Summary

  • The leaders of five of Scotland's political parties go head to head in a special live BBC Scotland debate

  • John Swinney (SNP), Douglas Ross (Con), Anas Sarwar (Lab), Alex Cole-Hamilton (Lib-Dem) and Lorna Slater (Greens) will face questions from members of the public

  • The leaders clash on how to tackle the cost of living crisis for working families, the NHS and independence

  • John Swinney says austerity, Brexit and the cost of living crisis have been forced on Scotland by Westminster

  • Douglas Ross points the finger at the SNP for the strain on the NHS

  • Anas Sarwar says a Labour government would give an immediate cash injection to the health service

  • Lorna Slater calls on Scottish Labour to accept the people of Scotland should be able to decide on independence

  • Alex Cole-Hamilton says the public are fed up with both the SNP and Conservative governments

  • After the debate, you can watch more political analysis and reaction by clicking on the play icon at the top of the page

  • On the late Reporting Scotland programme, Alba leader Alex Salmond criticises the SNP for not putting enough emphasis on Scottish independence

  • David Kirkwood, Reform UK's deputy chairman in Scotland, says the country has benefitted economically from Brexit

  • Scottish Family party leader Richard Lucas defends anti-abortion vigils and criticises the "transgender message" being taught in schools

Live Reporting

Edited by Paul McLaren

  1. What state are the Scottish Greens in?

    Philip Sim
    BBC Scotland political correspondent

    Scottish Green Party co-leaders Patrick Harvie (left) and Lorna Slater (right)PA

    Scottish Green Party co-leaders Patrick Harvie (left) and Lorna Slater (right) during their campaign launch with election candidates and activists in Stirling

    The Scottish Greens are in reasonably buoyant mood, for a party which has just been kicked out of government.

    They had been very proud of the Bute House Agreement, signed with Nicola Sturgeon, which took them into power and made Patrick Harvie and Lorna Slater the first Green ministers in the UK.

    The agreement was in part a consequence of the growing Green influence at Holyrood, with the party returning eight MSPs – one of whom became the parliament’s Presiding Officer – in 2021.

    But it all fell apart after Humza Yousaf took over, with a series of policy reversals and disagreements over controversial topics culminating in the fall-out which ultimately cost the first minister his job.

    The good news for the Green leaders he sacked from government is that an election is the perfect time to play up differences between political parties, and they have seized the opportunity to paint themselves as being more “progressive” than the SNP.

    They are now standing a record 44 candidates in the election, a huge number when you consider they only stood three in the 2017 poll called at similarly short notice.

  2. What state are the Scottish Lib Dems in?

    Philip Sim
    BBC Scotland political correspondent

    Liberal Democrat leader Sir Ed Davey stands with Alex Cole-Hamilton and activistsPA

    Liberal Democrat leader Sir Ed Davey stands with Alex Cole-Hamilton and activists during their party's Scottish launch at North Queensferry

    The Lib Dems are hoping to bounce back from the electoral kicking they took in the aftermath of their term in coalition with the Conservatives at Westminster.

    Once a party of government at Holyrood, they currently don’t even qualify for a weekly question to the first minister because they only have four MSPs.

    At Westminster, the party has strong pockets of support – but they are very localised, meaning they may struggle for targets to return many more MPs.

    Boundary changes have muddied the picture a bit, but the party won four seats in 2019 and were second in two others – and otherwise, are in third or fourth place everywhere else.

    Their hope at this election may be to win in the four or five seats they are competitive in, and to build enough support in other places to carve out a foothold for a wider recovery in future elections.

  3. What state are the Scottish Conservatives in?

    Philip Sim
    BBC Scotland political correspondent

    Douglas Fraser and Rishi Sunak share hot drinnks at the Port of Nigg.Reuters

    Douglas Ross and Rishi Sunak share hot drinnks at the Port of Nigg.

    The Conservatives are at a relative high point in Scottish politics, having overtaken Labour into second place at Holyrood in 2016 and retained that position in 2021.

