Part 1

:00:00. > :00:00.Now let's join Huw Edwards in the BBC Election Night

:00:00. > :00:00.studio with a look ahead to tonight's results programme.

:00:07. > :00:13.We will be here from 11:45pm and we will be carrying on through the

:00:14. > :00:18.night. After all, it is the biggest test of electoral opinion across the

:00:19. > :00:22.UK before the next general election. We will have results from the

:00:23. > :00:26.Scottish parliament, the assemblies in Wales and Northern Ireland, more

:00:27. > :00:30.than 100 local councils in England and city mayors including the London

:00:31. > :00:33.mayor. Viewers in Scotland and Wales will have their own coverage and we

:00:34. > :00:34.should get some early results before midnight.

:00:35. > :00:36.Election coverage for viewers in Scotland and Wales

:00:37. > :00:57.Standby for the results of election 2016 and another dramatic night

:00:58. > :01:45.Hello and welcome to BBC Scotland's election news centre.

:01:46. > :01:48.We're live here in Glasgow and in every corner of Scotland,

:01:49. > :01:53.with the results of the fifth election to the Scottish parliament.

:01:54. > :01:56.We'll be first with news of who's in, who's out

:01:57. > :02:02.Nicola Sturgeon's hoping to lead the SNP to an historic third term

:02:03. > :02:07.in power and secure her own mandate as first minister.

:02:08. > :02:11.Ruth Davidson's target is to overtake Labour

:02:12. > :02:14.and make the Conservatives the main opposition.

:02:15. > :02:18.Will Kezia Dugdale's party really finish behind the Tories or can

:02:19. > :02:26.Labour win the race for second place and avoid its worst election

:02:27. > :02:31.Patrick Harvie's hoping the Greens will surge into fourth place.

:02:32. > :02:35.But not if Willie Rennie's Liberal Democrats can help it -

:02:36. > :02:37.they're determined to avoid slipping into fifth.

:02:38. > :02:40.With an EU referendum looming, UKIP's agenda has never

:02:41. > :02:43.had a higher profile - but will that help them

:02:44. > :02:49.These are just some of the stories we'll be looking out for tonight.

:02:50. > :02:52.And with election bulletins, throughout the night -

:02:53. > :03:01.results and developments of the night.

:03:02. > :03:07.As the declarations begin to roll in the length and breadth

:03:08. > :03:09.of the country, we'll also be keeping an eye on social media

:03:10. > :03:12.as the conversation begins to get lively there.

:03:13. > :03:14.And of course it's not just here that voters

:03:15. > :03:22.This has been something of a super Thursday.

:03:23. > :03:25.I'll be bringing you the latest from the race to become

:03:26. > :03:29.the big picture in Wales and Northern Ireland

:03:30. > :03:33.and what the trends are in the English council elections.

:03:34. > :03:35.his braces and his latest box of tricks - Brian.

:03:36. > :03:38.Glenn, I've covered a fair few elections in my time,

:03:39. > :03:41.but when you have a political anorak as well as numerous pairs

:03:42. > :03:43.of galluses, they're always interesting.

:03:44. > :03:46.I'll be offering analysis, insights and assessment

:03:47. > :03:49.of the results as they come in, of the personalities involved

:03:50. > :03:52.and the policies on offer, with this dashboard of data

:03:53. > :04:00.Now, we've had one or two big votes over the last couple of years,

:04:01. > :04:02.and with every election, there's innovation,

:04:03. > :04:04.David Henderson's on the team tonight, with some new technology

:04:05. > :04:10.Glenn, this is how the Scottish parliament has looked

:04:11. > :04:16.The SNP in yellow, holding the majority of seats.

:04:17. > :04:20.The other opposition parties arranged around them.

:04:21. > :04:32.We'll have lots of ways of telling that story.

:04:33. > :04:35.We'll have debate, analysis, opinion and maybe even the odd laugh.

:04:36. > :04:38.Especially in our new Election Cafe, where Fiona Stalker

:04:39. > :04:55.In the election cafe we will be bringing Scotland's media, spin

:04:56. > :05:00.doctors and young voters to give their reaction. We will be keeping

:05:01. > :05:06.an eye to what you are saying on social media. So join in the

:05:07. > :05:37.conversation by using the hash tag SP 16.

:05:38. > :05:45.The election story unfolds at counting centres across the country.

:05:46. > :05:49.We live from Shetland to Dumfries and almost everywhere in between. We

:05:50. > :05:55.will hear from David Miller in Edinburgh but first to Glasgow with

:05:56. > :06:05.Aileen Clarke at the Emirates arena. What are you hearing so far? I am

:06:06. > :06:07.down with the counters and it will be a busy night for them. There are

:06:08. > :06:11.eight constituency seats decided be a busy night for them. There are

:06:12. > :06:19.here tonight. Last time round the SNP took five of them in what used

:06:20. > :06:21.to be the absolute Bastian of the Labour vote. Everyone is wondering

:06:22. > :06:26.to be the absolute Bastian of the if they can get a clean sweep. Can

:06:27. > :06:30.they take all of the seats here, that is what everybody wants to

:06:31. > :06:39.know. Remember, at the last Scottish Parliament election, that was before

:06:40. > :06:47.the referendum. In the referendum, from here a year ago, and night that

:06:48. > :06:52.chilled labour Hearts. Remember what happened? Every person that went on

:06:53. > :06:59.to that stage that night at the Westminster elections, every person

:07:00. > :07:02.that went up as a winner, was SNP. A complete wipe-out for Labour. Nicola

:07:03. > :07:09.Sturgeon arrived and there were great scenes of joy. She called her

:07:10. > :07:14.magnificent seven. You would be forgiven for calling Labour that

:07:15. > :07:20.night, the miserable seven. That is why everybody is keen to see if the

:07:21. > :07:24.SNP can do the same again. The indications are good, they have been

:07:25. > :07:27.out and fighting hard and they have an incredible party machine. Nicola

:07:28. > :07:32.Sturgeon will be here herself in a little while. That is her seat being

:07:33. > :07:39.counted over there. We will hear from her later. Patrick Harvie for

:07:40. > :07:44.the Greens, he is hoping to do better and Tommy Sheridan will be

:07:45. > :07:49.here standing for Solidarity, possibly for the last time if his

:07:50. > :07:54.wife has anything to do with it. But it is what will happen between the

:07:55. > :07:58.SNP and Labour. If you like your politics laced with a bit of

:07:59. > :08:04.pleasure and a bit of pain, I think this counter will deliver for you in

:08:05. > :08:08.spades. Get the crisps in, we probably won't get a declaration

:08:09. > :08:13.until around three a.m.. In the meantime, David Miller is in

:08:14. > :08:17.Edinburgh. Good evening from the Royal Highland Centre in the

:08:18. > :08:20.capital. We are just beside the main runway at Edinburgh airport. Just

:08:21. > :08:27.behind me, we have liftoff, the first ballot rocks as have arrived

:08:28. > :08:31.already. We will bring you the results from all six Edinburgh

:08:32. > :08:34.constituencies and the Lothian region. We will be joined by some

:08:35. > :08:42.big names during the course of the evening. Scottish Labour, Kezia

:08:43. > :08:44.Dugdale and Ruth Davidson for the Scottish Conservatives are fighting

:08:45. > :08:51.constituencies here in the capital. Dale has been out pounding the

:08:52. > :08:55.streets in Edinburgh Eastern while Ruth Davidson has been focusing her

:08:56. > :09:00.efforts on Edinburgh Central. Both those candidates also top of the

:09:01. > :09:04.regional list for their respective parties. In terms of potential upset

:09:05. > :09:11.this evening, two constituencies we should be watching out for,

:09:12. > :09:17.Edinburgh Western and Edinburgh Southern. Southern has witnessed a

:09:18. > :09:23.scrap between Tony Giuliani and the charismatic Lib Dem candidate, Alex

:09:24. > :09:28.Cole-Hamilton. The Lib Dems are making great play of the

:09:29. > :09:33.difficulties which have engulfed the local MP, Michelle Thomson, who has

:09:34. > :09:40.resigned the SNP wit amidst a great deal of controversy. There has also

:09:41. > :09:45.been mutterings about SNP performance in that constituency. So

:09:46. > :09:49.the Lib Dems hopes are high. But we should also keep a close eye on

:09:50. > :09:58.Edinburgh Southern. Edinburgh South, the only Westminster constituency

:09:59. > :10:03.still held by Scottish Labour. The SNP's is defending a Holyrood

:10:04. > :10:11.majority of just 693. A very tight. In terms of the Scottish Greens.

:10:12. > :10:19.Alison Johnstone has been fighting Edinburgh Central. And another name,

:10:20. > :10:24.the well-known land reform campaigner, Andy Wightman. He is

:10:25. > :10:30.number two on the list. The Greens have taken two list seats in Lothian

:10:31. > :10:35.in the past, so there is a precedent for success for them on that kind of

:10:36. > :10:39.scale here. We will find out in the hours ahead, whether they pull that

:10:40. > :10:41.off. Thank you, David. We will be back with them and around the

:10:42. > :10:47.country throughout the night. We're joined tonight by an all-star

:10:48. > :10:49.cast list of politicians. The former First Minister and SNP

:10:50. > :10:53.Leader Alex Salmond joins us, former Leader of Scottish Labour

:10:54. > :10:54.Johann Lamont will be giving the Liberal Democrats

:10:55. > :11:05.is here to cast his eye on proceedings, and finally

:11:06. > :11:07.Lord Andrew Dunlop, Under Secretary of State for Scotland

:11:08. > :11:12.representing the Conservatives. Another former leader,

:11:13. > :11:14.Sir Ming Campbell of the Liberal Democrats

:11:15. > :11:23.is here to cast his eye This is the first time I have been

:11:24. > :11:28.in a Glasgow studio since the regional elections of 1986. Every

:11:29. > :11:33.other election since, I have been a candidate in my own count. You have

:11:34. > :11:38.to regard me as a new boy tonight and be kind to me as the programme

:11:39. > :11:43.goes on. I cannot guarantee that! But I will ask you first of all for

:11:44. > :11:48.a prediction. Is it possible be SNP could finish with an overall

:11:49. > :11:54.majority? It is said to have broken the system last time, can it happen

:11:55. > :11:58.twice? It is possible, but not a foregone conclusion. I am amazed

:11:59. > :12:06.looking at the coverage of this election, the assumption this can be

:12:07. > :12:11.done for a second time. It is a huge ask and the reason is if you gain on

:12:12. > :12:17.the swings, the constituency votes, you lose on the roundabouts and the

:12:18. > :12:21.list vote. If it is possible that happens, it will be an extraordinary

:12:22. > :12:26.results, it is extremely difficult to do in this system. Johann Lamont,

:12:27. > :12:31.you manage to avoid being the leader at the time of an election, maybe

:12:32. > :12:36.that is a relief, who knows? If Alex Salmond is right and the SNP finish

:12:37. > :12:41.with an overall majority, what does that mean for Labour's prospects

:12:42. > :12:47.tonight? I am naturally optimistic, so when we don't have any results in

:12:48. > :12:53.an exit poll, it is difficult to say. The Labour Party fought a very

:12:54. > :12:55.hard campaign, I was proud of people locally and proud of the

:12:56. > :13:00.conversations we had on the doorsteps. I recognise if there is

:13:01. > :13:05.an overall majority, it is a significant achievement for the SNP.

:13:06. > :13:09.But it feels we have not got back to the place where we are talking about

:13:10. > :13:13.the things that will make a difference to people's lives. There

:13:14. > :13:19.will be a lot of change and people are experiencing that, but it is not

:13:20. > :13:23.where the political debate is. These are pictures coming in from the

:13:24. > :13:27.count in Clydebank where people are busy counting the votes and making

:13:28. > :13:32.their way towards some of the earlier results of the evening. Just

:13:33. > :13:37.before I bring in Andrew Dunlop or the Conservatives, Joanna Monts, the

:13:38. > :13:40.Tories targeting Labour hoping to leapfrog your party and finish in

:13:41. > :13:46.second place tonight. Any predictions on that? None

:13:47. > :13:49.whatsoever. The idea that your aspiration is to be the opposition,

:13:50. > :14:01.you want to be a strong opposition, when between 2007 and 2011, we

:14:02. > :14:08.supported this man it belies what a stronger position is? Andrew Dunlop,

:14:09. > :14:11.what is your own prediction on whether or not Ruth Davidson will

:14:12. > :14:17.get her wish? We are looking forward to our best results since the

:14:18. > :14:23.Scottish Parliament was set up. It was down to the positive campaign

:14:24. > :14:26.Ruth Davidson has run. She has a clear plan for opposition. You need

:14:27. > :14:32.strong opposition to get better government. She has sent a clear and

:14:33. > :14:37.compelling message and one that is also credible. I think hopefully we

:14:38. > :14:43.will see that rewarded tonight. These are live pictures from

:14:44. > :14:48.Lerwick, where the Liberal Democrats are defending the constituency, part

:14:49. > :14:53.of the country which has been a stronghold for them for many years.

:14:54. > :14:58.On the point, Andrew Dunlop, that you won Le Mans made the Tories have

:14:59. > :15:06.helped it will embolden the SNP by supporting them and helping them get

:15:07. > :15:11.budgets through in the 2007, 22011 Parliament, what do you say about

:15:12. > :15:15.that? We will work with people who have the proposals and we will

:15:16. > :15:19.cooperate. But in the next Parliament, we want to hold the feet

:15:20. > :15:25.of the government, the Scottish Government to the fire, to ensure

:15:26. > :15:27.that instead of campaigning for another independence referendum,

:15:28. > :15:31.they concentrate on governing and what matters to people. That is a

:15:32. > :15:31.they concentrate on governing and better health service, better

:15:32. > :15:41.schools and creating more jobs. Pramod sub but you will also support

:15:42. > :15:51.them in keeping tax law and not spending on public services. David

:15:52. > :16:01.McLetchie said... Former Conservative leader. IM sure we do

:16:02. > :16:08.not want to refight the 2007-2011 Parliament. At the election in 2011,

:16:09. > :16:13.having seen what happened in that parliament, the people of Scotland

:16:14. > :16:18.decided to return the SNP with an overall majority, which with great

:16:19. > :16:29.respect to Johann Lamont, is a rather more important verdict.

:16:30. > :16:33.The only two constituency seats that the Liberal Democrats have, Shetland

:16:34. > :16:40.and Orkney, will you keep those? My understanding is yes. I spoke to Jim

:16:41. > :16:43.Wallace, the former member of Parliament, they were confident,

:16:44. > :16:47.optimistic they would hold the seats. My attitude to these matters

:16:48. > :16:54.is one of optimism tinted with realism. We have got to come from

:16:55. > :16:58.quite a long way back. We have had an enormously good campaign with the

:16:59. > :17:01.leadership of Willie Rennie, who has been outstanding, particularly in

:17:02. > :17:11.the debates, he has to an extremely well. In the last ABC debate he was

:17:12. > :17:18.the first person to get not just a round of applause but a shout of

:17:19. > :17:22.approval -- BBC debate. Willie Rennie is standing in your

:17:23. > :17:24.former neck of the woods in Fife north-east. How do you think he will

:17:25. > :17:51.do there? He will do very well. fortnight ago. The 22-1 against the

:17:52. > :17:55.Lib Dems, they are improving. Let us bring in Professor Nicola

:17:56. > :17:59.McEwan, Fester of politics at the University of bed and rap, she will

:18:00. > :18:12.be casting her expert by overdevelopment is -- Professor of

:18:13. > :18:17.politics. The constituency results will be

:18:18. > :18:23.key. Last time round, the SNP got 45% of the constituencies. Opinion

:18:24. > :18:29.polls suggest that they may get a little more than that. We may know

:18:30. > :18:32.before we even get the list vote if there will be an overall majority.

:18:33. > :18:37.For the other parties, it will be the regional list vote which will be

:18:38. > :18:42.key to determining who comes in second place. We will not know that

:18:43. > :18:45.until much later on. Safety say that this has been the most competitive

:18:46. > :18:53.list contest of any Holyrood election. Yes, particularly for the

:18:54. > :18:57.Labour Party. In particular, in the early years of devolution they used

:18:58. > :19:02.to do disproportionately well in the constituency contests, they did not

:19:03. > :19:08.have to rely on the worst vote. It is very much changed days now. --

:19:09. > :19:13.the list vote. These pictures are coming in from

:19:14. > :19:20.Paisley, the count me. You can see the vote stacking up across that

:19:21. > :19:24.part of Scotland. In terms of time the vote stacking up across that

:19:25. > :19:29.is, hard to say when we would get the first results. Some point

:19:30. > :19:33.between one o'clock and two o'clock, but we might be able to bring your

:19:34. > :19:38.results between 12 o'clock and one o'clock.

:19:39. > :19:43.Let us develop our coverage of the election and go to David Henderson.

:19:44. > :19:48.He is standing by with his very fancy graphics.

:19:49. > :19:54.What do you have foreigners? This promises to be a gripping contest.

:19:55. > :19:58.Throughout the night, we will be telling the story from right in the

:19:59. > :20:04.heart of the BBC's headquarters in Pacific key. For the last five

:20:05. > :20:13.years, this has the state of the nation. This was his Scotland's

:20:14. > :20:21.electoral map with after the last election. Blue for the Conservatives

:20:22. > :20:26.in the south, red for Labour in Central Scotland, orange for the Lib

:20:27. > :20:35.Dems in the Northern Isles, the rest of the country awash of yellow, with

:20:36. > :20:42.the SNP dominating the scene. Let's look at that map with the same

:20:43. > :20:49.results in a slightly different way. This is our hex map. This is all of

:20:50. > :20:55.Scotland's constituencies, but they are all this inside. I'll be SNP

:20:56. > :21:00.constituencies colour it yellow again? The people of Scotland also

:21:01. > :21:06.choose 56 MSPs with the regional vote. Here is the breakdown of seats

:21:07. > :21:12.from the last election, region by region. You can see the Greens

:21:13. > :21:18.picked up seats, and Labour did better than they managed in the

:21:19. > :21:22.constituency vote. Those two sets of results, the regionals and the

:21:23. > :21:27.constituencies, let's see how they convert into seats at Holyrood. Add

:21:28. > :21:36.them together, and you are the results from 2011. The SNP on 69,

:21:37. > :21:42.Labour on 37, Tories on 15, Lib Dems on five, there were two greens and

:21:43. > :21:48.one independent. The SNP with their noses well in France, and passed

:21:49. > :21:53.that winning line of 65 seats, which gives a majority in parliament. But

:21:54. > :21:58.those results are now just history. At this moment, no party has any

:21:59. > :22:04.seats. The map is empty and waiting to be filled. You, the voters, write

:22:05. > :22:10.the next chapter of Scotland's political history tonight. We will

:22:11. > :22:13.be telling that story as it happens. No election night would be complete

:22:14. > :22:27.without Brian and his latest toy. Top is through this. Thank you. This

:22:28. > :22:31.is the dashboard. Rather than speed, mileage and fuel consumption, this

:22:32. > :22:34.massive screen will gauge all the detail of the results as they come

:22:35. > :22:38.in. I will try to steer you through is significant, what the important

:22:39. > :22:45.results are, they are all important, but the ones that might determine

:22:46. > :22:51.the character of the night. Here the chamber in 2011. 69 to the SNP. That

:22:52. > :22:59.is the result in 2011, since then there have been various changes, a

:23:00. > :23:04.couple of folk moving away from the SNP in protest over Nato. That is

:23:05. > :23:10.the result. That is that outcome over which they are fighting

:23:11. > :23:15.tonight. We will keep an eye on who has won individual constituencies,

:23:16. > :23:18.we will have information about the voting share, that will tell us how

:23:19. > :23:22.the night might pan out right in the very early hours of the morning. We

:23:23. > :23:27.will tell you how that has changed since the last election. The

:23:28. > :23:35.additional members will be absolutely key to the final make-up

:23:36. > :23:40.of Holyrood. As we move along the dashboard, here is the electoral map

:23:41. > :23:45.of Scotland, coloured in with party colours, the SNP taking most of the

:23:46. > :23:52.constituencies, Labour red, the Conservatives and the two northern

:23:53. > :24:00.areas of Orkney and Shetland for the Liberal Democrats. Here we have the

:24:01. > :24:06.map in equal size, so you can see the balance of the results. Tonnes

:24:07. > :24:09.eight -- tonnes of data at my fingertips.

:24:10. > :24:14.Let us cross to Jackie Bird. Counting is going on at centres the

:24:15. > :24:18.length and breadth of the country. There are 4 million registered

:24:19. > :24:25.voters. We can see the boxes being emptied at Glasgow's Emirates

:24:26. > :24:29.Stadium. Here are boxes arriving in Motherwell. Heading north, we have

:24:30. > :24:34.pictures from what is happening in Kirkwall tonight. That will be

:24:35. > :24:41.popping up soon. Former Labour leader Iain Gray at the Haddington

:24:42. > :24:46.count. Not looking to confidence, perhaps I will tell you why in a

:24:47. > :24:54.moment. We round when can we expect that first result? The best guess is

:24:55. > :24:58.in the Rutherglen constituency. They that first result? The best guess is

:24:59. > :25:02.were first to declare in 2011. The team have told us that they are

:25:03. > :25:06.hoping to beat that this time, it could be as early as midnight. Since

:25:07. > :25:13.elections for the current Scottish Parliament began, that seat has gone

:25:14. > :25:16.into labour. James Kelly will sit. This is a real bellwether seat. It

:25:17. > :25:21.could set the tone for the night for Labour if they do not retain that

:25:22. > :25:29.seat. Elsewhere tonight, there are few seats to watch. Glasgow Pollok,

:25:30. > :25:38.Johann Lamont is defending a majority with 623 votes. There has

:25:39. > :25:49.been a battle royal ear. She is facing stiff competition from the

:25:50. > :25:55.SNP's Humza Yousaf. Iain Gray won by just 151 votes in 2011, you can see

:25:56. > :25:59.why it will be near waiting for him. Willie Rennie is hoping to take his

:26:00. > :26:04.seat back for his party. They lost it last time round. The

:26:05. > :26:11.Conservatives only hold three constituency seats, the one with the

:26:12. > :26:20.smallest majority, of about 862 votes, is Galilee and Dumfries. --

:26:21. > :26:26.Galloway and Dumfries. Let us take the cat Twitter. The

:26:27. > :26:30.race for second place seems to be dominating already. The Sun

:26:31. > :26:43.newspaper as saying the Conservatives will come second. Time

:26:44. > :26:52.will tell. Nicola Sturgeon sent her first tweet of the night. Patrick

:26:53. > :26:55.Harvie's thinks that his party's candidates and volunteers have

:26:56. > :27:03.worked very hard and he thanked them for everything they have done to

:27:04. > :27:15.support him. We are monitoring the hash tag #sp16 tonight.

