
Labour’s deputy leader Jackie Baillie has held the seat of Dumbarton since 1999, holding off a series of challenges from the SNP.
But with all of the uncertainties of low turnout and a potentially fractured vote, could this be the year the seat finally changes hands?
In practice, Baillie would likely return to Holyrood regardless, as she tops Labour’s West Scotland list.
The same might not be said of Angus Robertson, the SNP’s campaign manager and the government’s external affairs and culture secretary.
Image source, PA MediaImage caption,
Russell Findlay could face a serious challenge too if other results do not go his way
Boundary changes have made his Edinburgh Central seat a possible target for Labour, but the Scottish Greens are also campaigning hard in the area, with former leader Lorna Slater hoping for the party’s first ever constituency win.
Should Robertson lose out, he is unlikely to make it back in via the regional ballot, having placed fourth on the SNP list.
Also in a potentially precarious position is Scottish Conservative leader Russell Findlay.
He is top of his party’s West Scotland list, but other results could leave him on a knife-edge.
Should his Conservative colleague Jackson Carlaw retain his seat in Eastwood, it would make it harder for the party to win seats via the top-up list system.
So the former Tory leader winning a seat could ultimately cost the current Tory leader his place at Holyrood.
