The 2024 General Election saw seats lost, constituencies gained – and one dramatic pause for a recount.
Here at The Press and Journal, we have been working through the night to bring you the most up-to-date news, results and developments as they happened.
And the election isn’t over yet, with news that the Inverness, Skye and West Ross-shire count is postponed until Saturday.
Election night 2024 – the highlights
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- Landslide victory for Labour in the UK
- SNP loses 38 seats – First Minister John Swinney admits it was a “very tough night” for his party
- Nigel Farage becomes an MP for the first time
- Rishi Sunak and Jeremy Hunt hold seats – Penny Mordaunt loses seat to Labour
- Kirsty Blackman (SNP) holds Aberdeen North
- Stephen Flynn (SNP) holds Aberdeen South
- Graham Leadbitter (SNP) wins Moray West, Nairn and Strathspey
- Seamus Logan (SNP) wins Aberdeenshire North and Moray East
- Douglas Ross loses out in bid for re-election
- Jamie Stone (Liberal Democrat) holds Caithness, Sutherland and Easter Ross seat
- Harriet Cross (Conservative) wins the Gordon and Buchan seat for the Tories
- Andrew Bowie (Conservative) retains his West Aberdeenshire and Kincardine seat
- Alistair Carmichael (Liberal Democrat) kept his seat for Orkney and Shetland
- Brendan O’Hara (SNP) wins Argyll, Bute and South Lochaber
- Inverness, Skye and West Ross-shire recount delayed until Saturday.
Inverness, Skye and West Ross-shire recount delayed
The recount for the Inverness, Skye and West Ross-shire constituency is postponed until 10.30am on Saturday, it has been confirmed.
Candidates on the ground have been growing “increasingly frustrated” by the delay in this morning’s process.
Now, officials say the count will be delayed for a day.
Our reporter at the count in Dingwall, the P&J’s Stuart Findlay said candidates have felt “left in the dark”, with “lots of headshaking going on among the officials”.
He added: “Lib Dems believe their candidate, Angus MacDonald, has gained the seat from the SNP’s Drew Hendry.”
Recount for Inverness, Skye and West Ross-shire
The returning officer has declared an official recount in the race for the Inverness, Skye and West Ross-shire seat.
Earlier, a vote was undertaken after a ‘discrepancy’ was found between the verified vote tally and the actual vote tally.
The results will be announced later this morning.
Argyll, Bute and South Lochaber declares
Brendan O’Hara takes seat for the new west coast constituency.
He wins with 15,582 votes.
Voting breakdown:
Amanda Hampsey (Con) 9,350
Hamish Maxwell (Lab) 8,585
Alan Reid (Lib Dems) 7,359
Melanie Hurst (Reform) 3,045
Tommy Macpherson (Independent) 941
Aberdeenshire North and Moray East declares
Seamus Logan has become the MP for Aberdeenshire North and Moray East. This leaves Scottish Tory leader Douglas Ross without a seat.
The SNP representative won with 13,455 votes.
Voting breakdown:
Douglas Ross (Con) 12,513
Ian Bailey (Lib) 2,783
Andy Brown (Lab) 3,876
Jo Hart (Reform) 5,562
West Aberdeenshire and Kincardine declares
Andrew Bowie has held the West Aberdeenshire and Kincardine for the Conservatives with 17,428 votes.
Voting breakdown:
Kate Blake (Labour) 6,397
Brandon Innes (Reform) 3,497
Iris Leask (Independent) 219
William Linegar (Green) 1,032
David Neill (Independent) 56
Glen Reynolds (SNP) 13,987
Michael Turvey (Lib) 6,342
Gordon and Buchan declares
Harriet Cross wins the Gordon and Buchan seat for the Conservatives with 14,418 votes.
Voting breakdown:
Nurque Hoque Ali (Lab) 4,686
Kris Callander (Reform) 3,897
Richard Thomson (SNP) 13,540
Conrad Wood (Lib) 7,307
Caithness, Sutherland and Easter Ross declares
Jamie Stone has held the Caithness, Sutherland and Easter Ross seats for the Liberal Democrats.
He won with 22,736 votes.
Lucy Beattie (SNP) 12,247
Steve Chisholm (Alba) 795
Fiona Fawcett (Con) 1,860
Eva Kestner (Lab) 3,409
Sandra Skinner (Reform) 3,360
Anne Thomas (Green) 1.641
Aberdeen North results
Kirsty Blackman(SNP) has been re-elected to represent Aberdeen North. She won the seat with 14,533 votes.
Voting breakdown:
Lynn Thomson (Lab) 12,773
Desmond Bouse (Lib) 2,583
Gillian Tebberen (Con) 5,881
Kenneth Leggat (Reform) 3,781
Dawn Smith (Scottish Family Party) 352
Esme Houston (Green) 1,275
Lucas Grant (Trade Unionist and Socialist Coalition) 214
Charlie Abel (Alba) 703
Aberdeen South declares
The SNP have held the Aberdeen South seat with Stephen Flynn being re-elected. He won the seat with 15,213 votes.