:27:16. > :27:18.Hugh Williams, at the Emirates Marina, confirming that other Labour

:27:19. > :27:26.sources are saying that the party does not expect to win any Glasgow

:27:27. > :27:32.constituency seats. Johann Lamont, that would mean you losing Glasgow

:27:33. > :27:36.Pollok. That might be what we would expect. We fought very hard. We

:27:37. > :27:41.continue to make this political argument. We recognise what the

:27:42. > :27:45.polls are saying. The difference from 2011 is that we did not see

:27:46. > :27:51.what was happening in 2011, that was a huge political failure. I managed

:27:52. > :27:56.to hold onto me seat at that time, and I was immensely proud of team. I

:27:57. > :28:08.remain as proud now and is committed to the same politics, but there is

:28:09. > :28:09.not any point in pretending. On that broader point, that Labour will lose

:28:10. > :28:16.the seats it has held that the last broader point, that Labour will lose

:28:17. > :28:28.election in Glasgow, is that your expectation? It is my recognition of

:28:29. > :28:38.where Paul stickers, -- the polls takers. We lost Glasgow in 2011,

:28:39. > :28:44.recovered in 2012, then saw in 2015 how bad things were. The thing is

:28:45. > :28:50.the extent to which we have begun to move on, people have rebuilt

:28:51. > :28:54.confidence, we need to wait for the results. Alex Salmond, brief word on

:28:55. > :28:59.that if it turns out to be true. It would be an extraordinary result if

:29:00. > :29:03.it were true. We are taking nothing for granted. We have not even had

:29:04. > :29:10.the first result. I was in Glasgow campaigning in the seats on Monday.

:29:11. > :29:13.Clearly the SNP team are well organised and induce gastric, have

:29:14. > :29:24.been campaigning strongly. But it is too early. -- in CZ Astec.

:29:25. > :29:27.We will be crossing over to our collection cafe.

:29:28. > :29:38.We will be giving you an alternative to the politicians. We are bringing

:29:39. > :29:43.together journalists, bloggers, spin doctors, to react and cast an eye

:29:44. > :29:50.over the campaign so far. What are you up to tonight?

:29:51. > :29:54.We will be trying to keep busy. I am heading out are in some of the

:29:55. > :29:59.counts are in Glasgow later. We have a lot of reporters out across

:30:00. > :30:03.Scotland. Everything happening on TV, radio, social media, that will

:30:04. > :30:09.come back into life page that we have on the website. And we have it

:30:10. > :30:15.covered on social media, Twitter, snap chat. We just need some results

:30:16. > :30:21.to start coming in. We're also working very closely with

:30:22. > :30:26.our at BBC Radio Scotland. We will be asking how much of this campaign

:30:27. > :30:32.was about personality politics. Who were the winners and losers on

:30:33. > :30:36.social media? What was it with the increasingly bizarre photocalls with

:30:37. > :30:42.party leaders? Are people as engaged as they were during the independence

:30:43. > :30:46.referendum? This is about opinions. These people have and bucketloads.

:30:47. > :30:51.We will have the generation 2016 with us overnight. You were very

:30:52. > :30:56.engaged in the independence referendum, you still up for it?

:30:57. > :31:00.Yes, we are very much up for it. It has been a very different campaign

:31:01. > :31:06.to the independence referendum. People were talking about big ideas,

:31:07. > :31:10.but this has been more about domestic politics and day-to-day

:31:11. > :31:13.issues. When I have been campaigning for the Green Party people have been

:31:14. > :31:18.really interested in the issues. The final thing is that you have

:31:19. > :31:19.16-year-olds and 17-year-old sporting. Uncharted waters, who

:31:20. > :31:25.knows what will happen. We will be sporting. Uncharted waters, who

:31:26. > :31:30.hearing from generation 2016 on it, they probably have more stamina than

:31:31. > :31:33.we have. Also keeping a close eye on social media, so if you want to join

:31:34. > :31:46.in the conversation, it is #sp16. We are here live for the next ten

:31:47. > :31:51.hours by which time we would hope to have at least most of the results.

:31:52. > :32:01.Five years ago in 2011, Rutherglen. The first declaration. What are the

:32:02. > :32:08.timing is looking like Reevel Alderson? This is difficult to say,

:32:09. > :32:14.south Lanarkshire used to have a reputation for declaring very

:32:15. > :32:20.quickly. In all elections, Scottish Parliament and general election. The

:32:21. > :32:26.returning officer has come in. He is determined to make sure the results

:32:27. > :32:30.are accurate over any speed. However, there are four

:32:31. > :32:33.constituencies being counted here in East Kilbride. One of them is

:32:34. > :32:42.Rutherglen, as you say. The indications say they might declare

:32:43. > :32:44.roundabout midnight. The reason for that is, they are being counted and

:32:45. > :32:52.they have two teams of counting that is, they are being counted and

:32:53. > :32:57.Rutherglen boxes. The other is Clydesdale being counted, Avril

:32:58. > :33:01.area. They will be coming from a long way. They will get the

:33:02. > :33:08.Rutherglen count out of the way and then they can concentrate on

:33:09. > :33:10.Clydesdale. They are expecting the Rutherglen counts will be declared

:33:11. > :33:18.early. Will it be the first in Scotland? They say if they are in

:33:19. > :33:24.the top five, they will be pleased. The keywords were the possibility of

:33:25. > :33:29.a result around midnight. That would be earlier than I was indicating. We

:33:30. > :33:36.will be back there for any developments. Last time around, some

:33:37. > :33:43.people kept us waiting. We have to wait until 5pm the following day in

:33:44. > :33:50.Fife. Ken McDonald is there. I suppose in preparation you have got

:33:51. > :33:55.your sleeping bag? We are in the Michael would sport centre, so if it

:33:56. > :34:00.does go on that long, we can go for a swim. We have three constituency

:34:01. > :34:06.seats being counted, North East Fife, which is the rough equivalent

:34:07. > :34:13.which does waiting. It will end rot first and then beyond that,

:34:14. > :34:19.Kirkcaldy. Willie Rennie has put up a good game in trying to win Fife

:34:20. > :34:24.north-east. Beyond that, we see another seven MSPs enthroned here,

:34:25. > :34:30.because this is a regional counting centre and it will collate all the

:34:31. > :34:42.results from these three constituencies and beyond, all the

:34:43. > :34:48.way up. It is an enormous area. The uncharitable said it is the better

:34:49. > :34:53.left over when they drew up all the other election regions. But it will

:34:54. > :34:58.give you seven more MSPs. So tonight we get ten MSPs enthroned here.

:34:59. > :35:04.give you seven more MSPs. So tonight Enthroned, indeed. Thanks very much

:35:05. > :35:06.for the update. We look cover, not just the Scottish Parliament

:35:07. > :35:13.elections but we'll keep an eye on developments in England, Wales and

:35:14. > :35:16.Northern Ireland. Many local elections in England. Andy Burnham,

:35:17. > :35:21.looking forward to the elections of the future. His spokesman saying he

:35:22. > :35:29.is considering running as the mayor for Manchester. Right now, let's

:35:30. > :35:32.stick with Holyrood, another one of the parts of Scotland with a habit

:35:33. > :35:38.of keeping us waiting, up in the North in the Highlands. Craig

:35:39. > :35:43.Anderson is in Dingwall, what is the story there? There will be no

:35:44. > :35:48.change, because it will be a long night for everybody here at a

:35:49. > :35:52.football academy in Dingwall, where the count is underway for three

:35:53. > :35:56.Highlands constituencies, stretching from the Pentland Firth in the north

:35:57. > :36:01.to the south of the Cairngorms and all the way across the West to the

:36:02. > :36:06.Isle of Skye and the small Isles. There is a matter of the tally for

:36:07. > :36:10.all eight of the Highlands and Islands constituency and that takes

:36:11. > :36:14.in everything from Shetland in the north, down to the Argyll islands in

:36:15. > :36:18.the West and then Murray in the east. It is a long way for ballot

:36:19. > :36:24.boxes to travel to all these different counting centres. We are

:36:25. > :36:29.not expect in the regional list to be declared until somewhere like

:36:30. > :36:33.seven o'clock in the morning. So plenty of Coffey on hand here to

:36:34. > :36:40.keep us awake until then. After all, it is the largest regional electoral

:36:41. > :36:43.constituency in the country. It takes up something like half of

:36:44. > :36:46.Scotland's total land mass. So we takes up something like half of

:36:47. > :36:52.can let them off. There will be some new faces leaving the Highlands to

:36:53. > :36:58.go to Holyrood, whatever happens tonight. Two of the three MSPs that

:36:59. > :37:05.were elected on the North Highland Maignan, from Caithness down to

:37:06. > :37:12.Inverness, two of those MSPs for the SNP resigned their seeds following

:37:13. > :37:16.the last parliament. So even if the SNP is expected to retain those

:37:17. > :37:22.seats, two of them will be debutants going to Holyrood for the very first

:37:23. > :37:26.time. The two Tories are elected last time on the regional list, they

:37:27. > :37:31.both retired from Holyrood as well. So if the Tories and Conservatives

:37:32. > :37:38.retain those lists sees this in the Highlands and Islands there would be

:37:39. > :37:43.two two conservatives as well. For the Liberal Democrats, Jamie Stone,

:37:44. > :37:48.who resigned from Parliament before the last election, he has had the

:37:49. > :37:53.last few years out, but has decided to throw his hat in the ring again.

:37:54. > :37:58.So if he is elected for the Liberal Democrats, possibly on a personal

:37:59. > :38:04.vote, as well as a party vote, he will be a new, old face joining

:38:05. > :38:09.them. Let's not forget David Cockburn, sometimes controversial

:38:10. > :38:13.MEP. He has pitched his hat into the ring to be elected on the regional

:38:14. > :38:18.list for the Highlands and Islands. He is the only elected Ukip

:38:19. > :38:22.parliamentarian in Scotland at the moment. He reckons Ukip have a good

:38:23. > :38:28.chance of picking up a couple of regional seats on the list in the

:38:29. > :38:35.selection and let's see if he can be one of the first to get elected to

:38:36. > :38:39.the Scottish Parliament for Ukip. We will have to wait something like

:38:40. > :38:45.eight hours until we know that. It is a marathon, not a sprint, Pace

:38:46. > :38:49.yourself. At the other end of the country, we are hearing from

:38:50. > :38:54.colleagues at ITV border, suggesting Labour's Elaine Murray will lose

:38:55. > :38:58.Dumfriesshire and you might be surprised to learn that is Labour's

:38:59. > :39:03.safest seat at the moment in terms of the number of votes Elaine Murray

:39:04. > :39:08.one by last time around. The suggestion is there could be a close

:39:09. > :39:15.tie between the SNP's Joan McAlpine under the Conservative candidate,

:39:16. > :39:20.Oliver Mundell. Let's go further south. Plenty of elections taking

:39:21. > :39:23.place across the UK, the Northern Ireland assembly elections will be

:39:24. > :39:27.counted tomorrow. But overnight counting is taking place in a number

:39:28. > :39:29.of English local authorities and for the Welsh assembly. We will hear

:39:30. > :39:34.from James Williams in Cardiff, but the Welsh assembly. We will hear

:39:35. > :39:38.first to Exeter. Martin is there. A the Welsh assembly. We will hear

:39:39. > :39:45.big electoral test for Jeremy Corbyn? Absolutely. Only three

:39:46. > :39:48.elections in the south-west, but they are the only three areas where

:39:49. > :39:54.Labour has strength in the south-west. This one in accident is

:39:55. > :39:59.the real citadel, the one of only three where Labour has an absolute

:40:00. > :40:01.majority. It is the former seat of Ben Bradshaw. In the general

:40:02. > :40:08.election he increased his vote by 16%. This place under Ben Bradshaw,

:40:09. > :40:12.is a monument to new Labour. Gained the seat in the landslide of 1997. I

:40:13. > :40:17.will give you an idea of the scale the seat in the landslide of 1997. I

:40:18. > :40:22.of achievement, throughout the rest of the 20th century except for four

:40:23. > :40:29.years, this place had a Conservative MP. But Ben Bradshaw has different

:40:30. > :40:33.views on the way of the direction the Labour Party should be heading

:40:34. > :40:41.than his leader, Jeremy Corbyn. Thanks very much for that update.

:40:42. > :40:45.Let's cross to James Williams in Cardiff. What is the emerging

:40:46. > :40:56.picture for the Welsh assembly, James?

:40:57. > :41:04.Not sure he can hear us. Might have to come back to James Williams in a

:41:05. > :41:10.few moments, to catch up on the Welsh assembly election contest and

:41:11. > :41:14.ring you up today with that. It's been quite a five years at Holyrood.

:41:15. > :41:22.Let's remind ourselves of the current state of play.

:41:23. > :41:29.This is the debating chamber of the Scottish Parliament, the 129 members

:41:30. > :41:32.elected to Mike will be sworn in next week. 73 will represent

:41:33. > :41:39.constituencies down to Berwickshire next week. 73 will represent

:41:40. > :41:42.in the Borders. The number was chosen to match the number of

:41:43. > :41:49.Westminster constituencies when the pollen was created in 1999. This

:41:50. > :41:53.Orkney and Shetland became two separate seats. There are 56 MSPs

:41:54. > :41:58.elected by proportional representation. There are seven in

:41:59. > :42:03.age of eight regions across Scotland. The Highlands and Islands,

:42:04. > :42:07.North East Scotland, Mid Scotland and Fife, Central Scotland, Glasgow,

:42:08. > :42:14.Lothian, West Scotland and South Scotland. So you have eight MSPs in

:42:15. > :42:17.total. The journalists who watch proceedings from this press gallery

:42:18. > :42:23.know that over the last five years, there have been a number of changes

:42:24. > :42:30.caused by death, defections and even a court case. At the time of this

:42:31. > :42:34.solution, were just 128 MSPs. Margo MacDonald as an was literally

:42:35. > :42:40.irreplaceable. But our starting point tonight is the results of the

:42:41. > :42:45.2011 election. The SNP became the first party to win an overall

:42:46. > :42:50.majority with 69 seats. Labour were on 37 and the Conservatives were

:42:51. > :42:56.third with 15. The Liberal Democrats took five seats and there were two

:42:57. > :42:59.Greens and Margo was the sole independent. All games tonight will

:43:00. > :43:07.be calculated from this baseline. Only one of the leaders who fought

:43:08. > :43:08.that election is still standing at the head of the party this time

:43:09. > :43:13.around. See if you can answer

:43:14. > :43:16.that quiz question. And let's take a look

:43:17. > :43:18.at the challenges He's a Member of the

:43:19. > :43:29.European parliament. He will be hoping Ukip's high

:43:30. > :43:31.profile in the EU referendum campaign might make this a

:43:32. > :43:37.breakthrough moment for them. There's the Scottish

:43:38. > :43:40.Greens' Patrick Harvie. One of two Greens elected

:43:41. > :43:43.to the last parliament. Now during the second Parliament,

:43:44. > :43:54.back in 2003, the party Can they improve on the two seats

:43:55. > :43:57.last time. As for Willie Rennie, the Lib Dems were part of the Coalition

:43:58. > :44:02.Government, but they have been punished by voters in recent times.

:44:03. > :44:06.It's the country beginning to forgive them for going into

:44:07. > :44:11.coalition with Conservatives at Westminster, or is it too early for

:44:12. > :44:15.that? Speaking of the Tories, Ruth Davidson's party is trying to

:44:16. > :44:20.capitalise on her personal appeal to voters during this campaign, and she

:44:21. > :44:25.has made no secret of her aim. She wants to lead the largest opposition

:44:26. > :44:29.party at Holyrood. Can they beat Labour into second place tonight?

:44:30. > :44:35.Kezia Dugdale has only been at the helm for nine months. The big

:44:36. > :44:39.question for her is this. Can she kick-start Labour's recovery after

:44:40. > :44:45.it was all but wiped out in the general election and left just one

:44:46. > :44:49.MP in Scotland. Or, will the party's decline continue. As for Nicola

:44:50. > :44:55.Sturgeon, this is her first chance to get her own mandate as First

:44:56. > :44:58.Minister. She took on the top job just after the referendum when Alex

:44:59. > :45:02.Salmond stood down. Since then she has led her party to a thumping

:45:03. > :45:09.victory in last year's general election. The SNP winning 56 out of

:45:10. > :45:14.59 seats. Those other potential winners and losers tonight. The

:45:15. > :45:19.answer to my quiz question, the only leader who was in charge at the last

:45:20. > :45:27.election is the man in green, Patrick Harvie. Let's get more on

:45:28. > :45:28.some of the political battle grounds that the leaders' troops have been

:45:29. > :45:44.fighting for, with Brian Taylor. This is an unusual election in many.

:45:45. > :45:48.I cannot remember an election where one of the major parties, the

:45:49. > :45:53.Conservatives, said her ambition was to come second. There has not been a

:45:54. > :45:57.lot of talk of target seats, many of the parties just want to hang on to

:45:58. > :46:05.what they have. The battle ground perhaps coming on the list. But

:46:06. > :46:09.there are some very key contests in the constituencies. Here is a double

:46:10. > :46:19.bill from Glasgow Anniesland. Bill Butler was the previous MSP. He lost

:46:20. > :46:25.out to Bill Kidd in 2011. Look at the majority, relatively tight, 855.

:46:26. > :46:32.I beg your pardon, that is the wrong result. The size of the majority was

:46:33. > :46:41.seven on that particular occasion. Let us move on to East Lothian...

:46:42. > :46:46.There seems to be a problem with this.

:46:47. > :46:51.We will come back to Brian Taylor for more on the results last time in

:46:52. > :47:02.We will come back to Brian Taylor the parties are targeting this time

:47:03. > :47:09.around. Let's pick up with political once again. This lecture comes a

:47:10. > :47:12.year after the extraordinary result we saw in the UK general election

:47:13. > :47:18.for Scotland. At that point almost all Liberal Democrat 's, all but

:47:19. > :47:23.one, were swept away on a rising tide. Anything that suggests to you

:47:24. > :47:33.that things are different this time around? It is one year on, and many

:47:34. > :47:41.of the things that Nick Clegg and the coalition were able to prevent

:47:42. > :47:43.his begun to happen under the Conservatives. History will be much

:47:44. > :47:51.kinder to Nick Clegg. He will be Conservatives. History will be much

:47:52. > :47:57.vindicated over welfare, standing in the way of the so-called snooper's

:47:58. > :48:01.charter. A lot will depend on how well we do this evening to show that

:48:02. > :48:06.we are on the way back. It will not be a matter of a few months are few

:48:07. > :48:10.years, it will probably be tenuous before we get back to where we were

:48:11. > :48:18.before. But we are well used to the long march -- ten years. We will go

:48:19. > :48:23.back to what we are good at, localism, community politics. We

:48:24. > :48:29.will stand a very good chance of restoring ourselves to where we were

:48:30. > :48:32.before. Anecdotal lead during the campaign, Andrew Dunlop, the

:48:33. > :48:35.Conservatives said that in areas where they have traditionally got

:48:36. > :48:46.support, in areas where they have first past the post eats, -- seat

:48:47. > :48:54.is, it was holding up well. I will not speculate on the constituency

:48:55. > :48:58.seats. That is part of the fun. Yes, I will resist the temptation. We

:48:59. > :49:01.have been polling very well above where we were in 2011, both in

:49:02. > :49:08.constituency and the regional list vote. We are building on a very

:49:09. > :49:13.strong track record in the last parliament. In the last Parliament,

:49:14. > :49:17.Ruth Davidson established herself as the effective opposition, and now

:49:18. > :49:21.what we are really gunning for this time round is to be the official

:49:22. > :49:26.opposition. I have high hopes that we can make real progress.

:49:27. > :49:31.No matter how popular she has become in Scottish politics, isn't she

:49:32. > :49:36.still much more popular than the Conservatives brand? Doesn't it

:49:37. > :49:41.remain tarnished? When you have a popular leader, you

:49:42. > :49:46.put that popular leader front and centre. She connects with people,

:49:47. > :49:50.she gets to the people, and you should play to your strengths, which

:49:51. > :49:56.is what we have done this campaign. I think she is the one leader of a

:49:57. > :49:59.party who quite clearly Campbell told the tool with Nicola Sturgeon.