    They also have more seats at Westminster, having benefited from the prominence of the constitutional debate in the aftermath of the 2014 independence referendum.

    The Tories successfully corralled the unionist vote as the SNP swept up pro-independence ones, crafting quite a distinct image from that of the UK-wide party under Ruth Davidson’s leadership.

    That was quite a turnaround from where the Tories were in 1997, when they were completely wiped out north of the border by Tony Blair’s New Labour landslide.

    But there is a question about how well the Scottish Tories can hold their position if independence is not the key issue in the coming election.

    And with Douglas Ross having already announced his intention to quit, the party faces an uncertain future in terms of its leadership.

    Should the election go badly for Rishi Sunak, raising similar questions for the UK-wide Conservative movement, there may even be a fresh debate about the Scottish party’s relationship to the one down south.

  4. What state are Scottish Labour in?

    Philip Sim
    BBC Scotland political correspondent

    Labour Party leader Sir Keir Starmer and Scottish Labour leader Anas SarwarPA

    Labour Party leader Sir Keir Starmer and Scottish Labour leader Anas Sarwar at a launch event, for Labour's six steps for change, in Greenock

    Labour is at a historic low in terms of its representation in Scotland, having slipped to third place at Holyrood and returning just one MP in 2019.

    It’s a far cry from the party’s past dominance, when it built the original “red wall” across the central belt and sent prime ministers, chancellors and home secretaries to Westminster.

    It has been a turbulent period. Since Jack McConnell was ousted as first minister in 2007, Scottish Labour has had seven leaders. It has struggled to come up with an answer to the constitutional question, and found itself shut out of the binary debate over independence.

    But Anas Sarwar will be hoping that his partnership with Sir Keir Starmer could produce a winning formula at Westminster - and beyond that to be first Scottish Labour leader to actually gain seats at Holyrood, in his bid to return to government there too.

  5. What state are the SNP in?

    Philip Sim
    BBC Scotland political correspondent

    SNP leader John Swinney in Paisley

    SNP leader John Swinney joins activists in Paisley.

    John Swinney has made no secret of the fact the SNP has had a tough time of late.

    The party has been utterly dominant in Scottish politics for over a decade, having been in power at Holyrood since 2007 and having swept most Westminster seats since 2015.

    But it has now had three leaders in just over a year, following the departures of Nicola Sturgeon and Humza Yousaf.

    It is currently the subject of a police investigation into its funding and finances, which has already seen its former chief executive charged.

    It has also struggled with policy setbacks on controversial topics, contributing to the implosion of the governing pact with the Greens, and is now looking over its shoulder at Labour following a heavy reversal in the Rutherglen and Hamilton West by-election last year.

  6. Analysis

    What's coming up on the doorstep?

    Rajdeep Sandhu
    Westminster Correspondent, BBC Scotland's Nine

    It’s been two weeks of campaigning so far and I’m told by candidates knocking on doors across Scotland that the cost of living, jobs and the NHS are the universal themes.

    But independence isn’t getting the same airtime.

    One SNP candidate tells me the party has "got a bit of work to do" and voters are talking about “a bit of everything” including some “independence chat”.

    A Conservative candidate tells me independence is ”not as fundamental as it once was”.

    An SNP party staffer tells me they're going to lose seats admitting "the tides are turning”.

    A good night would be keeping 20 seats or more. That would mean losing over half of the seats it currently has and potentially strip them of the third party status in the Commons which comes with extra privileges.

    The status of third party in Westminster could be taken back by the Liberal Democrats.

    But one Scottish candidate told me they'd been burnt before by high hopes.

    And what about Labour, the party that seems to have it all to lose?

    A Labour candidate told me people were fed up with the SNP, not independence, so the strategy was to exaggerate the issues they agree on with voters, rather than the issue that can divide them.

    Two Conservative candidates I spoke to shared their hope of doubling their number of seats (they won six in the last election).