Voting breakdown:
John Wheeler (Con) 11,300
M. Tauqeer Malik (Lab) 11,455
Guy Ingerson (Green) 1,609
Jeff Goodhall (Lib) 2,921
Graeme Craib (Scottish Family Party) 423
Sophie Molly (Independent) 225
Michael Pearce (Reform) 3,199
Orkney and Shetland declares
Alistair Carmichael has kept his Orkney and Shetland seat.
He has been re-elected with 11,392 votes.
Voting breakdown:
Alex Armitage (Green) 2,046
Robert Leslie (SNP) 3,585
Shane Painter (Con) 586
Conor Savage (Lab) 1,493
Robert Smith (Reform) 1,586
Moray West, Nairn and Strathspey declares
Graham Leadbitter (SNP) has won the Moray West, Nairn and Strathspey seat with 14,961 votes.
Candidates: Neil Alexander (Lib) 3,285
James Hynam (Lab) 8,295
Euan Morrice (Scottish Family Party) 423
Kathleen Robertson (Con) 13,960
Steve Skerrett (Reform) 3,490
Draeyk van der Horn (Green) 1,676
Turnouts
West Aberdeen and Kincardine: 67.29% – 49,119 votes cast
Aberdeenshire North and Moray East: 54.75% – 38,358 votes cast
Gordon and Buchan: 63.23% – 44,014 votes cast
Moray West, Nairn and Strathspey: 60.49% – 46,721 votes cast
Aberdeen North: 55.59% – 42,210 votes cast
Aberdeen South: 60.17% – 46,527 votes cast
Caithness, Sutherland and Easter Ross: 61,87% – 46,170 votes cast
Orkney and Shetland: 60.74% – 20,794 votes cast
Inverness, Skye and West Ross-shire: 61.88% – 48,221 votes cast
Argyll Bute and South Lochaber: 62.8%
Big names arrive at the counts
Stephen Flynn and Kirsty Blackman have appeared at the Aberdeen count.
The SNP candidates for Aberdeen North and South entered the P&J Live hoping to retain their seats.
Douglas Ross will be hoping that he’s not saying ‘cheerio’ to his time as an MP.
He arrives at the Aberdeen count with the aim of taking the Aberdeenshire North and Moray East seat.
In an exit poll interview on Channel 4, Douglas Ross was grilled over his relationship with David Duguid.
The panel asked Douglas Ross if he had seen or spoken to David Duguid.
Douglas Ross said: “I understand David wanted to stand in this seat. It wasn’t a decision I was involved in, but the party management board looked at the situation.”
“And with David’s health and his best interests at heart, they decided that the would not support his bid to seek re-election here.
“And with 24 hours before the close of nominations, I put my name forward and I’ve been campaigning hard in Aberdeenshire, North and East ever since.”
Andrew Bowie has also entered the building where he hopes to re-secure the West Aberdeenshire and Kincardine constituency.
Ballot boxes rerouted
The Argyll, Bute and South Lochaber constituency count has been held up in part by a road accident on the Bealach an Righ on the A85 in Oban, where ballot baxes had to be rerouted on an 85-mile detour.
Talk from the counts
A Labour source thinks the SNP will retain their seats in Aberdeen, saying: “It looks like Stephen Flynn has held on in Aberdeen South and same for Kirsty Blackman in Aberdeen North – but with “vastly reduced” majorities.”
The Tories are fancying their chances in Aberdeenshire.
A Conservative source says the party is feeling “quietly confident” in West Aberdeenshire and Kincardine where Andrew Bowie is standing for re-election.
Further north the Lib Dems are feeling confident, with a source in Dingwall saying Caithness, Sutherland and Easter Ross is a “one-horse race” for Jamie Stone.
There is also a suggestion the Lib Dems are doing better than expected in Inverness against the SNP’s Drew Hendry, and definitely feel like it’s up for grabs.
On the west coast there is a feeling that the Argyll, Bute and Lochaber seat is ‘too close to call’, with conservative Amanda Hampsey ‘polling well’ against the tide of the national vote.
How close are things in Moray?
Sampling results are pointing to an incredibly tight outcome in Moray West, Nairn and Strathspey with SNP 31.3% and Conservatives at 30.2%
Analysis: How will Moray West, Nairn and Strathspey be won? Press and Journal reporter David Mackay explains…
Sturgeon bullish on Independence despite gloomy SNP projections
The former first minister said the election results may take Scottish independence “off the immediate agenda” for the incoming government, but it would be “foolish” to think the issue has gone away.
Ms Sturgeon said: “A lot of the people – if not the majority of people – who in this election have shifted from the SNP to Labour, they still believe in independence, they haven’t shifted their opinion on independence.
“So it might take the issue off of the immediate agenda for Keir Starmer, but it would be – I think – foolish to suggest that the independence question has gone away.”