:50:00. > :50:11.That is what people are looking for in the next Parliament. -- can go

:50:12. > :50:14.toe to toe with Nicola Sturgeon. How do you think Kezia Dugdale has

:50:15. > :50:23.done as somebody who has not had very much time to get into the role

:50:24. > :50:25.ahead of a crucial and difficult election for Labour? I think she has

:50:26. > :50:29.done extremely well. Simply describing somebody as being really

:50:30. > :50:35.effective in opposition does not mean it is actually the case. Kezia

:50:36. > :50:43.Dugdale has led the way and some of the big political issues we confront

:50:44. > :50:50.as a country. The real Bierley broke into political debate out in this

:50:51. > :50:56.election, but people are talking about waiting times and hospitals,

:50:57. > :51:01.elderly parents, education, and how we will fund it. Kezia Dugdale is

:51:02. > :51:05.willing and able to make the case that if you have high quality public

:51:06. > :51:12.services, you have to fund them. That debate was closed down by the

:51:13. > :51:15.SNP and the Conservatives. That is profoundly depressing at a time when

:51:16. > :51:22.we could actually have a conversation about how to use the

:51:23. > :51:28.new powers of the Scottish Parliament.

:51:29. > :51:35.Opinion polls are all that we have to go on. Approval ratings for party

:51:36. > :51:43.leaders. Ruth Davidson, -6, Kezia Dugdale -9, Nicola Sturgeon plus 27.

:51:44. > :51:55.There seems to be the gap between her approval ratings and the rest. I

:51:56. > :52:01.am talking about the real world and the bravery that Kezia Dugdale has

:52:02. > :52:09.shown... Excellence. Good. Labour make the assumption that the SNP is

:52:10. > :52:17.unpopular on Keith -- key issues facing the country. I did not

:52:18. > :52:23.interrupt you. We have plus approval ratings. There is no point in

:52:24. > :52:29.opposition parties running against what they say is the SNP's bad

:52:30. > :52:33.record when the people Scotland, the people that matter, the people

:52:34. > :52:37.voting today, give the SNP such solid approval ratings. And people

:52:38. > :52:43.have such confidence in Nicola Sturgeon. Nobody is denying that.

:52:44. > :52:47.Nobody recognises any more than I do what Nicola Sturgeon has been able

:52:48. > :52:51.to do. All I have said is that Kezia Dugdale has said that now is the

:52:52. > :52:53.time, in the Scottish Parliament, with the powers that it now has, to

:52:54. > :53:00.time, in the Scottish Parliament, talk about the big questions.

:53:01. > :53:05.We are going to Cardiff to talk to James Williams for the story of the

:53:06. > :53:11.Welsh Assembly elections. What do you think is the emerging picture?

:53:12. > :53:14.One of the big questions in Scotland is whether Labour will be pushed

:53:15. > :53:21.into third place. It could not be more different here in Wales. Wales

:53:22. > :53:25.is still a Labour country and they're currently the biggest party

:53:26. > :53:30.in the assembly, have been since the start of devolution, and he

:53:31. > :53:41.currently holds 30 the seats. They are expecting to have a bad night,

:53:42. > :53:46.the drop seats. Their worst was in 2007, is the equal that or do worse,

:53:47. > :53:51.then the knives will be out for Carwyn Jones. Which of the other

:53:52. > :53:55.opposition parties will benefit most? The Welsh Conservatives are

:53:56. > :54:01.hoping to continue a run which has seen them increase their number of

:54:02. > :54:05.seats in every single collection to date. They were the official

:54:06. > :54:09.opposition in the last assembly, with 14 seats. But will internal

:54:10. > :54:19.party strife over the EU referendum hamper them? Or will be billed on

:54:20. > :54:24.the momentum from the general election, where the unexpectedly

:54:25. > :54:30.snatched seats from Labour. Other Labour and Tory marginals to keep an

:54:31. > :54:37.eye on, Cardiff North, the Vale of Glamorgan, and Wrexham. As for Plaid

:54:38. > :54:44.Cymru, quite frankly they can only make enviously at the sister party,

:54:45. > :54:52.the SNP, in Scotland. Plaid Cymru are in third place as it stands here

:54:53. > :54:56.in Wales, and only potentially Wokington moved into second place,

:54:57. > :55:09.calling themselves the Government in waiting -- potentially moving into

:55:10. > :55:25.second place. Can there be some inroads into additional Labour

:55:26. > :55:31.strongholds? As for the Liberal Democrats, quite frankly, it is a

:55:32. > :55:35.question of survival. How many of the five seats will be returned

:55:36. > :55:41.tonight? This could be their toughest contest, they are briefing.

:55:42. > :55:45.We are expecting at least some Ukip members for the very first time.

:55:46. > :55:53.Anywhere between five and eight to be included on the original top up

:55:54. > :55:57.list. That would be a great shake-up, quite frankly. We are

:55:58. > :56:00.expecting hung assembly, we are expecting Welsh Labour to be the

:56:01. > :56:04.biggest party, but will be have enough seats to go to one, or will

:56:05. > :56:10.be be able to form a coalition? We will have to wait and see. Word

:56:11. > :56:16.from the BBC's Ross Hawkins, who is looking at the English local

:56:17. > :56:19.Government elections. He is saying that Labour is losing seats in

:56:20. > :56:26.English council elections. Jeremy Corbyn needs to win places like

:56:27. > :56:31.Corby and Northampton if it is to be a successful night for Labour. At

:56:32. > :56:35.this stage, it looks like the Labour Party is losing seats in England.

:56:36. > :56:38.Let's go back to the Scottish Parliament election, and top four

:56:39. > :56:43.with Brian Taylor, who has been casting his eye over a number of

:56:44. > :56:44.seats that will be of interest to the SNP.

:56:45. > :56:51.With trepidation, given the last the SNP.

:56:52. > :56:57.time that we went to this machine. The question I ask on this occasion,

:56:58. > :57:01.is can the party which won the last Holyrood election, do even better

:57:02. > :57:05.this time? To do so, the SNP would need to win some of the seats that

:57:06. > :57:12.they failed to take in 2011. One of the biggest scalps, my apologies,

:57:13. > :57:17.because she is on the panel, would be Johann Lamont, in Glasgow Pollok.

:57:18. > :57:22.I was covering that constituency, and incredible fight between Johann

:57:23. > :57:29.Lamont and Humza Yousaf. A very tight majority there. Motherwell and

:57:30. > :57:39.Wishaw. These to be another Labour Leader gear. That was Jack

:57:40. > :57:47.McConnell. Look at the majority. Clare Adamson, she's hoping this

:57:48. > :57:58.time the post John Pentland. -- to oust. The Motherwell constituency

:57:59. > :58:04.was the very first ever SNP MP. He held it only for a few months during

:58:05. > :58:08.wartime election. One of the seats that the party would want to hold

:58:09. > :58:16.onto. Another is Caithness, Sutherland and Ross. The new

:58:17. > :58:27.contender for the SNP is Gail Ross, defending a pretty healthy majority.

:58:28. > :58:39.The Liberal Democrats, fighting from second. He wants a to Holyrood. If

:58:40. > :58:45.we look at the electron map, every constituency, the whole of the of

:58:46. > :58:50.Scotland, voted SNP on the constituencies, they will still

:58:51. > :58:54.manage to take a seat and list -- the whole of the North East of

:58:55. > :59:00.Scotland. Let's find out whether they can

:59:01. > :59:05.sweep the board again. Graham Stuart is in Aberdeenshire. But first,

:59:06. > :59:14.Stephen Duff is in the city of Aberdeen.

:59:15. > :59:20.The ballot box is streaming in here at the Robert Gordon University

:59:21. > :59:26.sports hall. Three seats up for grabs, the SNP the last election and

:59:27. > :59:32.it hoped to win them again. The voters of Aberdeen Donside were

:59:33. > :59:35.tested in a by-election, the SNP winning that reasonably well. The

:59:36. > :59:40.main battle ground has been Aberdeen Central, which the SNP took from

:59:41. > :59:45.Labour with just several hundred votes in 2011. The big issue there

:59:46. > :59:49.has been Aberdeen Royal Infirmary, and whether it will be a major

:59:50. > :59:57.trauma centre. It took until just two days ago, when Nicola Sturgeon

:59:58. > :00:12.visited, to see without the tube IT that it would be a major, centre. --

:00:13. > :00:16.without dubiety. Last time out Labour won three seats. Probably

:00:17. > :00:19.because of their poor performance in the constituency vote. They will be

:00:20. > :00:26.hoping the world onto them. The Conservatives will be hoping to turn

:00:27. > :00:29.to into the, and the SNP broke the system by winning the constituency

:00:30. > :00:33.seats in the North East of Scotland region last time around and winning

:00:34. > :00:41.a list seat. The funny story about that is that the SNP that was

:00:42. > :00:46.elected to the list did not expect to be elected and turned up in his

:00:47. > :00:52.jumper and jeans and ended up on the platform. The co-convenor is top of

:00:53. > :00:57.the list. Hopeful of getting a seat on the list as well. That adds up to

:00:58. > :01:00.more than the seven seats, they will not get what they are hoping for.

:01:01. > :01:01.more than the seven seats, they will Counts in Aberdeen city are known

:01:02. > :01:07.more than the seven seats, they will more for the efficient the rather

:01:08. > :01:12.than speed. For 30 AM on words for the constituency seats, and the West

:01:13. > :01:23.probably between seven o'clock and eight o'clock -- for 30 AM.

:01:24. > :01:31.Three strong SNP St seats here in Aberdeenshire. One of the seats,

:01:32. > :01:37.Aberdeen show East, is of reticular interest to Alex Salmond. Until now

:01:38. > :01:40.he has held that seat with a thumping majority -- of particular

:01:41. > :02:02.interest. Gillian Martin has made some

:02:03. > :02:08.disparaging comments about the royal family, the EU and Alex Salmond

:02:09. > :02:11.himself, referring to him as smug. Aberdeenshire has been strong Lib

:02:12. > :02:17.Dem territory. If there is going to be any Lib Dem revival tonight,

:02:18. > :02:23.there will be some signs of it here. Christine Jardine is contesting

:02:24. > :02:27.Aberdeenshire East. Aberdeenshire West has more traditionally been in

:02:28. > :02:40.Lib Dem hands, only in 2011 the SNP lost that. I'm sure is another SNP

:02:41. > :02:44.majority last time in the region of 14,000 votes. The SNP very confident

:02:45. > :02:47.tonight of these three seats. It will be interesting to see if they

:02:48. > :02:54.do win, what majorities they will get. Aberdeenshire East should

:02:55. > :02:59.declare around 4:30 a.m.. Aberdeenshire West and the rest, it

:03:00. > :03:04.will be five a.m., so it will be a long night.

:03:05. > :03:08.Thanks to Graham and Stephen in Aberdeen. Let's go to Glasgow and

:03:09. > :03:13.talk with the Labour leader of Glasgow City Council, a former MSP

:03:14. > :03:16.and minister, Frank McAfee T. We have been discussing that if Labour

:03:17. > :03:25.lose their remaining seats in Glasgow, is that your expectation?

:03:26. > :03:30.We have expected a tough election campaign and tonight, it is looking

:03:31. > :03:34.like we could lose the remaining constituency seats. It is a

:03:35. > :03:37.disappointing night for me because I have been a colleague of those

:03:38. > :03:43.individuals who have worked incredibly hard for their area. We

:03:44. > :03:48.are looking at an election where we need to continue to rebuild. It

:03:49. > :03:54.sounds like the party is going backwards at this election, rather

:03:55. > :03:58.than rebuilding anything? Kezia Dugdale has identified we want to

:03:59. > :04:02.rebuild the party for the next generation. Last year's results were

:04:03. > :04:05.cataclysmic for Scottish Labour and we need to pick ourselves up from

:04:06. > :04:09.that. What is disappointing is we need to pick ourselves up from

:04:10. > :04:13.turnout across the city of Glasgow, so I am concerned about the

:04:14. > :04:19.Democratic process. We don't know if there is as many people

:04:20. > :04:24.participating as we thought. We know the job ahead is to regain the trust

:04:25. > :04:29.of the people of Scotland and Glasgow and that is the challenge

:04:30. > :04:34.for us. Thanks for joining us live from the Emirates arena. Let's hear

:04:35. > :04:35.what the and her guests are making of things so far.

:04:36. > :04:40.what the and her guests are making Good evening. We will be providing

:04:41. > :04:44.you with the alternative to the politicians. We will be asking the

:04:45. > :04:48.thoughts of the campaign itself. Looking over some of the high points

:04:49. > :04:54.and some of the low points and finding out what the newspapers are

:04:55. > :05:01.saying. We have our guests, Eamon O'Neill and Stuart Cosgrove.

:05:02. > :05:03.Welcome. What is it about Scottish politicians there is the

:05:04. > :05:10.increasingly bizarre nature of these photocalls? In all truth, I don't

:05:11. > :05:14.have a clue why they do this. Whoever these geniuses are battling

:05:15. > :05:18.it is good idea to stick Ruth Davidson on a buffalo and this will

:05:19. > :05:21.connect with the Scottish electorate, I don't know who they

:05:22. > :05:28.are and pays their wages, but it should be examined more closely. It

:05:29. > :05:31.is the never ending quest of spin doctors, special advisers, call them

:05:32. > :05:35.what you like, to normalise politicians. I don't think it is a

:05:36. > :05:41.good ring to do or unattainable thing to do. They need to go back to

:05:42. > :05:47.the drawing board and think up a new blueprint. I think we have seen a

:05:48. > :05:52.failure in terms of these photocalls. All the political

:05:53. > :05:56.parties have called their leaders out on a particular day and what

:05:57. > :06:02.ever the theme is they are dealing with, asked them to do the most

:06:03. > :06:05.preposterous things. It has ended up, in a puerile way, trivialising

:06:06. > :06:10.some of the issues we have been dealing with. We are in this

:06:11. > :06:15.situation where the photocall has virtually failed. It doesn't matter

:06:16. > :06:19.if it is fornicating pigs, buffaloes or whatever, but the reality is the

:06:20. > :06:24.concept has failed and I would rather the politician talk about

:06:25. > :06:32.their message rather than behave like a clown. Do the voters feel

:06:33. > :06:36.cheated, do they want to hear more about policy? The voters feel

:06:37. > :06:40.disconnected from the process. They are a lot more savvy and smart in

:06:41. > :06:43.terms of understanding what they are meant to think. I think they know

:06:44. > :06:48.they are being handled, albeit through the media. They fully

:06:49. > :06:51.understand this process, and that is why you will see a reasonable

:06:52. > :06:58.turnout this evening, it won't be the same energy or the engagement of

:06:59. > :07:05.the independence referendum in 2014, saw things happen. People react and

:07:06. > :07:08.by not turning up, vote with their feet. The media need to rethink the

:07:09. > :07:12.by not turning up, vote with their strategy and the hand is presenting

:07:13. > :07:17.the politicians to the media, to come up with a 2016 strategy and

:07:18. > :07:29.then instead of one which would look exactly the same in 1996. So often

:07:30. > :07:34.this election we have seen vaulting the shark jumping the buffalo, call

:07:35. > :07:38.it what you will. It is a failure in which the way they planned the day.

:07:39. > :07:44.They often talk about serious things, education, nursery,

:07:45. > :07:51.long-term care for the elderly, why do they feel the need to dress up

:07:52. > :07:57.like fools? It doesn't work. One of the things that has succeeded really

:07:58. > :08:01.well in this campaign, has been the big reads in the newspapers, like

:08:02. > :08:06.the Times, Peter Ross has done excellent interviews, in almost an

:08:07. > :08:09.the Times, Peter Ross has done old-fashioned way with the leaders

:08:10. > :08:13.of the parties. He has given new stories from them and encounters,

:08:14. > :08:19.which other parts of the media haven't managed to touch on. He

:08:20. > :08:25.mentioned the spoofing, but when you talk about the tank commander, which

:08:26. > :08:31.has been a phenomenon of this campaign, why is it so popular? He

:08:32. > :08:36.is a popular comedian and well-known to the public. In some respects, the

:08:37. > :08:41.bite-size working of it has worked perfectly in the era of the

:08:42. > :08:46.internets and what ever was an Internet commission that found its

:08:47. > :08:53.way onto television. I would advocate a note of caution, because

:08:54. > :08:58.was it dangerous television? No, but was it biting satire? No, but was it

:08:59. > :09:03.funny in places? Yes. We shouldn't get carried away with the fact that

:09:04. > :09:05.because we had some funny clips, that means we have had a profoundly

:09:06. > :09:09.because we had some funny clips, interesting election. We have not. I

:09:10. > :09:16.would have liked Barry to be more ruthless with the questioning, it

:09:17. > :09:21.felt tamer times. I enjoyed it, it was funny but it wasn't dangerous

:09:22. > :09:25.satire. Social media is such a massive part of campaigners, who are

:09:26. > :09:27.satire. Social media is such a the winners, who are the losers? Who

:09:28. > :09:34.controlled it and who didn't? I thought about this before I came in

:09:35. > :09:37.this evening. It wasn't the independence referendum where you

:09:38. > :09:41.could say there was an identifiable growth on the online alternative

:09:42. > :09:48.media sector, if you want to put it that way. I didn't see that engaging

:09:49. > :09:52.in the same way. It was down to the fact it was a foregone conclusion

:09:53. > :09:58.who was going to win. The rest of the parties went up to speed, if you

:09:59. > :10:03.put it broadly speaking, the yes movement and the SNP were coming out

:10:04. > :10:06.of the independence referendum with the great momentum behind them. The

:10:07. > :10:12.other parties had to catch up online and they haven't. In comparison to

:10:13. > :10:16.that, it is a difficult comparison to draw, because it is rare that

:10:17. > :10:22.happens. They just didn't manage to hit those heights. Thank you both

:10:23. > :10:26.very much, we will put some of your points about the photocalls to the

:10:27. > :10:30.spin doctors. We are interested in what you are saying on social media.

:10:31. > :10:37.Let us know what you're saying about the campaign, what you think about

:10:38. > :10:45.the politics and use #SP16. Let's cross to Jackie Bird with the

:10:46. > :10:48.latest headlines. So far, the speculation surrounds the race for

:10:49. > :10:53.second place. Suggestions are emerging from the Glasgow count

:10:54. > :10:57.means Labour may have lost all the constituency seats. I stress, it is

:10:58. > :11:05.only speculation, that the Labour leader of Glasgow City Council gave

:11:06. > :11:09.his reaction. We have expected a tough election campaign and tonight,

:11:10. > :11:13.looking at the early samples, it is looking like we could lose the

:11:14. > :11:18.remaining constituency seats. It is a disappointing night for me because

:11:19. > :11:21.I have been a colleague of those individuals who have worked

:11:22. > :11:23.incredibly hard for their area. We are looking at an election where we

:11:24. > :11:26.need to continue to rebuild. Is it are looking at an election where we

:11:27. > :11:33.conceivable Labour could do so badly? They could come third to the

:11:34. > :11:36.Conservatives. Let's look at the fortunes of those two parties over

:11:37. > :11:43.the last four Scottish Parliament elections. We are looking at the red

:11:44. > :11:48.and the blue lines. 1999, Donald Djourou is in charge becomes the

:11:49. > :11:54.First Minister. Labour take 56 seats and enter into coalition with the

:11:55. > :11:59.Lib Dems. The SNP become the largest opposition party and the

:12:00. > :12:04.Conservatives only have 18 MSPs. By 2003, Jack McConnell is in charge

:12:05. > :12:08.for Labour. The number of MSPs they return falls down to 50 and it is

:12:09. > :12:13.another coalition with the Lib Dems. The Conservatives stayed the same on

:12:14. > :12:18.18. We see a big change, the 2007 elections and amid the chaos of the

:12:19. > :12:22.voting and counting fiasco you may recall, the SNP emerges the largest

:12:23. > :12:28.party and form a minority government. Labour, down again, 46

:12:29. > :12:37.seats. The Conservatives dropping one down to 17. 2011 and the SNP

:12:38. > :12:41.increased their lead, spectacularly and form a majority government and

:12:42. > :12:46.get a mandate for an independence referendum. Labour drop even

:12:47. > :12:53.further, 37 MSPs. The Conservatives are down to 15. So 2016, what will

:12:54. > :12:57.happen? Is the SNP on course for a larger majority? Can Labour hang

:12:58. > :13:03.onto second place or will the red line of their decline cross the

:13:04. > :13:08.blue, putting the party they used to joke weighed their votes in some

:13:09. > :13:11.parts of Scotland, rather than them, into third place? On social media,

:13:12. > :13:18.let's see what they are talking about. Our reporter says the Lib

:13:19. > :13:24.Dems sources are confident the party can hold Orkney and Shetland. The

:13:25. > :13:31.BBC's Andrew Thomson, he is tweeting a picture of ballot boxes. That is

:13:32. > :13:41.David Cockburn, who arrived in a plumber's van. We can see the votes

:13:42. > :13:45.going from rats they... No, said that the next time. I wonder if we

:13:46. > :13:48.need to count the votes at all because looking at the front pages,

:13:49. > :13:54.the Daily Mail seems to have the results already.

:13:55. > :13:57.They always have to take a gamble with their first editions, but less

:13:58. > :14:03.so in this election than some others. Let's bring in our political

:14:04. > :14:06.Campbell. Sir Menzies Campbell, news from your party colleagues in Orkney

:14:07. > :14:12.and Shetland, that there is an expectation you will hold there.

:14:13. > :14:17.Perhaps you might run the SNP close in Edinburgh West? That is what we

:14:18. > :14:21.talked about when we opened the programme. Interestingly, the

:14:22. > :14:28.turnout in Orkney was up to 63%, having been slightly less than 50 in

:14:29. > :14:34.2011. If, as appears to be the case, we don't have the final result, we

:14:35. > :14:37.have held the seat, I think it is a very good indication in the way in

:14:38. > :14:42.which we are travelling in the course of this evening. Can I go

:14:43. > :14:46.back to a point that comes out of the previous discussion. We cannot

:14:47. > :14:50.speculate because we don't know what the results are. But we do have the

:14:51. > :14:56.programme and the way in which the Scottish Government has had itself.