  7. A look back at last week's Scottish leaders' debate

    Anas Sarwar, John Swinney, STV Political editor Colin MacKay, Douglas Ross and Alex Cole-HamiltonSTV/PA

    It’s been one week since the four Scottish party leaders met in a TV debate where the North Sea oil and gas industry was the main topic of discussion.

    First minister and SNP leader John Swinney was critical of the Labour position on oil and gas, warning a failure to deliver a “just transition” could create an “industrial wasteland” in north east Scotland.

    Scottish Labour leader Anas Sarwar pledged to “put our money where our mouth is”, saying his party would help create 69,000 new jobs including 53,000 roles supported by GB Energy – a publicly-owned energy generation company he said would be headquartered in Scotland.

    Scottish Conservative leader Douglas Ross said neither the SNP nor Labour would protect the industry, referencing a report by the Aberdeen and Grampian Chamber of Commerce. He said Labour energy policies could make the industry “even worse” by extending the Tories’ windfall tax on oil and gas profits and removing some tax breaks for investment.

    Scottish Liberal Democrat leader Alex Cole-Hamilton said the Scottish and UK governments had been in power for “far too long” and been “bereft of ideas” to make progress on a fair transition away from fossil fuels.

  8. What's the format for tonight's debate?

    Debate Night

    Tonight's moderator is Stephen Jardine who hosts BBC Scotland's Debate Night on Wednesday evenings.

    It’s a Question Time type format for this Debate Night Special.

    The programme will begin with opening statements from each party leader with the order being determined by the drawing of lots.

    This will be followed by audience questions to the panel.

    Stephen Jardine is tonight's moderator and will also invite comments from the audience.

  9. Analysis

    Five-party leaders debate comes amid turmoil

    Philip Sim
    BBC Scotland political correspondent

    There will be five party leaders going head to head in tonight’s debate. But it comes amid a period of significant turmoil in terms of leadership in Scottish politics.

    Douglas Ross will be the one man on the stage actually standing in the election - but his last-minute decision to run was so controversial with his MSP colleagues that he’s had to resign as Scottish Tory leader, weeks before polls have even opened.

    That should provide something of an open goal for John Swinney, but he has only been in his own job for a month after Humza Yousaf self-destructed as SNP leader and first minister in similarly spectacular fashion.

    Anas Sarwar is certainly hoping to capitalise on the sense of chaos around the two parties which have beaten his one into third place at Holyrood, but it’s worth reflecting that he is the seventh Scottish Labour leader since they last supplied a first minister. It’s hardly been a golden era.

    Alex Cole-Hamilton is leading his first election campaign atop what remains of the Scottish Lib Dems, which returned just four representatives in the last Holyrood and Westminster contests.

    Lorna Slater is also fairly new to the frontlines, but she has already taken the Scottish Greens into government at Holyrood - and out of it again, following a period of policy disputes and rows over controversial topics culminating in the aforementioned Humza Yousaf meltdown.

    All five will feel they can get some digs in at their rivals when it comes to leadership.

  10. Who are the leaders taking part in BBC Scotland's election debate?

    Here's who will be appearing tonight on behalf of the SNP, Scottish Labour, the Scottish Conservatives, the Scottish Lib Dems and the Scottish Greens.

    • John Swinney is in his second spell as SNP leader and is also Scotland's First Minister
    • Douglas Ross is the Scottish Conservative leader
    • Anas Sarwar is the Scottish Labour leader
    • Alex Cole-Hamiltion is the Scottish Liberal Democrats leader
    • Lorna Slater is the Scottish Green Party co-leader

    For detailed biographies of the party leaders, click here.

  11. Welcome

    Welcome to our live coverage of tonight's Election 2024 Scotland leaders' debate.

    This BBC Scotland Debate Night special will be held in Glasgow between 20:00 and 21:00.

    It will be broadcast live on BBC1 Scotland, the BBC News Channel across the UK and Radio nan Gaidheal.

    Stick with us and we'll bring you reports and analysis of what promises to be a fascinating debate.

    And remember you can watch live here with us, just by clicking on the play icon at the top of this page.