Nicola Sturgeon declared the SNP has “made history” by winning a third term in government at Holyrood.
While the results of many seats are still to be announced, the First Minister said it is “now beyond doubt” that her party has won the election.
She spoke as results put the Scottish Conservatives on track to become the official opposition at the Scottish Parliament, subjecting Labour to what would be its worst ever Holyrood result.
The SNP made a clean sweep of all the Glasgow constituencies – as the party did in last year’s Westminster election – with Ms Sturgeon comfortably returned as the MSP for Glasgow Southside.
Scottish Labour’s electoral collapse continued, as the party lost seats to both the SNP and the Tories and leader Kezia Dugdale failed in her bid to take Edinburgh Eastern.
In contrast, Scottish Conservative leader Ruth Davidson won Edinburgh Central from the SNP, while her deputy Jackson Carlaw took Eastwood from Labour’s Ken Macintosh, who had represented the area since the Scottish Parliament was established in 1999.
Another Tory gain saw Oliver Mundell, the son of Scottish Secretary David Mundell, win Dumfriesshire from Labour, while Alexander Burnett took Aberdeenshire West for the Tories from the SNP.
There was also success for the Liberal Democrats, with Scottish leader Willie Rennie winning back the North East Fife seat from the SNP, while children’s charity worker Alex Cole-Hamilton won Edinburgh Western from the nationalists.
Follow our coverage of the Scottish Election 2016 live here on our blog throughout the night and into the morning.