:14:57. > :15:01.On areas like health and education, there is no doubt it has failed to

:15:02. > :15:06.come up to scratch. That is now acknowledged. Even Nicola Sturgeon

:15:07. > :15:12.said in the course of her courage, if you want good public services,

:15:13. > :15:19.you have to pay for them. The only way to pay for them is by increasing

:15:20. > :15:25.tax and take -- taxation. John Sweeney turned out every

:15:26. > :15:32.opportunity. 1p for education, 500 million for early years education

:15:33. > :15:32.and restoring the 150,000 places in further education, which the SNP

:15:33. > :15:46.took away. On taxation, we do not want to turn

:15:47. > :15:52.Scotland the highest taxed part of the UK. The economic situation in

:15:53. > :15:53.Scotland is fragile and we need competitive economy to fund those

:15:54. > :15:56.Scotland is fragile and we need public services. We get a

:15:57. > :15:59.Scotland is fragile and we need competitive economy when we have

:16:00. > :16:02.people with the skills to meet the challenges of modern employment.

:16:03. > :16:05.This was supposed to be the tax election and it was much talked

:16:06. > :16:09.about. There are clear differences between the parties. You think,

:16:10. > :16:14.Johann Lamont, what will the native people when they put their crosses

:16:15. > :16:20.on their ballot papers, or are there other politics, broader politics at

:16:21. > :16:25.play? I think the conversation about taxation is a slightly longer term

:16:26. > :16:31.one. If I were Nicola Sturgeon, and I have already recognised what she

:16:32. > :16:35.has achieved, why is she so timid on the question of taxation? Unlike any

:16:36. > :16:40.left of centre politician in a generation, which is 20 years, she

:16:41. > :16:46.would have the Opposition agreeing with her. She would have Liberal

:16:47. > :16:51.Democrats and Labour saying, you are right, we will support you. Let us

:16:52. > :16:54.have a conversation about how we can win the political argument for

:16:55. > :16:57.taxation. She closed it down. She would rather continue with an

:16:58. > :17:06.argument which said, I will tax economy can work with high public

:17:07. > :17:11.services. Should your party have been bolder on taxation? We have had

:17:12. > :17:17.the election, we are about to have the results, there is no point in

:17:18. > :17:21.refighting the campaign. Five years ago, Tavish Scott, as leader of the

:17:22. > :17:28.Liberal Democrats, was proposing a cut in the basic rate of income tax.

:17:29. > :17:32.That volatility in the liberal position is why they are in the

:17:33. > :17:37.position they are. As far as Johann Lamont is concerned, Nicola Sturgeon

:17:38. > :17:40.put forward a proposal to increase tax yield by ?2 billion over the

:17:41. > :17:47.course of the parliament, that is entirely sensible. In March, 22nd,

:17:48. > :17:54.the SNP divided the House of Commons against the Chancellor's proposal.

:17:55. > :18:09.The Labour Party sat on their hands and abstained. If the Liberals go on

:18:10. > :18:12.these gymnastics from election two election, and the Labour Party:

:18:13. > :18:17.these gymnastics from North to South of the border, you can hardly expect

:18:18. > :18:25.able to disagree with a coherent approach of the SNP. Three parties

:18:26. > :18:33.that are in a bidding war as to who can... He does not agree because

:18:34. > :18:37.they are all feeling degrees of hitting tax up. We are the one party

:18:38. > :18:44.which is saying, you should not make Scotland the highest tax part of the

:18:45. > :18:48.UK. Business leaders are saying we are on a knife edge and we have got

:18:49. > :18:54.to create the conditions in which we can grow the economy, create jobs,

:18:55. > :18:58.and that we generate the resources to fund public services.

:18:59. > :19:03.What I was trying to get too was whether this was a factor people

:19:04. > :19:08.making up their minds in the selection. That will wait to next

:19:09. > :19:14.discussion. Thank you for the moment. A tough

:19:15. > :19:18.night potentially for the Labour Party, as we have been discussing.

:19:19. > :19:27.Ryan Taylor is here. What seats are they most worried about -- Brian

:19:28. > :19:30.Taylor. They want to hold the Conservatives

:19:31. > :19:49.down into third place. But look at some seats, Cowdenbeath, in the

:19:50. > :19:54.by-election Alex Rowley on a fairly narrow majority. Against him was

:19:55. > :20:06.Annabelle Ewing, from the Ewing dynasty. We will be watching that

:20:07. > :20:12.one very closely indeed. Alex Rowley is a key strategist in the party.

:20:13. > :20:19.Across in Dunfermline, again it was a by-election, Bill Walker took the

:20:20. > :20:29.seat last time. The party lost following the court case which saw

:20:30. > :20:37.him convicted of domestic violence. Candle Labour MSP be -- candle

:20:38. > :20:48.Labour MSP be successful again? Edinburgh Southern was held on by

:20:49. > :20:54.the Labour Party. Jim Eadie is the NSP. Can he hold off a challenge

:20:55. > :21:01.from Daniel Johnson? The SNP are fairly confident they can. That is

:21:02. > :21:04.one worth watching, to see whether Labour can replicate the UK general

:21:05. > :21:09.election result in that constituency.

:21:10. > :21:15.What prospects for a Labour, defending a number of

:21:16. > :21:23.constituencies? Former leader Iain Gray is under pressure in East

:21:24. > :21:30.Lothian. But we go live tomorrow tarmac to Motherwell. -- we go live

:21:31. > :21:37.to Motherwell. It is not looking good for a Labour

:21:38. > :21:44.here. These to joke about weighing the vote here in Lanarkshire rather

:21:45. > :21:47.than counting it. If Labour is to have any hope of holding onto some

:21:48. > :21:54.first past the post constituencies, then the Lanarkshire seats must hold

:21:55. > :22:00.some hope. But things are looking poor for the party. Five seats are

:22:01. > :22:05.going to be counted here tonight in Motherwell. Three of them were held

:22:06. > :22:11.by Labour back in 2011. The other two went to the SNP. All those three

:22:12. > :22:16.Labour seats were held by relatively small majorities, though. Let's take

:22:17. > :22:23.a look at his defending what. Motherwell and Wishaw used to be

:22:24. > :22:28.Jack McConnell's seat. It was held by a majority of just under 600 by

:22:29. > :22:34.John Pentland in 2011. He is facing a very real fight to hold that seat.

:22:35. > :22:39.In Uddingston and Bellshill, Michael McMahon, his majority last time

:22:40. > :22:48.round was just under 700. Coatbridge and Chryston, Elaine Smith, she had

:22:49. > :22:51.the best of the three Labour majorities but by no means safe.

:22:52. > :22:56.Three tiny Labour majorities relative to what they used to have

:22:57. > :23:02.in what used to be an absolute Labour Party fortress. Since 2011 we

:23:03. > :23:06.have seen the SNP take all the Westminster seats in the area, and

:23:07. > :23:12.it was also an area which voted yes on the independence referendum. You

:23:13. > :23:20.can see why the SNP has reason to be optimistic here. Alex Neil the

:23:21. > :23:34.cabinet minister has a majority of around 2000 in Airdrie and Shotts.

:23:35. > :23:38.Jamie Hepburn also has a majority. He was looking fairly relaxed, but

:23:39. > :23:44.there is not such a relaxed look on Labour Party faces this evening. As

:23:45. > :23:46.far as the timescale is concerned, we are expecting the first of the

:23:47. > :23:53.constituency declarations around two o'clock. We are looking at sometime

:23:54. > :23:58.around six o'clock before we get the regional list vote which is being

:23:59. > :24:06.counted here. That is the senior in Motherwell this evening. Now we will

:24:07. > :24:09.join my colleague in Haddington. Good evening. Short time ago the

:24:10. > :24:16.former Scottish Labour leader Iain Gray arrived, he was looking fairly

:24:17. > :24:18.nervous and he is good -- has good cause to be looking worried because

:24:19. > :24:25.there is real possibility that he will lose his seat year, one that he

:24:26. > :24:31.has held since 2007. At the Scottish election in 2011 he won by just 151

:24:32. > :24:36.votes, with the SNP snapping at his heels. That was a disastrous night

:24:37. > :24:40.for Labour, which led to him resigning as Scottish Labour leader.

:24:41. > :24:46.It looks like tonight might be even more disastrous for Labour. Here in

:24:47. > :24:50.East Lothian, it has been traditionally a Labour area in

:24:51. > :24:58.Holyrood and Westminster, but that changed last year when the SNP take

:24:59. > :25:01.the seat from Labour, from the Westminster constituency of East

:25:02. > :25:07.Lothian, a seat which Labour had held for the best part of 50 years.

:25:08. > :25:12.The SNP tonight I really hope in that they can mirror that victory at

:25:13. > :25:18.the Holyrood elections as well. The man that they have standing for the

:25:19. > :25:24.SNP is called DJ Johnston-Smith. He is a local man, from just down the

:25:25. > :25:27.road in Prestonpans. He was chair of the Yes campaign here in East

:25:28. > :25:32.Lothian and was also the party agent for George Kerevan, who take that

:25:33. > :25:38.Westminster East Lothian seat from for George Kerevan, who take that

:25:39. > :25:41.Labour for the SNP. But if Iain Gray loses tonight, his constituency, he

:25:42. > :25:46.still has a chance of getting back to Holyrood because he is number one

:25:47. > :25:48.on the Labour Party list for the South of Scotland region, East

:25:49. > :25:54.Lothian as part of the South Scotland region. If DJ

:25:55. > :26:00.Johnston-Smith loses tonight, he has plenty of things he can do. He has

:26:01. > :26:04.run pubs for 15 years and was apparently Scottish pub personality

:26:05. > :26:15.of the year and was run up in the UK best high of the year competition as

:26:16. > :26:18.well. He is looking like he is quite comfortable tonight. The SNP are

:26:19. > :26:22.looking quite pleased with themselves, the Labour Party are

:26:23. > :26:28.looking quite nervous. The counting of the postal votes is now finished

:26:29. > :26:32.and all of ballot boxes are in the polling stations are owned East

:26:33. > :26:36.Lothian. We are hoping for a declaration at around 3:30am. The

:26:37. > :26:42.suites are just being passed round now to keep us all going until then.

:26:43. > :26:46.We will bring you any more news. Iain Gray may well be looking

:26:47. > :26:51.nervous about his prospects in that constituency. He has taken out an

:26:52. > :26:56.insurance policy, he is the lead candidate on the South of Scotland

:26:57. > :27:01.list vote. The same goes for MSPs like Johann Lamont, if she was the

:27:02. > :27:05.lose the Glasgow Pollok seat she is second on the list for the Glasgow

:27:06. > :27:11.region and stands a very good chance of remaining in Parliament as a

:27:12. > :27:17.regional MSP as opposed to a constituency representative.

:27:18. > :27:19.That is quite a big change in approach for Labour at the

:27:20. > :27:25.selection. It is a source of innocent merriment for those of us

:27:26. > :27:35.who have followed politics for well to see Labour so keen to win seats

:27:36. > :27:39.on the West. There was top of them being backed or MSPs or even

:27:40. > :27:44.second-class by the Labour Party. But those days are gone and Labour

:27:45. > :27:51.is now dependent, to some extent, perhaps to a large extent, on the

:27:52. > :27:59.list. The figures here in Glasgow, Johann Lamont and Anas Sarwar are

:28:00. > :28:03.numbers one and two. North East Scotland, Jenny Marra, Lewis

:28:04. > :28:07.Macdonald, one and two. Jackie Baillie in the West of Scotland.

:28:08. > :28:10.There are whole pile of MSPs, if they do not linear constituencies,

:28:11. > :28:16.they will be dependent upon the list. There is nothing wrong with

:28:17. > :28:19.that, it is the system that was designed in the Scottish Parliament

:28:20. > :28:22.to be correct if upon the distortions of the first past the

:28:23. > :28:26.post Parliamentary system. It was deliberately designed by Labour with

:28:27. > :28:31.that in mind. It is just a little bit amusing for those of us who take

:28:32. > :28:37.a slightly ironic view of things to go back to 1999 and a rather

:28:38. > :28:39.different perspective. Could you talk a little bit more about how the

:28:40. > :28:41.system works, and what way and to talk a little bit more about how the

:28:42. > :28:46.what extent the proportional regional list two balance out the

:28:47. > :28:54.Parliament after the constituency vote iron? The regional list vote is

:28:55. > :28:57.crucial to determining the overall shape of the Parliament. The idea

:28:58. > :29:02.here is that that should be that the share of the vote that rugby is

:29:03. > :29:06.reflected in Parliament is reflected in the share of the seats --

:29:07. > :29:09.properly. That should be a cause for concern for the Labour Party,

:29:10. > :29:14.because in past elections they have done better in terms of their vote

:29:15. > :29:16.because in past elections they have share in the constituencies than

:29:17. > :29:22.they have done in the list. If that is repeated this time around, you

:29:23. > :29:26.will receive fewer top-up seats, fewer additional members, and that

:29:27. > :29:37.will have an overall detrimental effect on the overall seats in

:29:38. > :29:40.parliament, given that Labour are predicted to win fewer seats in the

:29:41. > :29:55.constituencies. I want to talk about turnout. We are

:29:56. > :30:01.getting mixed messages. Frank Maccabi T suggested that turnout was

:30:02. > :30:05.down. There are suggestions that turnout I don't in places like

:30:06. > :30:09.Rutherglen, from the count in that part of the country. But from

:30:10. > :30:15.Orkney, and we have confirmed turnout figure of 62%, which is

:30:16. > :30:19.considerably up on 2011. It might be that people are comparing different

:30:20. > :30:24.elections, as opposed to comparing this with the last Holyrood vote.

:30:25. > :30:31.Anything you are picking up that can clarify? Those figures in Orkney are

:30:32. > :30:37.intriguing. I was in Orkney during the campaign in a blizzard in late

:30:38. > :30:40.spring. Nonetheless, it that blizzard one could discern that that

:30:41. > :30:48.is a really fascinating contest that is going on. A real blood fight

:30:49. > :30:52.between the incumbent MSP and the insurgent. It has been an incredible

:30:53. > :30:58.fight. You have Orkney, a constituency that had the biggest no

:30:59. > 3:36:37vote in the referendum, and yet you have the serious prospect of the SNP

3:36:38 > 3:36:37taking constituency against the incumbent Liberal Democrat in an

3:36:38 > 3:36:37area where they have in Liberal Democrat since the very early days.

3:36:38 > 3:36:37It has been an amazing contest. Perhaps that has energised the poor

3:36:38 > 3:36:37dear. -- people bear. I want to get out and about around

3:36:38 > 3:36:37the country but put this contest in perspective because we have been

3:36:38 > 3:36:37spoiled by high turnout recently. You would expect the turnout be

3:36:38 > 3:36:37lower than what we had in the general election last year but we

3:36:38 > 3:36:37look at previous Scottish parliament elections. It has never reached 67%.

3:36:38 > 3:36:37Forgot to that skill, it would suggest voter participation increase

3:36:38 > 3:36:37is continuing. Let us go to the West Coast and more

3:36:38 > 3:36:37pressure for some well-known faces. Fiona Walker is in Clydebank and

3:36:38 > 3:36:37what is the story there? We have got to hot tickets. One is

3:36:38 > 3:36:37Clydebank and Milngavie and the other is Dumbarton. That's probably

3:36:38 > 3:36:37what you are alluding to because Dumbarton is Jackie Baillie's seat.

3:36:38 > 3:36:37A big name in Scottish Labour, potential leader at one part won

3:36:38 > 3:36:37point. She is one of those ones to watch. You are also mentioning this

3:36:38 > 3:36:37insurance policy of being top of the list. That is what she has done.

3:36:38 > 3:36:37Although it would be massively significant if she lost her

3:36:38 > 3:36:37constituency seat, there is every chance we will see her back at

3:36:38 > 3:36:37Holyrood cos she's top of the liberal list for the West of

3:36:38 > 3:36:37Scotland. Clydebank and Milngavie is also clear. Clydebank historically

3:36:38 > 3:36:37was red Clydebank but it's turned also clear. Clydebank historically

3:36:38 > 3:36:37yellow in 2011. Again, as the SNP took parts of the country that time

3:36:38 > 3:36:37around, you read expect, looking at the bigger picture tonight and

3:36:38 > 3:36:37Marines on the floor behind me, that that SNP margin will be increased.

3:36:38 > 3:36:37It is interesting. Nobody is looking that comfortable. Scottish politics

3:36:38 > 3:36:37has been turned on its head like in other parts of the country. Nobody

3:36:38 > 3:36:37is taking anything as a given. In fact, people are looking quite

3:36:38 > 3:36:37nervous, checking papers one by one. This is before the real lists are

3:36:38 > 3:36:37piling up. We would expect the first announcements, probably the

3:36:38 > 3:36:37Clydebank and Milngavie constituency, probably after 2am. In

3:36:38 > 3:36:37the meantime, the heads are down and watching carefully. We will no go to

3:36:38 > 3:36:37Greenock. Good evening from the leisure centre

3:36:38 > 3:36:37here. This is usually an ice skating rink. Fear not because it has been

3:36:38 > 3:36:37covered up and know funds from me about politicians potentially

3:36:38 > 3:36:37skating on thin ice. The ballot boxes arrived here from 11:30pm.

3:36:38 > 3:36:37There were comments and concerns about turnout in this constituency

3:36:38 > 3:36:37being very low. That has yet to be confirmed. Certainly that seems to

3:36:38 > 3:36:37be a genuine belief from some people high up in speaking to. This is a

3:36:38 > 3:36:37Labour heartland. Duncan Mick Newell who is standing down as an MSP has

3:36:38 > 3:36:37held the seat since the Scottish parliament was created in 1999. If

3:36:38 > 3:36:37the SNP, as they think they're going to, when this seat, that would be

3:36:38 > 3:36:37some story indeed. They are a very confident bunch. They are speaking a

3:36:38 > 3:36:37good game. One of their list candidates has told me that they are

3:36:38 > 3:36:37confident of a solid result. We will watch with interest on that one.

3:36:38 > 3:36:37Duncan McNeil is standing down and that, coupled with the SNP's

3:36:38 > 3:36:37popularity, means that Stuart MacGill in is very confidence that

3:36:38 > 3:36:37he can win this seat at a third time of asking -- Stewart Milne. He

3:36:38 > 3:36:37celebrates his birthday tomorrow. In 2011 he lost out but last time

3:36:38 > 3:36:37around they were getting closer and closer and he only lost by 511

3:36:38 > 3:36:37votes. The Labour candidate is a new face. She has not stood as an MSP

3:36:38 > 3:36:37before but she is known very locally around this constituency. She is

3:36:38 > 3:36:37hoping her local knowledge will count for something. It is unlikely

3:36:38 > 3:36:37that the Conservatives are the lab demo -- Lib Dems will make much in

3:36:38 > 3:36:37route. I was speaking to the constituency candidate Graeme

3:36:38 > 3:36:37Brooks. He said if he won a few more thoughts on last time he would be

3:36:38 > 3:36:37happy. John Watson is the Liberal Democrats candidate and he, along

3:36:38 > 3:36:37with the other candidates, are also on the regional list as well. In

3:36:38 > 3:36:37terms of the declaration, we think around about the 30 AM -- 3:30am.

3:36:38 > 3:36:37terms of the declaration, we think The regional list declaration will

3:36:38 > 3:36:37take place sometime after that. Some way to go here. From the freezing

3:36:38 > 3:36:37ice rink behind me, I will hand you to my colleague Sally McNair.

3:36:38 > 3:36:37I am at another ice rink and am happy to say that it was removed on

3:36:38 > 3:36:37Sunday and it is perfectly warm here. The big names here includes

3:36:38 > 3:36:37Derek Mackay. The SNP convener. He took the seat in 2011 with a fairly

3:36:38 > 3:36:37comfortable majority 1500 and nobody expects him to lose tonight. One

3:36:38 > 3:36:37name that we will not be seeing the results tomorrow morning is that of

3:36:38 > 3:36:37Labour stalwart Hugh Henry at the age of 64. He is stepping down. He

3:36:38 > 3:36:37is one of the largest Labour majorities in Scotland so Councillor

3:36:38 > 3:36:37Paul O'Kane has a fairly safe bet. One of the first results we should

3:36:38 > 3:36:37get is from Paisley. That is an interesting one because it is

3:36:38 > 3:36:37currently held by the SMP's George Adam. We will have to wait and see

3:36:38 > 3:36:37how things go tonight. We expect the first results BN

3:36:38 > 3:36:37around three 30 AM and then a flurry of results at 4:30am.

3:36:38 > 3:36:37We have two new panellists. Polling McNeil has a Labour candidate that

3:36:38 > 3:36:37the selection and a former member of the Scottish for Glasgow Kelvin. And

3:36:38 > 3:36:37Alan Smith who is the SNP European representative. A word on the count

3:36:38 > 3:36:37in the Borders. At least one of them, we are hearing from our

3:36:38 > 3:36:37reporter. We're hearing that Ettrick, Roxburgh and Berwickshire

3:36:38 > 3:36:37is likely to be held. David Mandel was asked if he was confident about

3:36:38 > 3:36:37his party's specs in that seat and he said he was. We will keep you

3:36:38 > 3:36:37up-to-date on that. We will also bring you up-to-date figures on

3:36:38 > 3:36:37up-to-date on that. We will also turnout as they come in. We were

3:36:38 > 3:36:37touching on that earlier. Let me bring in our new guests. It does

3:36:38 > 3:36:37indeed seem to be shaping up as a good night the SNP how good?

