David McDaid
BBC Scotland reporter in Ayr

Counting staff in Ayr’s Citadel Leisure Centre are all hemmed in and separated by perspex screens.

The Scottish Conservatives’ John Scott has held this seat for 21 years. But last time out, his majority was only 750 votes. He tells me they’ve “thrown everything at it” in this campaign.

The SNP, who are the main challengers for the constituency seat, have the area’s MP Allan Dorans here backing their candidate Siobhan Brown. He says they are hoping for a “substantial win” while Brown feels that Brexit could be a factor that helps them get the swing they need.

Who will be in the new Scottish cabinet?published at 11:18 British Summer Time 7 May 2021

11:18 BST 7 May 2021

Kirsten Campbell
BBC Scotland political correspondent

Image source, PA

Political anoraks might like to play "Fantasy Cabinet" as the results come in.

Four of Nicola Sturgeon's 11 cabinet secretaries are standing down at this election, including the environment secretary Roseanna Cunningham, who was Scotland's longest-serving elected Parliamentarian.

The polls suggest the SNP will remain in government. So who will replace the outgoing Health Secretary Jeane Freeman in the middle of a global pandemic?

Communities Secretary Aileen Campbell is leaving to try to find a better work-life balance with her young children.

And Scotland will need a new constitution secretary to take over from Mike Russell. Whoever gets the job will have an in-tray which includes the aftermath of Brexit and negotiations with the UK government about independence.

If the SNP’s former Westminster leader Angus Robertson is successful in Edinburgh Central, might he be given a government job immediately? Junior ministers like Mairi Gougeon, Ivan McKee and Jenny Gilruth could be offered a promotion.

Interestingly, the SNP manifesto contained video links about policies. The deputy first minister John Swinney spoke about independence, rather than education. Does that signal a portfolio move for him in the reshuffle to come?

What is the size of the Scottish electorate and do we know the turnout?, asks James Martinpublished at 11:09 British Summer Time 7 May 2021

11:09 BST 7 May 2021

Philip Sim
BBC Scotland political correspondent

The electorate this year is the largest ever for a Holyrood election, with 4.2m people registered to vote – up by 180,000 on the figure for 2016. This will in part be because the franchise has been extended to some new groups, including refugees and prisoners serving sentences of under a year.

It is, however, just short of the number who signed up for the 2014 independence referendum. And turnout is unlikely to reach the sky-high levels of 2014, with average turnout for Holyrood polls sitting at 53%.

Image source, PA Media

Reports are starting to emerge of queues at polling stations, but it is hard to tell if this was caused by high engagement or the more laborious process of conducting a Covid-safe vote.

We will not know the complete totals for each seat until the counts are well under way.

What is meant by the "list" vote?, asks Bernardpublished at 11:02 British Summer Time 7 May 2021

11:02 BST 7 May 2021

Philip Sim
BBC Scotland political correspondent

In the Scottish election, people have two votes - one for a constituency MSP, and another for a regional ballot.

This regional vote is often known as the “list” vote.

There are 73 Constituency MSPs, each elected on a first-past-the-post system similar to the UK general election - the winner is the candidate who receives the most votes in each constituency.

Image source, Getty Images

In the regional ballot, people generally vote for a party. The parties are then allocated a number of MSPs depending on how many votes they receive - once the number of constituencies already won in that region is taken into account - to make the overall result more proportional.

This means that people in Scotland are each represented by eight MSPs - one representing their constituency and the other seven representing their region.

You can see a fuller explanation here.

What difference does it make if votes are counted during the day or overnight?published at 10:55 British Summer Time 7 May 2021

10:55 BST 7 May 2021

Philip Sim
BBC Scotland political correspondent

Maureen Macintyre asks: What difference does it make whether votes are counted during the day or night during Covid with social distancing?

Philip Sim says: There are a lot of uncertainties around how the counts will play out.

We have never counted a Holyrood election during the day, or during a pandemic, so it is hard to unpick one from the other.

Clearly, Covid does not care if it is day or night, but the fact there are fewer staff counting ballots means the process will take much longer – so it made sense to run them over a series of days rather than in one great marathon session.

This is uncharted territory in Scotland, so we (and indeed returning officers) will no doubt have learned a lot by the end of today – and thus will have a better idea about how things may run tomorrow.

Correspondent Phil Sim answers your questionspublished at 10:53 British Summer Time 7 May 2021

10:53 BST 7 May 2021

Philip Sim
BBC Scotland political correspondent

You've been getting in touch with your questions on the Scottish election. Political correspondent Philip Sim is on hand for the next few minutes to answer your questions.