Did you know that the Isles votes are collected and dropped off by helicopter to be counted? Here are the ballot boxes arriving in Lochgoilhead
Exit poll story ‘extraordinary’ – Tory MSP says SNP have been found out
North East Conservative MSP Liam Kerr has said the SNP could pay the price for not dealing with local issues such as the A96 and A9.
He said: “The story of the exit poll is the SNP might go down to 10 seats which is extraordinary.
“But I think what it means is that in the north-east, as we have said for a long time, it’s all in play.
“We have our own issues, the A96, the fishing, Cove and Newtonhill rail stations, new oil and gas.
“I have to say, I think the SNP have been found out here.
“Now, after 17 years in government, people know that you’ve got a central belt obsessed SNP that is not dealing with the issues that the people of the north-east care about.
“And if this exit poll comes to pass, that’s the story of it.
“We really think all seats are in play. That has been the story on the doors.
“But that is as much because you’re getting people reporting back that the SNP has promised the world for 17 years and haven’t delivered any of it.
“You start talking about the Toll of Birness, the A96 which was supposed to be dualled years ago, the A9… all of these promises.
“I think people are finally fed up with it and saying: ‘This is our chance’.
“So we are pretty optimistic and positive about the north-east.”
Could Stephen Flynn’s Aberdeen South seat be vulnerable?
With Liam Kerr saying all the north-east seats are in play the Conservatives are hinting their battles against the SNP in the region are ‘on a knife-edge’.
A senior Scottish Tory source said suggestions the party could win seats like Aberdeen South were “utter nonsense”.
An ITV projection indicated the Conservatives could gain seats from the nationalists north of the border – but the party is keen to temper expectations.
The senior source said contests against the SNP in the north-east were on a “knife-edge”.
It comes as the election exit poll suggested John Swinney’s party could fall to 10 seats.
Glen Reynolds is more optimistic about his party’s chances in the north-east than the exit polls suggest.
The SNP candidate in West Aberdeenshire and Kincardine said: “If it’s true then that is a shock without any shadow of a doubt.
“It’s not what we are seeing in the north-east where it’s a lot closer. It might be a reflection on what’s happening in the central belt.
“We need to wait and see how the night plays out.”
Video: First ballot boxes arrive at counts in the north and north-east.
General election exit polls predict ‘Labour landslide’
The latest figures show Labour could be on course for a majority of 170 as the exit polls are released.
The polls predict Labour will have 410 seats, with the Conservatives taking 131.
It could be a disappointing night for the SNP with polls showing just 10 seats.
The Liberal Democrats are predicted to take 61 seats.
The Reform party are expected to take 13 seats with the Greens projected to have 2.
As polls closed at 10pm, Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer tweeted: “To everyone who has campaigned for Labour in this election, to everyone who voted for us and put their trust in our changed Labour Party – thank you.”
The party stands to make gains across the Midlands and North, winning back seats in the “red wall” that it lost in 2019 and making deep incursions into traditional, Tory-held territory following a final-week blitz of more rural seats by Sir Keir Starmer.
Wipeout for the SNP in 2024 General Election?
The Scottish National Party support has plummeted according to the exit polls. The SNP are projected to be left with just 10 seats. Down 38 from the last election.
SNP campaign director Stewart Hosie described the prediction as “stark” but added that it was “just an exit poll”.
“In the next few hours, we’ll see how accurate or otherwise it is,” he told the PA news agency.
Asked what such a result could mean for the SNP, Mr Hosie said he was not concerned.
“In 2005, I think we were down to five or six MPs and we went on to win the Holyrood election in 2007,” he said.
“In 2010, I think we returned six and went on to win a majority in Holyrood in 2011.”
What does it mean for the Tories?
Ruth Davidson called the projected election result a “massacre” for the Conservative Party after exit polls were released.
But she said the word coming out of Conservative central office earlier was that the Tories could be below three figures in terms of seats.
The former leader of the Scottish Tories said on Sky News: “So actually 131 – while, there is no dressing it up, this is a massacre – they’ve actually, if this is right, pulled a few back from where they thought they were.”
Reform gaining momentum
Nigel Farage’s Reform UK is set to win 13 seats, according to the exit poll.
The party, which was only formed in 2018, currently only has one MP, Lee Anderson, who defected from the Conservatives.
It would be the first time Reform have managed to secure an MP at the ballot box.
Mr Farage had earlier declined to say what number of MPs they would classify as a win, but 13 elected representatives is higher than predictions by most polls.
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Inverness, Skye and West Ross-shire
This is a new seat with different boundaries. The overlapping constituency used to be Inverness, Nairn, Badenoch and Strathspey, which was held by Drew Hendry (SNP).
Candidates include: Drew Hendry (SNP), Dillan Hill (Reform), Angus MacDonald (Lib), Peter Newman (Green), Darren Paxton (Scottish Equality), Michael Perera (Lab), Ruaridh Stewart (Con).
Expected declaration time: 5am
- For more information see our result tracker.