3:36:38 > 3:36:37Hope long is a piece of string at the moment? We are confident. We

3:36:38 > 3:36:37have said it before and must see it again, to repeat the result from

3:36:38 > 3:36:37last round was already an exceptional results to get that for

3:36:38 > 3:36:37a historic third term would be incredible. We will see what happens

3:36:38 > 3:36:37but cautiously optimistic. There is the Deputy First Minister

3:36:38 > 3:36:37John Swinney. Not sure if he looks cautiously optimistic. If he does

3:36:38 > 3:36:37not save your -- secured the constituency vote, given the

3:36:38 > 3:36:37messages the other parties are sent out about that any opinion falling

3:36:38 > 3:36:37that suggested the SNP not doing quite as well on the list, could

3:36:38 > 3:36:37that be difficult to get over that magic line?

3:36:38 > 3:36:37We will see. That was why we were for throws in promoting the board

3:36:38 > 3:36:37votes message. -- vociferous. It is not a second preference. It is a

3:36:38 > 3:36:37different fought for a different set of politicians.

3:36:38 > 3:36:37We will see how successful are message has been. Has Labour had a

3:36:38 > 3:36:37proper second vote strategy for the selection? You have only stood on

3:36:38 > 3:36:37the list for the Glasgow region, your fourth placed on that to be

3:36:38 > 3:36:37elected for Labour. I've put in the effort required?

3:36:38 > 3:36:37I think we've put in the effort. If you mean a party that has benefited

3:36:38 > 3:36:37for so long from the constituency vote then it is quite a seismic

3:36:38 > 3:36:37shift to change your strategy on to quite a different system. Alan is

3:36:38 > 3:36:37right. There is still a bit of confusion about what the second vote

3:36:38 > 3:36:37actually is. To be fair, I think it has worked for all political parties

3:36:38 > 3:36:37to get that. We would say the SNP is probably a wasted vote on the less

3:36:38 > 3:36:37and they would say otherwise. It depends how you think the night will

3:36:38 > 3:36:37pan out. If the SNP as predicted are going to have a good night and it

3:36:38 > 3:36:37will not get much on the list. It depends how you want to view

3:36:38 > 3:36:37this. Some candidates tonight... Bad news for them is good news for

3:36:38 > 3:36:37you. I have colleagues that I worked with

3:36:38 > 3:36:37for a long time and I do not know what would hold for them. That is

3:36:38 > 3:36:37the system. It is designed to balance up a party of the majority

3:36:38 > 3:36:37so there is a decent number in the opposition.

3:36:38 > 3:36:37Let us cross live to Glenrothes where we can speak with Thomas

3:36:38 > 3:36:37Docherty, a former Labour MP who lost the seat in 2015 but is seeking

3:36:38 > 3:36:37re-election as a list candidates. Reflecting back on the campaign that

3:36:38 > 3:36:37Labour has fought, how do you think it has gone?

3:36:38 > 3:36:37I think we can begin by putting into context the general election result

3:36:38 > 3:36:37last year in Scotland was Labour's worst performance since 1918. We

3:36:38 > 3:36:37only polled 24.3% of the vote. All the indications tonight are that we

3:36:38 > 3:36:37have gone further backwards from that and I do not even think the

3:36:38 > 3:36:37records show the result as bad as this in the hundred and ten plus

3:36:38 > 3:36:37years of the Labour Party in Scotland. It is quite clear we have

3:36:38 > 3:36:37had a bad night. Is that because the SNP are so

3:36:38 > 3:36:37strong at the moment or does Labour have to take some responsibility for

3:36:38 > 3:36:37a result like that if that is where you end up and for the campaign

3:36:38 > 3:36:37message that you have used to try and shore up Labour support?

3:36:38 > 3:36:37The indications tonight and from the opinion polls is that we are

3:36:38 > 3:36:37fighting with the Conservative Party for second place. The swing that we

3:36:38 > 3:36:37have seen tonight has been away from Labour and towards the Conservative

3:36:38 > 3:36:37Party and the indications that we are seeing are something like seven

3:36:38 > 3:36:37out of ten, perhaps three quarters of Scots, who have gone to the polls

3:36:38 > 3:36:37tonight have voted for a centre or centre-right party. The reality is

3:36:38 > 3:36:37that if you stand on a platform that promises to raise taxes for

3:36:38 > 3:36:37everybody earning over ?20,000, and unambiguously socialist platform

3:36:38 > 3:36:37that calls for the scrapping of Triton amongst other things, and

3:36:38 > 3:36:37with the UK reader that we have, there is a correlation with the fact

3:36:38 > 3:36:37that are vote is going down. Possibly falling to one in five. And

3:36:38 > 3:36:37the Conservative vote at the same time going up. Someone once

3:36:38 > 3:36:37described the famous 1883 manifestos the longest suicide note in history.

3:36:38 > 3:36:37The manifesto we stayed on his self a Malaysian for dummies. -- self

3:36:38 > 3:36:37Malaysian. On Labour's tax policy, Eddie

3:36:38 > 3:36:37appeasing a penny on income tax and introducing a top rate -- was

3:36:38 > 3:36:37Kezia Dugdale deserves a huge amount of credit for taking on the argument

3:36:38 > 3:36:37around austerity and the choices he made about public services. But all

3:36:38 > 3:36:37of the polling shows, and experience shows us, that voters believe that

3:36:38 > 3:36:37somebody else should pay more in tax, so the 50% tax rate, bashing

3:36:38 > 3:36:37tax havens, of course that is popular electoral league, but the

3:36:38 > 3:36:37opinion polls show time and time again that something like two thirds

3:36:38 > 3:36:37of Scots did not believe that the should pay more in tax, and you have

3:36:38 > 3:36:37to respect that. The tax policy, among other things, has not

3:36:38 > 3:36:37succeeded electorally. The fact that the Conservative Artie is going up,

3:36:38 > 3:36:37and I think it is fair to say that they have a strong chance of

3:36:38 > 3:36:37and I think it is fair to say that overtaking us, certainly in this

3:36:38 > 3:36:37region and some others, the Labour Party needs to have a debate about

3:36:38 > 3:36:37our policy on tax, it needs to have a debate much more about the

3:36:38 > 3:36:37direction of travel for the party. In a word, given what you have said

3:36:38 > 3:36:37and the criticisms you have made, do you have faith in the party's

3:36:38 > 3:36:37leadership in Scotland and the UK? Anybody who thinks that Kezia

3:36:38 > 3:36:37Dugdale should resign should go and lie down in a dark room for sometime

3:36:38 > 3:36:37because we have gone through something like six leaders in eight

3:36:38 > 3:36:37years. Kezia Dugdale has fought a courageous and dignified campaign

3:36:38 > 3:36:37and it has the stay as her leadership, and that rebuilding has

3:36:38 > 3:36:37to remain. This is not the time for moving against Jeremy Corbyn but we

3:36:38 > 3:36:37need to have a debate. Jeremy Corbyn has played very badly as parts of

3:36:38 > 3:36:37Scotland there are some parts where he has been a small help. But the

3:36:38 > 3:36:37reality is that we are losing perhaps one in five voters. On the

3:36:38 > 3:36:37doorstep, time and time again, Jeremy Corbyn, our tax policy,

3:36:38 > 3:36:37Trident, has come up. We have to have the debate, if we want to be

3:36:38 > 3:36:37relevant again, do not want to go through a night like this again, we

3:36:38 > 3:36:37relevant again, do not want to go have to debate what on earth the

3:36:38 > 3:36:37Labour Party is trying to achieve. You have started that debate right

3:36:38 > 3:36:37now. Thomas Docherty, former Labour MP. I think his phrase will be

3:36:38 > 3:36:37quoted back throughout the night. As well as the race for whomever will

3:36:38 > 3:36:37become First Minister, there are plenty of contests throughout the

3:36:38 > 3:36:37country. This election makes for some

3:36:38 > 3:36:37fascinating local battles between some well-known faces. So many of

3:36:38 > 3:36:37them could deliver an upset. Let's take a quick trip around Scotland.

3:36:38 > 3:36:37We start down in the south-west corner in Galloway and western

3:36:38 > 3:36:37We start down in the south-west Freese. This was once and SNP seat,

3:36:38 > 3:36:37but has been a conservative stronghold for 13 years. The former

3:36:38 > 3:36:37Presiding Officer is retiring. Finlay Carson is standing for the

3:36:38 > 3:36:37Tories. He stayed for -- he stood for Westminster last year but was

3:36:38 > 3:36:37swept away by the SNP tsunami. He is up against Aileen McLeod, who needs

3:36:38 > 3:36:37a swing of less than 2% to win. Let's head North to Glasgow, to Mary

3:36:38 > 3:36:37Helen Springburn. It's a return bout between Patricia Ferguson and Bob

3:36:38 > 3:36:37Doris. She has represented merely held since 1999. He is currently a

3:36:38 > 3:36:37Glasgow list MSP. This is the third time in a row that they have fought

3:36:38 > 3:36:37each other for this seat. Will it be third time lucky for Bob Doris.

3:36:38 > 3:36:37Right around the coast to the Northern Isles, to Shetland,

3:36:38 > 3:36:37Scotland's most northerly constituency. The Northern Isles are

3:36:38 > 3:36:37traditional redoubt of the Liberal Democrats. This seat is held by

3:36:38 > 3:36:37Tavish Scott. Danus Skene is hoping to overturn that result. At the

3:36:38 > 3:36:37general election he almost beat Alistair Carmichael. Can you conquer

3:36:38 > 3:36:37another Lib Dem to when Shetland for the nationalist? It is a big

3:36:38 > 3:36:37challenge, he needs an 18% swing for victory. Let's head South. Back to

3:36:38 > 3:36:37the mainland. Back to the Granite city. Hard battle in Aberdeen

3:36:38 > 3:36:37Central. The SNP 's Kevin Stewart has represented this seat since

3:36:38 > 3:36:372011. He is standing against the man he beat, the veteran Labour MSP

3:36:38 > 3:36:37Lewis Macdonald, who had held the seat and is 1999. It was a close

3:36:38 > 3:36:37contest last time around. Labour need a swing of just over 1% to take

3:36:38 > 3:36:37it back. The voters know them both very well indeed, so who will be

3:36:38 > 3:36:37choose? Let's travel down the East very well indeed, so who will be

3:36:38 > 3:36:37Coast, down to Dunfermline, seat Brian Taylor mentioned a short time

3:36:38 > 3:36:37ago. One of the biggest towns in Fife, and a contest between two

3:36:38 > 3:36:37politicians. The incumbent is Labour's Cara Hilton, the daughter

3:36:38 > 3:36:37of another former Labour MSP. She won the seat from the NSP -- SNP in

3:36:38 > 3:36:37a by-election three years ago, during the life of the last

3:36:38 > 3:36:37Parliament. Now she is up against Shirley-Anne Somerville, the SNP's

3:36:38 > 3:36:37Parliament. Now she is up against Deputy Chief Executive. Based on

3:36:38 > 3:36:37that by-election result, the SNP leader 6% swing to take this seat.

3:36:38 > 3:36:37What is odd about this contest is that it was won by the SNP at the

3:36:38 > 3:36:37last Scottish election. So if they win it tonight it will count

3:36:38 > 3:36:37officially as a held seat for them. It will not be a win. Lots of

3:36:38 > 3:36:37fascinating contest, lots of big personalities, all of them will make

3:36:38 > 3:36:37a difference to the overall results. We will have news from Dunfermline

3:36:38 > 3:36:37in a moment. First, we cross the East Kilbride.

3:36:38 > 3:36:37I am hearing from SNP activists here about the Rutherglen count, which is

3:36:38 > 3:36:37held at the moment by James Kelly for a that they have in fact taken

3:36:38 > 3:36:37the seat with about 55% of the vote. That is based on exit polls carried

3:36:38 > 3:36:37out by the SNP. I do have a confirmed figure for the turnout in

3:36:38 > 3:36:37Rutherglen. It is 54.5%. That is up from the 47% of 2011. That's quite

3:36:38 > 3:36:37interesting in terms of the increased turnout. It is not as high

3:36:38 > 3:36:37as the general election last year, or the referendum the year before.

3:36:38 > 3:36:37But it shows that the voting in the Scottish Parliament elections is

3:36:38 > 3:36:37getting back to healthy level. While you have been talking, says

3:36:38 > 3:36:37Lanarkshire Council, responsible for that count, has tweeted to say that

3:36:38 > 3:36:37adjudication of doubtful ballot papers is happening, which is good

3:36:38 > 3:36:37news, because it means that they will soon be announcing the

3:36:38 > 3:36:37Rutherglen constituency result. That may well be our first result of the

3:36:38 > 3:36:37evening. It did not come before 12 o'clock as might have hoped, but it

3:36:38 > 3:36:37sounds like it is coming soon. I do not know how long we will have to

3:36:38 > 3:36:37wait for a Fife results, but let us go to Glenrothes.

3:36:38 > 3:36:37Good evening. We are in Glenrothes One. I think you heard from

3:36:38 > 3:36:37Glenrothes One earlier. The codes that are going on here at the

3:36:38 > 3:36:37moment, they are still verifying that are going on here at the

3:36:38 > 3:36:37them, Cowdenbeath and on farmland. Both of them are really interesting

3:36:38 > 3:36:37seats. Relatively new constituencies. -- Dunfermline. What

3:36:38 > 3:36:37many people would have thought until constituencies. -- Dunfermline. What

3:36:38 > 3:36:37a few years ago would be Labour heartland. They have been taken are

3:36:38 > 3:36:37held by Labour in by-elections recently. Really interesting target

3:36:38 > 3:36:37seats. Alex Rowley in Cowdenbeath took the seat in 2014 at the death

3:36:38 > 3:36:37of Helen Eadie, the well-respected Labour MSP who had been in the seat.

3:36:38 > 3:36:37Obviously a very prominent figure in the Labour Party, former leader of

3:36:38 > 3:36:37Fife Council, former general secretary of the Labour Party. Close

3:36:38 > 3:36:37adviser to Gordon Brown and Kezia Dugdale's Deputy. A big the ten next

3:36:38 > 3:36:37target for the SNP here. And also that one seat that they failed to

3:36:38 > 3:36:37win in mid-Scotland. You can see why it is a big target. Dunfermline,

3:36:38 > 3:36:37Cara Hilton, in 2013 she took that seat. It was a by-election triggered

3:36:38 > 3:36:37by the resignation of Bill Walker, who was convicted of domestic abuse,

3:36:38 > 3:36:37that was an SNP seat which went to Cara Hilton, who is Labour. Again,

3:36:38 > 3:36:37target seats cause it is all the time Labour has taken a seat in a

3:36:38 > 3:36:37by-election from the SNP. You can see why they are real target seats

3:36:38 > 3:36:37and of real interest to the SNP. They are not complacent about it,

3:36:38 > 3:36:37they are wheeling out the big guns to target those two seats. They have

3:36:38 > 3:36:37Annabelle Ewing, from the famous Scottish poet call family, and also

3:36:38 > 3:36:37Shirley-Anne Somerville, Deputy chief executive of the SNP. -- the

3:36:38 > 3:36:37famous political family. We will see whether they have what it takes to

3:36:38 > 3:36:37take those seats. An interesting mixture of old and new, change and

3:36:38 > 3:36:37stability, and I suppose we will get a result eventually.

3:36:38 > 3:36:37I just want to get a quick word from Brian Taylor. A few moments ago we

3:36:38 > 3:36:37heard from Thomas Docherty of Labour, he said that it is

3:36:38 > 3:36:37self-immolation for dummies for a That is an incredible statement. A

3:36:38 > 3:36:37very senior figure in the party, a former MP, regarded as a player,

3:36:38 > 3:36:37strategist, he knows how to win votes for the most part unless the

3:36:38 > 3:36:37tide is completely against them. He is prepared to say that the party's

3:36:38 > 3:36:37campaign has been a dead loss. He was prepared to make a distinction

3:36:38 > 3:36:37between the Scottish leadership and Jeremy Corbyn. He was plainly saying

3:36:38 > 3:36:37the fight against Mr card and will resume the minute the European

3:36:38 > 3:36:37referendums openly -- Jeremy Corbyn. He was also saying that anybody who

3:36:38 > 3:36:37goes against Kezia Dugdale and Alex Rowley needs they are -- their head

3:36:38 > 3:36:37goes against Kezia Dugdale and Alex examined. They have fought a binary

3:36:38 > 3:36:37track. They have been trying to win every single vote at every single

3:36:38 > 3:36:37seat, and the leadership has been trying to shore up their own

3:36:38 > 3:36:37position. They know that there has to be another period of

3:36:38 > 3:36:37introspection by Labour, yes, another one. It will follow these

3:36:38 > 3:36:37elections. Thomas Docherty is trying to nail down the nature of the

3:36:38 > 3:36:37policies, left and right, socialist versus alternative perspectives from

3:36:38 > 3:36:37policies, left and right, socialist the Labour Party.

3:36:38 > 3:36:37Back to our panel. Andrew Dunlop, for the Conservatives, another thing

3:36:38 > 3:36:37Thomas Docherty was saying was that Labour was losing support to your

3:36:38 > 3:36:37party. In some parts of the country there is more of a close fight

3:36:38 > 3:36:37between the two than others. I think there is more of a close fight

3:36:38 > 3:36:37the difference between the Scottish Conservatives and Labour in this

3:36:38 > 3:36:37the difference between the Scottish election is that we are absolutely

3:36:38 > 3:36:37clear what we stand for. One of Labour's the problems is it is not

3:36:38 > 3:36:37clear what they stand for. Not a representative sample, but speaking

3:36:38 > 3:36:37to the cab driver who brought me year, we were talking about the

3:36:38 > 3:36:37election, he said that. We do not know what Labour stands for any

3:36:38 > 3:36:37longer. What we are seeing is a battle for the soul of the Labour

3:36:38 > 3:36:37Party. There is division and that is what really crucifies the party,

3:36:38 > 3:36:37whether it is on Trident, whether it is on tax, whether it is even on

3:36:38 > 3:36:37whether it is on Trident, whether it defending the union. This idea that

3:36:38 > 3:36:37Labour candidates can go out and campaign for independence. It is no

3:36:38 > 3:36:37longer clear what the Labour Party stands for, and that is a real

3:36:38 > 3:36:37problem for them in this election. And yet, in this election, Kezia

3:36:38 > 3:36:37Dugdale, on every interview occasion, at every opportunity, said

3:36:38 > 3:36:37Labour stood for putting up taxes to raise additional revenue to stop the

3:36:38 > 3:36:37cuts. What could be clearer than that?

3:36:38 > 3:36:37The problem as she was also fighting against the attitude to Jeremy

3:36:38 > 3:36:37Corbyn. Andy Burnham was defeated candidate for the Labour leadership

3:36:38 > 3:36:37and is generally regarded as being a playwright. If people like

3:36:38 > 3:36:37haemorrhagic now saying they will not be bothered but the fight and

3:36:38 > 3:36:37will call off someone else, that is an additional dimension to the

3:36:38 > 3:36:37problems that Labour has. As Thomas Docherty was seeing, on the 24th of

3:36:38 > 3:36:37June, the effort to replace Jeremy Corbyn will begin. How successful

3:36:38 > 3:36:37that will be will be problematic because he was elected on the

3:36:38 > 3:36:37extraordinary support of the vast a membership. Join for three quid and

3:36:38 > 3:36:37you can afford for the leader. Anyone who tries to remove them will

3:36:38 > 3:36:37find themselves undoubtably at odds with the membership in general. All

3:36:38 > 3:36:37that means is that this letter will get bigger.

3:36:38 > 3:36:37Your party leader, Tim Farron, came once. The Conservative leader did

3:36:38 > 3:36:37not make it. Surely the selection compared to all the others has had

3:36:38 > 3:36:37the least involvement from UK politicians in the campaign. Is that

3:36:38 > 3:36:37a big change and if so why? You are right to distinguish Tim

3:36:38 > 3:36:37Farron from others because he has been coming for six months. It is

3:36:38 > 3:36:37not a question of avoiding responsibilities, anything but. If

3:36:38 > 3:36:37you see to David Cameron not to come north and then Jeremy Corbyn not

3:36:38 > 3:36:37come north, that is different to what you would have expected in the

3:36:38 > 3:36:37past. I remember John Major coming when I was trying to hold a seat.

3:36:38 > 3:36:37They just haven't been there this time.

3:36:38 > 3:36:37It may also be a reflection of the fact that Scottish politics is

3:36:38 > 3:36:37different from United Kingdom politics and what carries with an

3:36:38 > 3:36:37impetus in the rest of the reality kingdom does not necessarily carry

3:36:38 > 3:36:37it in Scotland. This is the consequence of

3:36:38 > 3:36:37devolution. This is an election about the Scottish parliament. It is

3:36:38 > 3:36:37not David Cameron's name on the ballot paper. It is quite right that

3:36:38 > 3:36:37Ruth Davidson should lead our campaign and that is what she has

3:36:38 > 3:36:37done. You would agree that it is a change

3:36:38 > 3:36:37of approach. I concentrated on you to the cause I know you're moving

3:36:38 > 3:36:37on. Perhaps will see you later in the evening. Right now I want to

3:36:38 > 3:36:37catch up with Jackie Bird and the headlines so far.

3:36:38 > 3:36:37Still waiting for that first result, expected to be in Rutherglen, as we

3:36:38 > 3:36:37keep seeing. Tonight there is up. It is clear there has been no real

3:36:38 > 3:36:37drop-off. -- turnout there is up. The knock-on from that was last year

3:36:38 > 3:36:37in the general election. In Scotland, compared to 66% for the

3:36:38 > 3:36:37whole of the UK. 12 years after the inauguration,

3:36:38 > 3:36:37turnout had dropped to just over 50% last time around. It was as low as

3:36:38 > 3:36:3735% in Glasgow Provan. It does seem to be DS MP's night. They are

3:36:38 > 3:36:37looking pretty confident at the Glasgow count. Similar picture in

3:36:38 > 3:36:37Perth. Roseanna Cunningham there. I think we will just stay on this

3:36:38 > 3:36:37for awhile. Enjoying herself. The newspapers reflecting that SNP

3:36:38 > 3:36:37optimism. More worrying news for Labour on

3:36:38 > 3:36:37Twitter. I wonder when we will get any

3:36:38 > 3:36:37declarations. Let us find out where we are at the

3:36:38 > 3:36:37declarations. Kent in the Shetland Islands now.

3:36:38 > 3:36:37Who will take a trip round the island but start in Shetland.

3:36:38 > 3:36:37The counting is well under way. Strong indications that covers Scott

3:36:38 > 3:36:37is polling well. -- Tavish Scott. He will hold onto it with an increased

3:36:38 > 3:36:37majority this evening. He has fought a personal campaign. He has not left

3:36:38 > 3:36:37the island for five weeks. He has travelled right across knocking on

3:36:38 > 3:36:37doors and has worked very hard. He has been arguing that it is about

3:36:38 > 3:36:37home and not the party. His opponent, Danus Skene, almost took

3:36:38 > 3:36:37the seat from Alistair Carmichael in the UK general election last year.

3:36:38 > 3:36:37Tonight the indication is that the SNP vote is not holding up. The last

3:36:38 > 3:36:37of the ballot boxes arrived half an hour ago and we expect a declaration

3:36:38 > 3:36:37around 230 AM. Over to Orkney. I think you can see behind me that

3:36:38 > 3:36:37the count has finished. They are totalling the figures. We hope to

3:36:38 > 3:36:37have a declaration in around ten or 15 minutes. Indications are the same

3:36:38 > 3:36:37as Shetland. It has been an interesting contest. A vibrant

3:36:38 > 3:36:37contest. We have seen the vote rise. Liam McArthur appalled 35% last time

3:36:38 > 3:36:37around. The SNP raise their vote last time was that we had an

3:36:38 > 3:36:37independent candidate who was very popular. He was vice convener for

3:36:38 > 3:36:37the local council. He is not standing this time, standing on the

3:36:38 > 3:36:37Highlands and Islands list instead. Both parties have been fighting

3:36:38 > 3:36:37hard. We hope to have a declaration in a roughly ten or 15 minutes. No

3:36:38 > 3:36:37over to Stornoway. Here in Na h-Eileanan an Iar we are

3:36:38 > 3:36:37not expecting any surprises. It is traditionally here a two horse race

3:36:38 > 3:36:37between the Labour Party and the SNP but this time the Tory vote, as

3:36:38 > 3:36:37seems to be in the rest of Scotland, but this time the Tory vote, as

3:36:38 > 3:36:37seems to be the talking point. He said that anything over 1600

3:36:38 > 3:36:37votes with please him greatly. That is the number secured by the local

3:36:38 > 3:36:37Tory candidate last time. We do not have a UK or Green candidate. We do

3:36:38 > 3:36:37have somebody in the form of John Cormack who is standing for the

3:36:38 > 3:36:37Scottish Christian Party. He is confident of gaining more votes this

3:36:38 > 3:36:37time. In an island constituency stretching more than 100 miles from

3:36:38 > 3:36:37north side, you can imagine it is a challenge to get all those votes,

3:36:38 > 3:36:37regardless of how people have voted, to the counting house. We know that

3:36:38 > 3:36:37the votes from the southern isles are on their way by plane from

3:36:38 > 3:36:37Benbecula airport and we expect them here at the sports centre in about

3:36:38 > 3:36:37one hour. The declaration telling us how the people of the Western Isles

3:36:38 > 3:36:37have voted in a selection is not due until at the very earliest 2am.

3:36:38 > 3:36:37Thank you. I am getting the sense that things are starting to move.

3:36:38 > 3:36:37We're waiting for Rutherglen result. Will it be first? We are hearing we

3:36:38 > 3:36:37might get a declaration in five minutes from Orkney. Once we have

3:36:38 > 3:36:37results we will have plenty more to talk about. At the moment the

3:36:38 > 3:36:37speculation is that Labour are having a that night. Perhaps losing

3:36:38 > 3:36:37all their seats in Glasgow. There is a sense that perhaps the Lib Dems

3:36:38 > 3:36:37and conservative vote is holding up better in areas where they are

3:36:38 > 3:36:37strong against a strong performance from the SNP. Let us speak with Ian

3:36:38 > 3:36:37Greig -- Ian Brady. Bat-mac Iain Gray -- Ian

3:36:38 > 3:36:37we usually get a result at four in the morning so we have some time to

3:36:38 > 3:36:37wait. What about your own prospects? You

3:36:38 > 3:36:37were defeated by the SNP last time. Can you hold?

3:36:38 > 3:36:37I think we can. I think it will be close. It will be some time before

3:36:38 > 3:36:37we get a declaration here but I think we had a bad result I year

3:36:38 > 3:36:37ago. I don't know of few picked up the

3:36:38 > 3:36:37comments that Thomas Doherty made earlier on the programme but he was

3:36:38 > 3:36:37heavily critical of the campaign that Labour has fought for their

3:36:38 > 3:36:37selection, suggesting it was a mistake to move to the left and that

3:36:38 > 3:36:37they of course you support to the Conservatives. What do you make of

3:36:38 > 3:36:37that analysis? Conservatives. What do you make of

3:36:38 > 3:36:37I completely disagree with that. Kezia Dugdale has run a courageous

3:36:38 > 3:36:37campaign. She has set the tone of the campaign and it has largely been

3:36:38 > 3:36:37about who is willing to use the new powers of parliament in order to

3:36:38 > 3:36:37stop austerity. And to invest in the future of this country. Kezia has

3:36:38 > 3:36:37made it about that. ASCII knows who are in over a ?150,000 to pay more

3:36:38 > 3:36:37in order to invest in our schools and close the attainment gap, that

3:36:38 > 3:36:37seems to me a pretty solid Labour policy. I think you're in East

3:36:38 > 3:36:37Lothian, where I've been fighting on that platform, it has gone down very

3:36:38 > 3:36:37well and people have responded well to it. So I disagree with his

3:36:38 > 3:36:37comments. We will be back for news of that

3:36:38 > 3:36:37count around 3am. Let us cross to Edinburgh. Whatever you hearing from

3:36:38 > 3:36:37the floor? The story from the capital is that

3:36:38 > 3:36:37this will be DS MP's night. They are looking very strong in four of six

3:36:38 > 3:36:37constituencies that will declare overnight. There is a really

3:36:38 > 3:36:37interesting battle into them. In Edinburgh West, the Lib Dems are

3:36:38 > 3:36:37seeing things are looking good for them. There's a real battle raging

3:36:38 > 3:36:37between two the rising stars of the Liberal Democrats and the SNP. In

3:36:38 > 3:36:37Edinburgh Southern, which is broadly Liberal Democrats and the SNP. In

3:36:38 > 3:36:37similar to the Westminster constituency of Edinburgh South, we

3:36:38 > 3:36:37are told that Scottish Labour are in with a shout. The narrative

3:36:38 > 3:36:37beginning to emerge becoming cleared with every passing hour. This will

3:36:38 > 3:36:37be DS MP's night in the capital overall. -- this will be the SNP's

3:36:38 > 3:36:37night. A declaration in Orkney is imminent.

3:36:38 > 3:36:37There are the candidates. Here it comes.

3:36:38 > 3:36:37Our first result. The declaration from the Orkney constituency. This

3:36:38 > 3:36:37is a seat where the Lib Dem 's' seat is declaring.

3:36:38 > 3:36:37SNP, 2562. Lib Dems, 7096. Scottish Labour Party, 3004.

3:36:38 > 3:36:37Are you sure about that? My apologies, 304. I declare that

3:36:38 > 3:36:37Liam Scott McArthur is duly elected to serve as a member of this for the

3:36:38 > 3:36:37Orkney Islands constituency. Thank you.

3:36:38 > 3:36:37The Liberal Democrats have held the Orkney Islands. It is our first

3:36:38 > 3:36:37result in election 2016. Liam McArthur re-elected with 7096 votes.

3:36:38 > 3:36:37Thanks to everyone at the county this evening for an incredibly

3:36:38 > 3:36:37efficient running of this year's elections. So efficient that you did

3:36:38 > 3:36:37not take into consideration that some of the candidates were coming

3:36:38 > 3:36:37from a little way away. Thank you to the candidates and to the police are

3:36:38 > 3:36:37making sure the selection has been run as smoothly as it has. Thank you

3:36:38 > 3:36:37to the other candidates for the way they have conducted this campaign.

3:36:38 > 3:36:37On the occasion we're our paths have crossed, I have been hugely grateful

3:36:38 > 3:36:37for the good-natured way in which they have sought to get across their

3:36:38 > 3:36:37argument, make their case, always in the best of spirits. I thank them

3:36:38 > 3:36:37and their campaign teams for that. I thank in particular my own campaign

3:36:38 > 3:36:37team, whose energy, in Tuesday as and to terminate it -- in studios

3:36:38 > 3:36:37and determination has been truly phenomenal. Thanks in particular to

3:36:38 > 3:36:37David Green, coordinating the campaign, and to my agent, Rhys

3:36:38 > 3:36:37Williams, for her sterling efforts. Williams, for her sterling efforts.

3:36:38 > 3:36:37-- Rhys Williams. Thank you to my family, to Tom and calm, and to me

3:36:38 > 3:36:37why. She has kept me sane and sensible throughout this and it

3:36:38 > 3:36:37would not have been possible without her support. This has been a

3:36:38 > 3:36:37remarkable campaign... I remarkable campaign indeed. Liam

3:36:38 > 3:36:37McArthur seems a little exhausted by it all, but perhaps not surprised.

3:36:38 > 3:36:37Not surprised that he has been able to hold on there. Because that was a

3:36:38 > 3:36:37thumping majority that he secured, 4500 votes. He was defending a

3:36:38 > 3:36:37majority of less than 1000, so a very strong performance for the

3:36:38 > 3:36:37Liberal Democrats. Holding that seat for a Liam McArthur, re-elected. The

3:36:38 > 3:36:37SNP's Donna Heddle was well behind. The Conservatives, Jamie Halcro

3:36:38 > 3:36:37Johnston, was third. Gerry McGarvey fourth and Paul Dawson in fifth

3:36:38 > 3:36:37place. The turnout was up on last time. The Liberal Democrats taking

3:36:38 > 3:36:3767% of the vote, the SNP on 24%, the Conservatives on 4%, Labour on 3%

3:36:38 > 3:36:37and the Independent on 1%. Out does that compare with five years ago?

3:36:38 > 3:36:37Liberal Democrat vote up 32%. The SNP down slightly, the Conservatives

3:36:38 > 3:36:37and Labour also down and the independent candidate registering 1%

3:36:38 > 3:36:37up. As swing in the Orkney Islands. It

3:36:38 > 3:36:37is from the SNP to the Liberal Democrats. It is 16%. Liam McArthur

3:36:38 > 3:36:37re-elected therefore the Liberal Democrats. I very strong performance

3:36:38 > 3:36:37for the party. The former leader of the party, a friend and colleague of

3:36:38 > 3:36:37Liam McArthur, if you are. Nickel Stephen. What you think of that

3:36:38 > 3:36:37result? I think we might extrapolate it across all Scotland! Obviously it

3:36:38 > 3:36:37is a very good result for a Liam McArthur. The rumours that I hear is

3:36:38 > 3:36:37that we are doing well tonight. The hope is that the Liberal Democrats,

3:36:38 > 3:36:37under the leadership of Willie Rennie, who had a very good

3:36:38 > 3:36:37campaign, the hope that that would turn into votes seems to be

3:36:38 > 3:36:37happening. I think it would be wrong to suggest that it would be

3:36:38 > 3:36:37reflected right across all of Scotland, but it is early days and

3:36:38 > 3:36:37are very encouraging first sign. Why should the Liberal Democrats be

3:36:38 > 3:36:37recording a strong performance like that, albeit in a traditional

3:36:38 > 3:36:37Liberal Democrat heartland in a night where we are hearing that

3:36:38 > 3:36:37Labour is suffering at the hands of the SNP? Why should they be in that

3:36:38 > 3:36:37position and you performing strongly? It is interesting, because

3:36:38 > 3:36:37the other rumours we are hearing, which was reflected by your report

3:36:38 > 3:36:37from the Edinburgh count, is that we are doing well, at least very

3:36:38 > 3:36:37competitive in Edinburgh Western, and out of North East Fife there are

3:36:38 > 3:36:37positive noises. In the places where we have been strong in the past, we

3:36:38 > 3:36:37seem to be performing very well against the SNP but Labour still

3:36:38 > 3:36:37have a very big problem in Scotland. I hope that the reasons for that are

3:36:38 > 3:36:37positive reasons about our campaign and the fact that some of the

3:36:38 > 3:36:37reasons we were in quality with the Conservatives people are perhaps

3:36:38 > 3:36:37realising that we did help to hold back some of the worst excesses of

3:36:38 > 3:36:37the Conservatives. But there is also need out there that is suggesting

3:36:38 > 3:36:37that against the SNP we can win seats and.

3:36:38 > 3:36:37Let's bring in Alyn Smith, our SNP representatives. That was a rubbish

3:36:38 > 3:36:37result from your point of view. I'm disappointed for Donna Heddle.

3:36:38 > 3:36:37She fought a creditable campaign. All credit to the Liberal Democrats,

3:36:38 > 3:36:37that was a Lib Dem hold. Not a massive victory. But massive to

3:36:38 > 3:36:37increase a majority in an area where there is a very small electorate.

3:36:38 > 3:36:37You cannot argue with those numbers. I congratulate him on his victory,

3:36:38 > 3:36:37but let us see what the rest of the night brings. Given that there were

3:36:38 > 3:36:37particular circumstances in Orkney and Shetland, given the controversy

3:36:38 > 3:36:37surrounding the Liberal Democrat MP, the former Scottish Secretary

3:36:38 > 3:36:37Alistair Carmichael, and the famous, now infamous leaked memo, do you

3:36:38 > 3:36:37think with hindsight it might have been a mistake for some constituents

3:36:38 > 3:36:37to have gone to court to try to overturn his pre-election as an MP?

3:36:38 > 3:36:37Might that have backfired? That is a matter for them. That has nothing to

3:36:38 > 3:36:37do with the SNP and was not inspired by us. There was a real sense of

3:36:38 > 3:36:37anger that he lied during the course of that campaign, and a politically

3:36:38 > 3:36:37motivated live which the admitted and apologised for. They were

3:36:38 > 3:36:37perfectly within their rights to do that. Why should your party go back

3:36:38 > 3:36:37in those circumstances? All because about about your leader, Nicola

3:36:38 > 3:36:37Sturgeon, and the SNP. Why would you go backwards in those circumstances?

3:36:38 > 3:36:37I spent two days with Donna Heddle on Orkney and she was not using

3:36:38 > 3:36:37Alistair Carmichael issue in the campaign. She was very much about

3:36:38 > 3:36:37speaking up for Orkney and she fought a creditable campaign on the

3:36:38 > 3:36:37moral high ground. But we now see what the numbers where and we will

3:36:38 > 3:36:37need to have a look at what went wrong.

3:36:38 > 3:36:37We will now bring in our new panellist, are conservative

3:36:38 > 3:36:37representative. We'll may have indications from the Conservative

3:36:38 > 3:36:37point of view that your vote might be holding up against SNP challenge

3:36:38 > 3:36:37in places where you have traditionally been strong. Is that

3:36:38 > 3:36:37what you are hearing and why should that be the case on a night when

3:36:38 > 3:36:37Labour is braced for some bad results?

3:36:38 > 3:36:37I think it is holding up, and holding up quite well. Results

3:36:38 > 3:36:37across the border lands, some of the seats in the North East of Scotland.

3:36:38 > 3:36:37There is one simple explanation, which is localism. If you want a

3:36:38 > 3:36:37local voice, someone to represent the constituency or the region, then

3:36:38 > 3:36:37it will not be the SNP, that is a single voice, the voice from

3:36:38 > 3:36:37Edinburgh, the voice from the first Munster's office. We are witnessing

3:36:38 > 3:36:37it, Liam McArthur for the good campaign but he was a strong voice

3:36:38 > 3:36:37for the omens. -- for the islands. We have one campaign so far and we

3:36:38 > 3:36:37are expecting another one soon. I, the returning officer, give

3:36:38 > 3:36:37notice of the following. The electric to 60,707, the total votes

3:36:38 > 3:36:37cast were 33000 and 87. The percentage

3:36:38 > 3:36:37Clare Haughey, Scottish National Party, 15200 and 22. -- 15,222.

3:36:38 > 3:36:37James Kelly, Scottish Labour Party, 11400 and 79. -- 11,479.

3:36:38 > 3:36:37The total ballot papers rejected... Taylor Muir, Scottish Conservative

3:36:38 > 3:36:37and Unionist Party, 3718. I'd clear that Clare Haughey is elected to

3:36:38 > 3:36:37serve in the Scottish Parliament. She is a new member of the Scottish

3:36:38 > 3:36:37Parliament. It is a win for the SNP in Rutherglen. A defeat for Labour.

3:36:38 > 3:36:37The SNP's Clare Haughey, selected with 11, defeating Labour's James

3:36:38 > 3:36:37Kelly, in second with 11,479. Robert Brown, a former MSP, comes forth.

3:36:38 > 3:36:37The turnout in Rutherglen tonight, 54%, which is up a bit on 2011. Vera

3:36:38 > 3:36:37is the share of the votes, the SNP are on 46%, Labour on 35, the

3:36:38 > 3:36:37Conservatives on 11%, the Liberal Democrats on 8%. And SNP majority of

3:36:38 > 3:36:373743. The SNP voters up seven. Labour are down 11. The

3:36:38 > 3:36:37Conservatives are up 4%. A 9% swing to the SNP. The

3:36:38 > 3:36:37SNP gaining Rutherglen from Labour. Let's go to our panel, to our Labour

3:36:38 > 3:36:37member, Pauline McNeill. Clearly, a colleague of yours will using a

3:36:38 > 3:36:37seat, although James Kelly does have the chance of being re-elected on

3:36:38 > 3:36:37the list. What you make of that result? Obviously I am disappointed

3:36:38 > 3:36:37for James Kelly, I thought that he ran a very energetic campaign. I got

3:36:38 > 3:36:37the impression he might do quite well. It is a result we were

3:36:38 > 3:36:37prepared for in the sense that it would be difficult to buck the trend

3:36:38 > 3:36:37of all the polls. But I do think it is a defining moment for a labourer.

3:36:38 > 3:36:37Sadly, I think we will see more is a defining moment for a labourer.

3:36:38 > 3:36:37results like this, let's be honest about it. Where Thomas Doherty is

3:36:38 > 3:36:37wrong in the campaign trail, there was, amongst the Labour support,

3:36:38 > 3:36:37great deal of support behind the argument that we should use the full

3:36:38 > 3:36:37powers of Parliament. I think that that is an argument that Labour will

3:36:38 > 3:36:37carry forward will stop that will be the challenge for Labour in this new

3:36:38 > 3:36:37parliament, whatever the Nico Poux. You do not think that it was wrong

3:36:38 > 3:36:37to advance that argument? I think that people were open to it. It is

3:36:38 > 3:36:37too early to make an assessment as to whether it was the right strategy

3:36:38 > 3:36:37are not. What I can say is that amongst Labour supporters it was

3:36:38 > 3:36:37certainly a talking point. People were willing to enter into a debate

3:36:38 > 3:36:37about what kind of Scotland people want to see, a challenge to

3:36:38 > 3:36:37austerity. Thomas Doherty is ill judged to say so early in the night

3:36:38 > 3:36:37that we were wrong, because we will not just see a manifesto commitment

3:36:38 > 3:36:37that we were wrong, because we will that Labour will make, it is an

3:36:38 > 3:36:37argument that they will take forward however their numbers pan out during

3:36:38 > 3:36:37the course of the night into the new Scottish Parliament.

3:36:38 > 3:36:37What was a bad result for you was a very good result for the SNP. We can

3:36:38 > 3:36:37run that result nationwide, I'm happy with that. That is a great

3:36:38 > 3:36:37result for her. I am staggered that a Labour candidate, before any of

3:36:38 > 3:36:37the results were even announced, with the -- would be using language

3:36:38 > 3:36:37such as self-immolation for dummies. I know myself that if you are

3:36:38 > 3:36:37looking to kick off a debate you need answers, not just incendiary

3:36:38 > 3:36:37phrases. We are seeing a simmering discontent coming to the surface

3:36:38 > 3:36:37before the polls are even declared, it is remarkable. Another thing to

3:36:38 > 3:36:37note about the Rutherglen result is that the conservative vote was up

3:36:38 > 3:36:373.5%. That might have implications across the country. Let's cross now

3:36:38 > 3:36:37live to the owner in the cafe. Scottish Labour as having a tough

3:36:38 > 3:36:37night with the possibility of losing all constituency seats in Glasgow.

3:36:38 > 3:36:37Kevin McKenna has described themselves as a traditional Labour

3:36:38 > 3:36:37supporter and 48 yes. What has gone wrong for Labour?

3:36:38 > 3:36:37How many years do you want me to go back? This is a 15 year problem. It

3:36:38 > 3:36:37is no surprise what happened tonight. I think it is issued to

3:36:38 > 3:36:37show that Scotland has got to confront. How do we pay for public

3:36:38 > 3:36:37services? If we ever did become independent. I understand why Kezia

3:36:38 > 3:36:37Dugdale ran this tax policy but it was too little too late. What Labour

3:36:38 > 3:36:37has got to learn and it has got to start from tomorrow is a

3:36:38 > 3:36:37constitutional question about where they stand on this. We know where

3:36:38 > 3:36:37the Tories stand on it, Ruth Davidson made that clear. Whether

3:36:38 > 3:36:37they want another referendum is another matter. Labour has to sort

3:36:38 > 3:36:37that out. I've been saying for a long time think there should be an

3:36:38 > 3:36:37independent Scottish Labour Party. It should be is time for the party

3:36:38 > 3:36:37to seriously consider this but they are the leading themselves, sticking

3:36:38 > 3:36:37their heads in the sand, if they do not realise the Constitution is the

3:36:38 > 3:36:37centre of Scottish politics. With we want to become an independent

3:36:38 > 3:36:37separate state or some form of federalism. As long as Labour does

3:36:38 > 3:36:37not confront that, it will be cast out into political wilderness in

3:36:38 > 3:36:37Scotland. He describe yourself as a

3:36:38 > 3:36:37traditional Labour supporter. Should they look at the constitutional

3:36:38 > 3:36:37question? That is just the latest of the

3:36:38 > 3:36:37questions they should be asking themselves. This has been a decline

3:36:38 > 3:36:37since before 2007. The rating on the wall was there. -- writing. Judging

3:36:38 > 3:36:37by the body language of some of the Labour people here, they are already

3:36:38 > 3:36:37surrendering. The constitutional question is whether Labour is

3:36:38 > 3:36:37dominating left-wing politics in Scotland. He have had several years

3:36:38 > 3:36:37to form a policy on this and they have not. They have conceded ground

3:36:38 > 3:36:37to the SNP. There's very little that Kezia Dugdale done wrong. But she is

3:36:38 > 3:36:37a young inexperienced politician and she was entitled to expect a little

3:36:38 > 3:36:37bit more help from some of the Labour grandees who have all taken

3:36:38 > 3:36:37to the hills in the last year or so and taken the shelling from

3:36:38 > 3:36:37corporate Europe. I think that is a very salient

3:36:38 > 3:36:37point. What I don't like in the Labour Party and that has happened

3:36:38 > 3:36:37with the PLP and the media joining in is as if activists are irrelevant

3:36:38 > 3:36:37and the don't have common sense. This is because of Jeremy Corbyn but

3:36:38 > 3:36:37he felt a vacuum because Labour activists felt so let down. I think

3:36:38 > 3:36:37it is time for Labour to consult with the activists. In Scotland for

3:36:38 > 3:36:37too long there has been a hierarchy, a small group of people running the

3:36:38 > 3:36:37party and dictating the part that is taking and ignoring this fact that

3:36:38 > 3:36:37the constitutional dominates Scottish politics and it will for

3:36:38 > 3:36:37the foreseeable future. We heard the brother can result --

3:36:38 > 3:36:37Rutherglen. Is Labour losing its Unionist vote to the Tories?

3:36:38 > 3:36:37What is the purpose of Scottish Labour? Right now it doesn't have a

3:36:38 > 3:36:37coherent message and it hasn't had one for some time. We are in

3:36:38 > 3:36:37constitutional politics know in Scotland. It is clear that the

3:36:38 > 3:36:37Conservatives pitchers being the party of the union because Labour

3:36:38 > 3:36:37are all oral -- all over the place. The Conservatives are quite rightly

3:36:38 > 3:36:37and willingly going there and saying we're the party of gene in and it

3:36:38 > 3:36:37doesn't seem to be working -- it is working. Labour have to work out

3:36:38 > 3:36:37their position. They are still internally divided. There are a

3:36:38 > 3:36:37series of factions in the party and Kezia Dugdale has had to put up with

3:36:38 > 3:36:37senior people briefing against. If Labour continues to act like that

3:36:38 > 3:36:37not be Labour Party in a few years. If you want to join in, please use

3:36:38 > 3:36:37the hash tag S P 16. We're going to Kelso and Aberdeen

3:36:38 > 3:36:37for news but I want to hear from our winners. Liam McArthur re-elected as

3:36:38 > 3:36:37MSP for Orkney. Congratulations. You must be relieved and delighted but

3:36:38 > 3:36:37what you put that result down to? Thanks very much indeed. I have to

3:36:38 > 3:36:37say the result was pretty overwhelming. There are probably

3:36:38 > 3:36:37many reasons for it. We fought it positive campaign. I like to think

3:36:38 > 3:36:37what I was offering at a local level in terms of the type of MSP that I

3:36:38 > 3:36:37have been over the last five years and want to be of the next five.

3:36:38 > 3:36:37There was also concern that there was a process of centralisation,

3:36:38 > 3:36:37particularly over the last five years with the SNP determined

3:36:38 > 3:36:37together more powers into the centre and that plays badly in a community

3:36:38 > 3:36:37like Orkney. You have improved on your position

3:36:38 > 3:36:37from last time, in part perhaps because of the involvement of an

3:36:38 > 3:36:37independent candidates. In terms of that direct battle with the SNP, how

3:36:38 > 3:36:37value closer? value closer?

3:36:38 > 3:36:37-- run you closer. I think there were a number of

3:36:38 > 3:36:37factors. The support for Scotland being a part of the UK was stronger

3:36:38 > 3:36:37than in any other part of Scotland. What we have seen in terms of

3:36:38 > 3:36:37centralisation of power is has played badly. There are ace views of

3:36:38 > 3:36:37local issues where there played badly. There are ace views of

3:36:38 > 3:36:37frustrations. Including things like the cheaper ferry fares which was

3:36:38 > 3:36:37felt to be a slap in the face for Orkney and Shetland. There are a

3:36:38 > 3:36:37range of factors. Concerns around the coalition were less evident than

3:36:38 > 3:36:37in the campaign five years ago. Voters tend to vote on a myriad of

3:36:38 > 3:36:37different issues and that is the same year in or near.

3:36:38 > 3:36:37Thank you for speaking tours and congratulations again on being

3:36:38 > 3:36:37re-elected. Let us hear from the other MSP confirmed.

3:36:38 > 3:36:37A number of enthusiastic supporters other MSP confirmed.

3:36:38 > 3:36:37behind you holding up cards spelling out your name. You are the first SNP

3:36:38 > 3:36:37MSP for this area. What you put your success down to?

3:36:38 > 3:36:37A lot of hard work. We have been very positive and are campaigning

3:36:38 > 3:36:37and people like to hear a positive message.

3:36:38 > 3:36:37What will you bring to Holyrood? I am a mental health nurse and have

3:36:38 > 3:36:37a strong trade gene background. I bring those unique qualities to

3:36:38 > 3:36:37Holyrood. What is important for many people I

3:36:38 > 3:36:37suppose is that you have not been in politics before and you are a woman.

3:36:38 > 3:36:37How important are those two things as you go to Edinburgh?

3:36:38 > 3:36:37I would hope that what I bring is a sense of what real life is like. I

3:36:38 > 3:36:37am not any politics bubble. I know sense of what real life is like. I

3:36:38 > 3:36:37how difficult real life can be for families and I hope I can bring some

3:36:38 > 3:36:37compassion and some of the knowledge that I bring as a working mum to a

3:36:38 > 3:36:37job as an MSP. Congratulations on your victory. It

3:36:38 > 3:36:37has been a long night. I hope you managed to get some sleep.

3:36:38 > 3:36:37Jansen would be a fine thing. We have two results with many more to

3:36:38 > 3:36:37come. Let us cross to Aberdeen. There is an impasse in the count at

3:36:38 > 3:36:37the moment but early intelligence from the regional list vote is

3:36:38 > 3:36:37showing the Conservatives doing very well. They could potentially take

3:36:38 > 3:36:37four of the seven list seats in the North East. There are expecting to

3:36:38 > 3:36:37be a strong second place in Kincardine. Some turn out figures

3:36:38 > 3:36:37here, high 50s to early 60s. Early stages. First declaration is not

3:36:38 > 3:36:37until at least 4:30am. Let us hear how do things are going

3:36:38 > 3:36:37in the Borders. The big fight is between John land

3:36:38 > 3:36:37and of the Conservatives and the SNP. I spoke to John earlier. He has

3:36:38 > 3:36:37been around since 2007 and all those places cards close to his chest but

3:36:38 > 3:36:37he almost, almost, tried to smile. Here's hoping that he would get the

3:36:38 > 3:36:37disappearing Lib Dem vote. We have got reporters across the

3:36:38 > 3:36:37country covering all the counts this evening. Let us pick up from Brian

3:36:38 > 3:36:37Taylor the results we have had so far.

3:36:38 > 3:36:37That Rutherglen result is a real stinker for Labour. On this

3:36:38 > 3:36:37occasion, it appears to be signalling calamity for the Labour

3:36:38 > 3:36:37Party. It was one of the first

3:36:38 > 3:36:37constituencies that Kezia Dugdale visited. It was sure that by all

3:36:38 > 3:36:37sorts of efforts by the Labour Party so is a huge victory for the SNP. If

3:36:38 > 3:36:37they are taking Rutherglen to that extent against a candidate as

3:36:38 > 3:36:37hard-working and ingrained as James Kelly, there is trouble. I've heard

3:36:38 > 3:36:37senior Labour people seeing throughout the campaign that people

3:36:38 > 3:36:37did not know what we stood for. The court they had remedied that with

3:36:38 > 3:36:37the penny on income tax for public spending. Your hearing people

3:36:38 > 3:36:37defending that tonight. It does not appear to have worked at this stage.

3:36:38 > 3:36:37Labour strategists think it will work any have to give it more time

3:36:38 > 3:36:37but it is going to be hard to get more time because the degree of

3:36:38 > 3:36:37introspection and internal battling that will follow this defeat tonight

3:36:38 > 3:36:37will be very substantial. Let us pick up with Professor Nicola

3:36:38 > 3:36:37McCune. A good result in Orkney and comfortable for the Lib Dems but

3:36:38 > 3:36:37what have you found? Simply that the reported swing which

3:36:38 > 3:36:37was in the region of 16% was slightly misleading because of the

3:36:38 > 3:36:37presence of the independent candidate last time around. It does

3:36:38 > 3:36:37seem that the Lib Dems have been successful in shoring up pretty much

3:36:38 > 3:36:37all of that vote. Unfortunately, it will not make a difference to the

3:36:38 > 3:36:37overall share. It was a cold but it might aim that Jamie Stone will not

3:36:38 > 3:36:37get a list seat in the Highlands and Islands because of the constituency

3:36:38 > 3:36:37called. It balances out. That relationship between the two

3:36:38 > 3:36:37will be very important. A quick word on turnout before we move on. It

3:36:38 > 3:36:37seems that tonight seems to be up for a Hollywood election, albeit

3:36:38 > 3:36:37considerably lower than for last year's general election.

3:36:38 > 3:36:37The law to float for a Scottish parliament election as normal. We

3:36:38 > 3:36:37would also expect that an election in which it is perceived to be

3:36:38 > 3:36:37something of a foregone conclusion, we would also expect that to lead to

3:36:38 > 3:36:37a law promote. The fact that it is similar to 2011 is remarkable. It is

3:36:38 > 3:36:37not reaching the heights of the referendum can vote, but it is very

3:36:38 > 3:36:37impressive. We are going to speak to many of the politicians from around

3:36:38 > 3:36:37the country. At the moment, we can cross to Chris McLaughlin in Pearce,

3:36:38 > 3:36:37who has a couple of major figures from the Scottish National Party.

3:36:38 > 3:36:37Those doing recounting here are on a break. We believe it will be back in

3:36:38 > 3:36:37about ten minutes. Two constituencies here. To SNP

3:36:38 > 3:36:37heavyweights here. They are in conversation at the moment. The

3:36:38 > 3:36:37worked on the floor is that the Scottish National Party, not

3:36:38 > 3:36:37surprisingly, are doing very well. They currently hold both of the

3:36:38 > 3:36:37seats. There is little suggestion that they are going to do any worse

3:36:38 > 3:36:37than before. Both of them gained over half the vote last time. Liz

3:36:38 > 3:36:37Smith, one of the US MPs, last thing that was a swing in 2011 from the

3:36:38 > 3:36:37Conservatives to the SNP, about 8% in both constituencies, the

3:36:38 > 3:36:37Conservatives will hope they can claw some of that back. But all the

3:36:38 > 3:36:37indications are that the SNP are looking pretty safe in both of

3:36:38 > 3:36:37these. There is something of an SNP 's swagger here. Similar to what we

3:36:38 > 3:36:37were seen when the results of the general election where being

3:36:38 > 3:36:37announced. We are expecting the declaration in just over one hour.

3:36:38 > 3:36:37We can know go to Dundee. Here in the sports centre of the two counts

3:36:38 > 3:36:37are under way. Dundee East tonight raped and that the West to my left.

3:36:38 > 3:36:37I have a piece of paper and the tablet was 51% in Dundee East and

3:36:38 > 3:36:37just slightly higher in Dundee West. The Scottish National Party with

3:36:38 > 3:36:37something of a spring in your step here. We're pretty sure the two MSP

3:36:38 > 3:36:37's will be returned. Joe Fitzpatrick, she is defending a

3:36:38 > 3:36:37majority of 6500. Hope politics have changed in the city. At the first

3:36:38 > 3:36:37Scottish parliament elections in 1999, Labour won both of the seats

3:36:38 > 3:36:37fairly comfortably. Worst year in the general election, the SNP

3:36:38 > 3:36:37finally prised the Westminster seat from Dundee West out of the hands of

3:36:38 > 3:36:37Labour and that gave them a clean seat in the city. All four of the

3:36:38 > 3:36:37Parliamentary constituencies are known under the control. I am

3:36:38 > 3:36:37feeling that the labour vote here could be down. That is the picture

3:36:38 > 3:36:37in Dundee at the moment. We can no go to Livingston. A very good

3:36:38 > 3:36:37evening. We are in the heart of the Almond Valley constituency. Also,

3:36:38 > 3:36:37Linlithgow is being counted, a historical town. There to MSP 's

3:36:38 > 3:36:37which are well-known faces. Fair to say no big surprises expected here.

3:36:38 > 3:36:37Both are expected to clearly regain the seat. A big issue here has been

3:36:38 > 3:36:37the possible downgrading of services for children at the local hospital.

3:36:38 > 3:36:37the possible downgrading of services What will be interesting is looking

3:36:38 > 3:36:37at the Labour fought. This used to be one of the heartlands. But the

3:36:38 > 3:36:37Scottish National Party in the last decade have taken over. It will be

3:36:38 > 3:36:37very interesting to see the Labour thought. But the conservative vote

3:36:38 > 3:36:37will also be worth looking at as well. We are hoping to make games.

3:36:38 > 3:36:37We are expecting the declaration here from sometime after four

3:36:38 > 3:36:37o'clock in the morning. If you took that Rutherglen result, the swing

3:36:38 > 3:36:37from Labour to the SNP of 9%, if that was replicated across the

3:36:38 > 3:36:37country, of course, we do not know that was replicated across the

3:36:38 > 3:36:37that is going to happen and maybe that was replicated across the

3:36:38 > 3:36:37something else could happen. In fact, we can speak to our

3:36:38 > 3:36:37correspondent in East Lothian. We are hearing that this is going to

3:36:38 > 3:36:37be fairly closely fought. Eagerly, the former Labour leader in

3:36:38 > 3:36:37Holyrood, we saw him looking very downbeat in earlier. Iain Gray will

3:36:38 > 3:36:37not be drawn on any definite result. You can see behind me it is pretty

3:36:38 > 3:36:37quiet at the moment. They have allowed the staff to go off and have

3:36:38 > 3:36:37a break and we'll have the finished verification of the papers to be

3:36:38 > 3:36:37gathered throughout the county. But at the moment, we are hearing from

3:36:38 > 3:36:37people in the Labour Party that the expecting a declaration around about

3:36:38 > 3:36:37three o'clock. Ian Dooley was defending, but I cannot tell her

3:36:38 > 3:36:37that he thinks he is going to win. Jackie is here with an update. The

3:36:38 > 3:36:37first couple of results no one. The first was in Orkney. It was a horse

3:36:38 > 3:36:37for the Liberal Democrats, with an enhanced majority for Liam McArthur.

3:36:38 > 3:36:37In Rutherglen, as expected and feared by Labour, the lost his seat

3:36:38 > 3:36:37to the Scottish National Party with the 9% swing. Clare Haughey The

3:36:38 > 3:36:37victor. But already the Labour Party are doing some soul-searching. There

3:36:38 > 3:36:37is a real worry that our vote is going down and the conservative vote

3:36:38 > 3:36:37is going up. There was talk that the 1983 Labour Party manifesto was the

3:36:38 > 3:36:37longest suicide note in her study, but if we bring that up to date,

3:36:38 > 3:36:37perhaps we are doing something likewise no. At this stage in the

3:36:38 > 3:36:37political cycle, the major opposition voting to flourish

3:36:38 > 3:36:37against the government. Questions are no being asked of Jeremy Corbyn

3:36:38 > 3:36:37's leadership. I think he needs to signpost the direction he wants to

3:36:38 > 3:36:37take this Party in. I see two people at the, we need to have more time to

3:36:38 > 3:36:37do that. He has got the mandate and we have to respect that. As I say,

3:36:38 > 3:36:37two seats declared in Scotland. The Liberal Democrats haunt Orkney and

3:36:38 > 3:36:37the Scottish National Party take Rutherglen. -- when Orkney. The

3:36:38 > 3:36:37former leader of Glasgow City Council is with us. The story so

3:36:38 > 3:36:37far, these two results. Maybe not a great deal we can read into that as

3:36:38 > 3:36:37terms of the national picture. It is very early doors. But I am very

3:36:38 > 3:36:37pleased for Clare Haughey, who is going to be a fantastic addition to

3:36:38 > 3:36:37the Scottish parliament. But we will see how things unfold as the night

3:36:38 > 3:36:37goes on. Do you think this may be the beginning of a pattern of the

3:36:38 > 3:36:37SNP performance against Labour? Or are we more likely to get a mixed

3:36:38 > 3:36:37bag, with suggestions Iain Gray may currently hold in East Lothian. I

3:36:38 > 3:36:37think it is very early to see anything on with only a couple of

3:36:38 > 3:36:37think it is very early to see results in. But the likes of Clare

3:36:38 > 3:36:37Haughey is a new candidate, which is something we were very keen to do. A

3:36:38 > 3:36:37dose of 60% of those new candidates are women. Some worrying signals for

3:36:38 > 3:36:37Labour. It is a tough one. James has been a very effective member of the

3:36:38 > 3:36:37Scottish Parliament and I think they have lost a good person near. But

3:36:38 > 3:36:37the people of spoken. I think there will be different patterns across

3:36:38 > 3:36:37different parts of Scotland. There are a number of different issues.

3:36:38 > 3:36:37We have not actually talks about the referendum. One of the commentators,

3:36:38 > 3:36:37one of the Labour commentators, said it was the key issue in Scottish

3:36:38 > 3:36:37politics. Are we going to have another one in the next five years?

3:36:38 > 3:36:37It was clear that the Scottish National Party said in the campaign,

3:36:38 > 3:36:37the rare mixed messages about it. Nicola Sturgeon has been very clear.

3:36:38 > 3:36:37At the end of the day, we are all Democrats. If it is the will of the

3:36:38 > 3:36:37people, we should not be ruling it out. But from Labour's perspective,

3:36:38 > 3:36:37Kezia Dugdale has changed her position throughout that with regard

3:36:38 > 3:36:37to whether she would support another referendum or not. But we fought

3:36:38 > 3:36:37this campaign on the process of taking Scotland forward through the

3:36:38 > 3:36:37Scottish Parliament in the next five years. And it is that manifesto for

3:36:38 > 3:36:37the next five years, focusing on health, jobs and taking the country

3:36:38 > 3:36:37for work. If the Scottish National Party got an overall majority,

3:36:38 > 3:36:37without the something of a mandate for another referendum? A couple of

3:36:38 > 3:36:37things to see, there is no mention in the SNP manifesto about another

3:36:38 > 3:36:37independence referendum. If you want a serious mandate for that, you have

3:36:38 > 3:36:37to put that in your manifesto. And we are already hearing that the are

3:36:38 > 3:36:37thinking of trying to persuade the North waters of the need for another

3:36:38 > 3:36:37referendum. This hall cycle is going to start again. It is only 20 months

3:36:38 > 3:36:37since we had the worst one. It is 5% of the voting public can out to

3:36:38 > 3:36:37vote. What does that mean? I would remain view of what you leader said,

3:36:38 > 3:36:37vote. What does that mean? I would there was the possibility of it

3:36:38 > 3:36:37being asked once again. It is not the job of politicians. It is only

3:36:38 > 3:36:3720 months ago. The people dictated that back then. The rates of the

3:36:38 > 3:36:37people in Scotland where exercise by that back then. The rates of the

3:36:38 > 3:36:37train. It is clear what the decision was. They have nothing in the

3:36:38 > 3:36:37manifesto about this. If she really believed that the

3:36:38 > 3:36:37people of Scotland need to have a referendum, she should have put it

3:36:38 > 3:36:37in her manifesto. She at has no mandate and hasn't even asked for

3:36:38 > 3:36:37it. There was a referendum in 2014. That

3:36:38 > 3:36:37is the mandate. It is anti-democratic for Nicola Sturgeon

3:36:38 > 3:36:37to be suggesting another referendum in the lifetime of Scotland. They

3:36:38 > 3:36:37have been there a few clear and they do not want independence.

3:36:38 > 3:36:37What I can tell you is this the first time we have discussed it and

3:36:38 > 3:36:37we are a few hours on to thank you all for that for the moment. Brian

3:36:38 > 3:36:37has been looking into the prospects of the Tories.

3:36:38 > 3:36:37It has been a remarkable campaign in anyways. Just kicking back to the

3:36:38 > 3:36:37manifesto launch when Ruth Davidson didn't expect to win and would not

3:36:38 > 3:36:37pretend she was about to take victory. The Conservative aim in

3:36:38 > 3:36:37this collection has been to beat Labour to second place. They need to

3:36:38 > 3:36:37hold onto the constituencies they have got and maximise their vote on

3:36:38 > 3:36:37that list, the list that correct the imbalance is from the first time

3:36:38 > 3:36:37around. Look at that unfamiliar figure topping the list. Ruth

3:36:38 > 3:36:37Davidson heading the list in Lothian. She is pretty certain to be

3:36:38 > 3:36:37returned to Holyrood unless there are curious results to come. Yet at

3:36:38 > 3:36:37this key strategy to build on the list with the leaflets promoting

3:36:38 > 3:36:37party leader Ruth Davidson with limited mention of the word

3:36:38 > 3:36:37Conservative. Of course he counts and honest man.

3:36:38 > 3:36:37Splendid chap. He is the sitting MSP there. The SNP seeking to take over

3:36:38 > 3:36:37that constituency. Check Brodie was second last time.

3:36:38 > 3:36:37There is the new contender. This was Alex Fergusson's seat prior

3:36:38 > 3:36:37to the former Presiding Officer standing down.

3:36:38 > 3:36:37A very tough contest there and intriguing. This was an SNP seat but

3:36:38 > 3:36:37there has been Tory presence in the past as well.

3:36:38 > 3:36:37This next one has been a really fun seat. Jim Murphy ticket in

3:36:38 > 3:36:37Westminster then lost it. Ken Mackintosh is the MSP and resorted

3:36:38 > 3:36:37to karaoke in order to hang onto seat. The suggestion was his song

3:36:38 > 3:36:37could be return of the Mac. Jackson Carlaw could contend or could it be

3:36:38 > 3:36:37Stewart Maxwell for the SNP? That has been one amazing battle.

3:36:38 > 3:36:37No to some of those seats that Brian mentioned. Over to Dumfries first.

3:36:38 > 3:36:37The verification protest just about finishing so the proper account will

3:36:38 > 3:36:37start soon. Two interesting and potentially close-run seats being

3:36:38 > 3:36:37counted your tonight, one that aided by conservatives and won by Labour.

3:36:38 > 3:36:37The seat Brian was just talking about was won by Alex Fergusson by a

3:36:38 > 3:36:37slim majority of 862 last time around from Aileen McLeod from the

3:36:38 > 3:36:37SNP. She was ultimately collected on the regional list and became

3:36:38 > 3:36:37Environment Minister in the last government. She is standing again.

3:36:38 > 3:36:37The Conservative contender is a rural IT consultant, Finley Carson.

3:36:38 > 3:36:37It looks like Ms McLeod has an advantage. Carson finished 6005

3:36:38 > 3:36:37votes high-end the nationalist winner but the caveat for that was

3:36:38 > 3:36:37it was a high turnout. The boundaries for the Scottish

3:36:38 > 3:36:37parliament seat are slightly different. That holds true in

3:36:38 > 3:36:37Dumfriesshire as well. It has been held since the parliament started in

3:36:38 > 3:36:371989 by Elaine Murray for Labour. Chances of holding on look slim. --

3:36:38 > 3:36:371999. The 26-year-old son of Scottish Secretary David Mandel, who

3:36:38 > 3:36:37is the MP of the area. Here's pacing the floor like an expectant father,

3:36:38 > 3:36:37wondering if his son will follow him as a parliamentarian. The answer is

3:36:38 > 3:36:37almost certainly yes. The likelihood is that both will be returned

3:36:38 > 3:36:37regardless of the first past the post result. We are expecting the

3:36:38 > 3:36:37two constituencies to declare post result. We are expecting the

3:36:38 > 3:36:37shortly after three o'clock with the list result coming about 7am. We can

3:36:38 > 3:36:37now join our correspondent in Ayr. You join me at the leisure centre in

3:36:38 > 3:36:37Ayr for what is proving to be a fascinating tussle between the SNP

3:36:38 > 3:36:37and the Tories. All the early indications are that it looks like a

3:36:38 > 3:36:37two horse race in what is a Tory stronghold. This seat has been held

3:36:38 > 3:36:37since 2000 by the conservative John Scott. Over the years, as support

3:36:38 > 3:36:37for the SNP has a lot has been job at a has-been waffled down. In 2011

3:36:38 > 3:36:37he held the seat from the SNP by little over 1000 votes. He faces

3:36:38 > 3:36:37stiff competition again from Jennifer Dunn from the SNP. Make the

3:36:38 > 3:36:37mistake, if the Tories are to achieve their stated goal of

3:36:38 > 3:36:37becoming the second biggest party in the Scottish Parliament, this really

3:36:38 > 3:36:37is a seat they must hold. We just had news of the healthy turnout.

3:36:38 > 3:36:3761%, up 7% from the 2011 number. We are expecting a declaration around

3:36:38 > 3:36:37PAM. -- 3M. In the meantime, let us cross to

3:36:38 > 3:36:37Fiona in the Election Cafe. We have a mixture of spin doctors,

3:36:38 > 3:36:37bloggers and journalists. They have been reacting to the results as they

3:36:38 > 3:36:37come in. We have also been talking about how much this campaign has

3:36:38 > 3:36:37been about personalities and how much has it been about policies.

3:36:38 > 3:36:37Wish me is Murray MacDonald, a former Tory candidate and came out

3:36:38 > 3:36:37during the referendum campaign as a Yes vote. The head of the medication

3:36:38 > 3:36:37is and is now a columnist for the Sunday Times. And journalist and

3:36:38 > 3:36:37commentator Iain McWhirter. How would you split it up, personality

3:36:38 > 3:36:37versus policy? There has been a lot of personality

3:36:38 > 3:36:37and it is difficult for us to pay attention to the policy arguments.

3:36:38 > 3:36:37Willie Rennie has been around the country focusing on stunts and I'm

3:36:38 > 3:36:37never sure what he is focusing on when he does the stunts and Ruth

3:36:38 > 3:36:37Davidson has been doing similar. The key thing about Ruth Davidson is

3:36:38 > 3:36:37harder argument has been about 40 or 40 strong opposition and she has

3:36:38 > 3:36:37managed to put that into everything so from a communication point of

3:36:38 > 3:36:37view she has done the right thing. For the SNP that has been about

3:36:38 > 3:36:37Nicola, re-elected Nicola. If he were advising the campaign, would

3:36:38 > 3:36:37you have done the same thing? Definitely because she is seeking

3:36:38 > 3:36:37her own mandate to become first earnest -- first-mac. She has been a

3:36:38 > 3:36:37Dost by party and Parliament so that is completely and stand above. The

3:36:38 > 3:36:37other thing is that she is very policy focused. If you look at what

3:36:38 > 3:36:37she said in this campaign, her mission is that she is closing the

3:36:38 > 3:36:37education gap. That is significant because some of the criticism of the

3:36:38 > 3:36:37SNP in the first term of office was try to get some of the low hanging

3:36:38 > 3:36:37fruit. Things like prescription targets. But if you're talking about

3:36:38 > 3:36:37closing the attainment gap then that is a multifaceted problem and a big

3:36:38 > 3:36:37ambition. Yes, it is focused on Nicola the leader seeking her own

3:36:38 > 3:36:37mandate to First Minister but she also saw as some ambitious policy

3:36:38 > 3:36:37objectives. Is it down to the parties or the

3:36:38 > 3:36:37media to push the message? It is principally down to the

3:36:38 > 3:36:37parties. They no longer want daily briefings with the press. That gave

3:36:38 > 3:36:37exhaustive examinations of policy. Parties would rather convey a

3:36:38 > 3:36:37general impression rather than each of policy and because sturgeon has

3:36:38 > 3:36:37been good at doing that. Ruth Davidson, even to the extent that

3:36:38 > 3:36:37she's pretending not to be a party of her own party. I had leaflets

3:36:38 > 3:36:37that hardly mention that she is a member of the Conservative Party.

3:36:38 > 3:36:37All the bold words -- billboards just say Ruth Davidson. There have

3:36:38 > 3:36:37been substantial issues raised. Obviously taxation was good to be

3:36:38 > 3:36:37the pivot around which the selection was to return and Labour have moved

3:36:38 > 3:36:37substantially to the left, trying to outflank the SNP. Interestingly,

3:36:38 > 3:36:37that didn't generate the amount of enthusiasm Labour expected it would

3:36:38 > 3:36:37and toured the end of the campaign were downplaying it. That indicates

3:36:38 > 3:36:37again that it is difficult. If the other parties are not playing ball,

3:36:38 > 3:36:37it is difficult to get these complex policy issues the examination they

3:36:38 > 3:36:37deserve. If you want to get involved in the

3:36:38 > 3:36:37competition, use our hash tag on the screen.

3:36:38 > 3:36:37We will hear more from David Henderson in a moment. Letters bring

3:36:38 > 3:36:37in our panel at this stage. We're hearing the result is imminent or

3:36:38 > 3:36:37due fairly soon from Shetland. Another constituency with the

3:36:38 > 3:36:37due fairly soon from Shetland. Liberal Democrats are defending.

3:36:38 > 3:36:37Anything else you're picking up from around the country that would tell

3:36:38 > 3:36:37us something about the parties' likely performance on the mainland.

3:36:38 > 3:36:37I think the Shetland result is likely to be similar to the Orkney

3:36:38 > 3:36:37one sort of looking encouraging in the islands. The great news for the

3:36:38 > 3:36:37Liberal Democrats is that we seem to be coming back. We are looking for

3:36:38 > 3:36:37good results in Edinburgh Western and North East Fife. It is possible

3:36:38 > 3:36:37we could win the seat so we are competitive again. That is the big

3:36:38 > 3:36:37contrast. The Liberal Democrats are going to back after last year and

3:36:38 > 3:36:37Labour are getting worse. It is good to be a good night for the Lib Dems.

3:36:38 > 3:36:37We are not there yet. A lot depends on what happens in the regional list

3:36:38 > 3:36:37vote. I don't pick anybody knows what is happening there yet. But it

3:36:38 > 3:36:37seems to be a positive evening for us.

3:36:38 > 3:36:37You're picking up some interesting news from the east would count, a

3:36:38 > 3:36:37part of Scotland that used to always vote Tory but has been Labour for

3:36:38 > 3:36:37the past two decades. I think it might be a two horse race

3:36:38 > 3:36:37between the Conservatives and the SNP with Ken Macintosh dropping out.

3:36:38 > 3:36:37That is what it looks like at the moment.

3:36:38 > 3:36:37Just to underline, Ken Macintosh has been the MSP since 1999. That would

3:36:38 > 3:36:37be remarkable change in the circumstances it is also interesting

3:36:38 > 3:36:37that the Tories loaned their vote to Jim Murphy last year to stave off

3:36:38 > 3:36:37the SNP 's tsunami. There will be no tactical votes in

3:36:38 > 3:36:37this election. Also, remember that Jackson Carlaw has put his heart and

3:36:38 > 3:36:37soul into the constituency so if anyone deserves that reward in a

3:36:38 > 3:36:37result it is the people of Eastwood and Jackson Carlaw.

3:36:38 > 3:36:37It is quite a remarkable constituency in near there are three

3:36:38 > 3:36:37members of the Scottish Parliament last time round who are contesting

3:36:38 > 3:36:37it. Clearly, there has been publicity, with regard to the large

3:36:38 > 3:36:37Jewish part of the constituency and the effect that the anti-Semitism

3:36:38 > 3:36:37row within the Labour Party may have heard that the Party. I do not think

3:36:38 > 3:36:37there is any doubt about that. We may be losing the seat tonight and

3:36:38 > 3:36:37again, we need to learn the lessons of the

3:36:38 > 3:36:37results and look to the future and Steve what systems we need to put in

3:36:38 > 3:36:37place to be dominant in Scottish politics again. People want Labour

3:36:38 > 3:36:37Party which is credible. We will speak more about your ideas on that

3:36:38 > 3:36:37later. Would it surprise you if there was the Scottish National

3:36:38 > 3:36:37Party and conservative run-off in Eastwood? I think Stewart has fought

3:36:38 > 3:36:37Party and conservative run-off in a very good campaign. Obviously, we

3:36:38 > 3:36:37took part of their constituency in a very good campaign. Obviously, we

3:36:38 > 3:36:37the general election last year saw we were confident that we would put

3:36:38 > 3:36:37up a very good challenge year. we were confident that we would put

3:36:38 > 3:36:37were a number of new faces at Westminster after the big landslide

3:36:38 > 3:36:37breakthrough for the Scottish National Party. But what about those

3:36:38 > 3:36:37who might be fresh faces in the Scottish Parliament. We can know

3:36:38 > 3:36:37hear more on that from David Henderson. This is the starting

3:36:38 > 3:36:37point for tonight 's results. You have the same view as the presiding

3:36:38 > 3:36:37officer would have. At the moment, we will ignore the likes of retired

3:36:38 > 3:36:37roles, defections or less. The Conservatives take up this blue

3:36:38 > 3:36:37block with 15 seats. The Liberal Democrats have five. The other main

3:36:38 > 3:36:37parties with three between them. But at the centre of power in the

3:36:38 > 3:36:37middle, the spec block of year low, the Scottish National Party, with

3:36:38 > 3:36:3769. Over here, the Labour Party, with 37. The Conservatives have the

3:36:38 > 3:36:37eye on this price. They want to overtake Labour as the second Party

3:36:38 > 3:36:37within the and move from that side over to here. They want to be the

3:36:38 > 3:36:37main opposition. We can only vote the chamber. After tonight, it will

3:36:38 > 3:36:37look very different because 24 of the members of the Scottish

3:36:38 > 3:36:37Parliament have stood down. Among them, more

3:36:38 > 3:36:37We bid farewell to Alex Salmond of well-known faces.

3:36:38 > 3:36:37We bid farewell to Alex Salmond of course. Kenny McAskill. Malcolm

3:36:38 > 3:36:37Chisholm and Duncan McNeil. And the outgoing presiding officer.

3:36:38 > 3:36:37Saw crewmate replace them? Brian will tell us. You may have noticed a

3:36:38 > 3:36:37few film references the, especially the sound of music. The producer is

3:36:38 > 3:36:37a big fan of that. I think many of our politicians should follow the

3:36:38 > 3:36:37principles of Groucho Marx. Let us stick with the sound of music. Who

3:36:38 > 3:36:37is going to taste champagne tonight. Annabel Goldie used to be elected

3:36:38 > 3:36:37only top up for the West of Scotland. Jackson

3:36:38 > 3:36:37Carlaw Talks the conservative List for no. No sign of it. Any sign of

3:36:38 > 3:36:37it? No, let us move on. This is the old Alex Salmond constituency. The

3:36:38 > 3:36:37took almost two thirds of the vote were staying. He is not standing

3:36:38 > 3:36:37listing. We have a new candidate and Gillian Martin is expected to have

3:36:38 > 3:36:37another large majority. And Edinburgh East, Kenny McAskill. That

3:36:38 > 3:36:37is where the Labour leader Kezia Dugdale astounding. Another new

3:36:38 > 3:36:37face. We can shift back to the West of Scotland. Inverclyde. Duncan

3:36:38 > 3:36:37McNeil seat for many years. The majority last time round was just

3:36:38 > 3:36:37over 500. Can Labour hold off a challenge from Stuart McMillan of

3:36:38 > 3:36:37the nut Scottish National Party? Another new face coming in, with the

3:36:38 > 3:36:37presiding officer going out. Could it be Jenny Gilruthe? And remember,

3:36:38 > 3:36:37if you were 16 or 17 at the time of the referendum, you will be able to

3:36:38 > 3:36:37vote for the first time tonight. This is the first thing you would be

3:36:38 > 3:36:37able to vote in the Scottish election. We can go to Clarkston

3:36:38 > 3:36:37know. We can hear more about Eastwood. We were talking about this

3:36:38 > 3:36:37is a short while ago. Much of the talk a layer on about this suddenly

3:36:38 > 3:36:37coming down to eat two horse race between the Scottish National Party

3:36:38 > 3:36:37and the Conservative Party. That is looking to be true. There is little

3:36:38 > 3:36:37confidence that Ken Mackintosh can hang onto this seat, which he had

3:36:38 > 3:36:37tabled since 1990 name. If I was a betting man, I do not think I would

3:36:38 > 3:36:37put my money on any of them! We think the declaration may be coming

3:36:38 > 3:36:37slightly before half past two in the morning. But I do not know who's

3:36:38 > 3:36:37slightly before half past two in the going to win! A very honest

3:36:38 > 3:36:37assessment! A little bit of gossip. The Secretary of State for Scotland

3:36:38 > 3:36:37is seeing he is confident the Conservatives will finish in second

3:36:38 > 3:36:37place at the selection. They believe they will couple -- pick up a couple

3:36:38 > 3:36:37of List seats in Glasgow. But Labour's number one candidate in

3:36:38 > 3:36:37the List system, the CVR confidently will themselves hang on for second

3:36:38 > 3:36:37place. He said it was not the time to talk about change, with regard to

3:36:38 > 3:36:37the leadership within Scotland. He said everything has just be kept on

3:36:38 > 3:36:37hold until all the results are in and the election is over. Willie

3:36:38 > 3:36:37Rennie, the leader of the Scottish Liberal Democrats. Gossip from his

3:36:38 > 3:36:37constituency is that he is doing rather well. He thinks there is a

3:36:38 > 3:36:37chance they could take that from the Scottish National Party. This is

3:36:38 > 3:36:37gossip that we are picking up from those who are at the various

3:36:38 > 3:36:37constituency counts. The actual results, we will of course bring you

3:36:38 > 3:36:37as the evening progresses. We can now get a picture from Argyll

3:36:38 > 3:36:37Bute. Good evening. This is the second biggest

3:36:38 > 3:36:37constituency in terms of land mass. Although it is a mainland

3:36:38 > 3:36:37constituency, it includes 20 38 point communities. Many of the

3:36:38 > 3:36:37ballot boxes have to be brought here by helicopter. Kent is well under

3:36:38 > 3:36:37ballot boxes have to be brought here way and we would not expect a result

3:36:38 > 3:36:37before four o'clock in the morning and from past experience, it may

3:36:38 > 3:36:37well be later. This seat is currently held by make Russell for

3:36:38 > 3:36:37the Scottish National Party, a government minister under Alex

3:36:38 > 3:36:37Salmond. He won the big majority last time and is likely to do so

3:36:38 > 3:36:37again. It is believed the Conservatives are also doing well.

3:36:38 > 3:36:37It is believed this is being repeated across the country. Donald

3:36:38 > 3:36:37Cameron, the constituency committee may well get elected on the List

3:36:38 > 3:36:37vote. The Labour Party does not have much

3:36:38 > 3:36:37of the history of winning here. Only four candidates. A quick word from

3:36:38 > 3:36:37Brian Taylor. The Scottish National Party saying

3:36:38 > 3:36:37it would be remarkable if they could achieve another overall majority,

3:36:38 > 3:36:37given the constituency and List system. It looks like being a

3:36:38 > 3:36:37coordinate for the Labour Party, unless expectations change. There

3:36:38 > 3:36:37could be reasons for that. We can no get the result from Hamilton,

3:36:38 > 3:36:37Larkhall and Stonehouse. I give notice of the following. The

3:36:38 > 3:36:37electorate is 50 652. The total votes cast were 20 895. The

3:36:38 > 3:36:37percentage of those who voted was 53%. The votes cast were as follows.

3:36:38 > 3:36:37Scottish Liberal Democrats, 836. Margaret McCulloch, Scottish Labour

3:36:38 > 3:36:37Party, 8000, 5008. Christina McKelvie, Scottish

3:36:38 > 3:36:37National Party, 13,000. Achieving. Margaret Mitchell, Scottish

3:36:38 > 3:36:37Conservative and Unionist Party, 5000, 590 six. 110 ballot papers

3:36:38 > 3:36:37were rejected. I deeply about Christine McKelvie is elected. The

3:36:38 > 3:36:37Scottish National Party hold Hamilton, Larkhall and Stonehouse.

3:36:38 > 3:36:37Christina McKelvie re-elected. 15,945 votes. Margaret McCulloch of

3:36:38 > 3:36:37the Labour Party in second place, with 8508. The Conservatives in

3:36:38 > 3:36:37third place, Margaret Mitchell. The term note 50%. The sheer of the

3:36:38 > 3:36:37vote, 48% to the Scottish National Party. 29% of the Labour Party 19%

3:36:38 > 3:36:37to the Conservatives. He lives the comparison to five years ago. The

3:36:38 > 3:36:37Labour Party vote down 10%. The Conservatives the main

3:36:38 > 3:36:37beneficiaries, up 9%. A swing of 5% from Labour to the

3:36:38 > 3:36:37SNP. A big boost to the Tory vote as well in that Lanarkshire

3:36:38 > 3:36:37constituency, which may be an indicator we want to pick up on.

3:36:38 > 3:36:38Let us hear from the