If you have a question for Philip or any of the BBC correspondents and reporters, you can submit questions using the button at the top of this page.

Newsnight

Scottish Labour's recovery from years of decline "starts now", according to the party's deputy leader, Jackie Baillie.

Ms Baillie said new leader Anas Sarwar, who took over at the end of February, has provided fresh impetus that will see an upturn in Labour's share of the vote when results are declared later today and tomorrow.

"Anas has literally been in post for 10 weeks," she told BBC's Newsnight programme. "We started at 14% in the polls and there was even talk of the Greens overtaking us, but now we have improved that position substantially.

"I don’t want to speculate at this stage but certainly turnout is up across the board. We don’t know what that will mean in marginal areas like mine (Dumbarton) and in other seats across the country.

"But I think Scottish Labour’s recovery starts now. We ran a very positive campaign and I think Anas Sarwar is building an alternative to the SNP. We have been very clear the priority is recovering from the pandemic."

Good Morning Scotland
BBC Radio Scotland

Image source, PA Media

Ramsay Jones, a former special advisor to the Scottish Conservatives and David Cameron, believes Scottish Tory leader Douglas Ross has got his message across to voters.

"What Douglas has done, and what the Conservatives have done, is tapped into what I think is the mood of the nation which is 'Not now Nicola'. I think the Scottish public are going to find a way of translating that into the result," he said.

Image source, PA

Former first minister Alex Salmond has been photographed at the P&J Live arena in Aberdeen, where the count is under way for a number of north-east seats.

At the very beginning of the election campaign the former SNP leader made the shock announcement that he would be standing as a member of the newly-formed Alba party.

He is seeking election as a list MSP for the north-east region in a bid to create a "super-majority" for independence at Holyrood.

There has been a record turnout among postal voters in Edinburgh, BBC Scotland has learned.

A total of 89.2% of people who had registered to vote by post returned their ballots.

Image source, .

Martin McCluskey, a former Labour political director, believes Scottish party leader Anas Sarwar has led the way in the election campaign.

He tells the BBC's Good Morning Scotland programme: "What's most interesting is not only did he increase (support) in the polls over the course of the campaign, but he also moved the other parties onto the territory that he started on.

"So by the final debate, all the parties were arguing over the national recovery which was where we started the campaign."

Mornings with Stephen Jardine
BBC Radio Scotland

Radio Scotland listeners have been calling in to tell presenter Stephen Jardine about their experiences at the polling stations yesterday.

Among them was 72-year-old Michael, who said he had to return to his local polling station in Edinburgh three times due to the queue - it meant he didn't cast his vote until after 22:00.

Image source, @MsEvaHannah

Andrew Kerr
Scottish political correspondent

The pictures of queues at polling stations last night were a reminder of Cleggmania in 2010. But how much of that yesterday evening was down to high turnout and how much to Covid rules?

SNP sources say turnout has been “surprisingly high” and their support has been motivated.

Sources also suggest that some polling stations saw a higher turnout than usual in various Glasgow constituencies – but remember it’s an SNP bastion already.

Image source, Nicola Sturgeon

They question if people are turning out in droves to vote Labour or Conservative? For the Conservatives, sources suggest their vote has also held up but the turnout and myriad other factors make predictions very hard.

So, still very unclear if the SNP will get over the line with a majority. One politician said it’s nerve-wracking – and they wished they could just start counting.

Jamie McIvor
BBC Scotland News Correspondent

Here in Glasgow, as in most places, local issues haven't really been to the fore in recent weeks - rather it's been about the recovery from the pandemic and whether there should be a second independence referendum.

That's not to say there haven't been local issues though - there has been a row about changes to local library services for example, with some sites not re-opening. Whether that translates to the way people voted yesterday remains to be seen.

But certainly there has been a lot of engagement. We have heard reports of queues outside polling stations in Glasgow last night and extra ballot boxes being sent out because some of them have filled up early, partly because the regional list paper in the city was unusually large.

There are eight constituencies here in Glasgow. Four are going to be counted today, and four more will be confirmed tomorrow.

Perhaps the most interesting will be Glasgow Southside. That is the battle between Anas Sarwar and Nicola Sturgeon. While few would seriously suggest that Nicola Sturgeon won't win the constituency, there is a question of whether Anas Sarwar will make significant inroads into her majority.

Ballot boxes for the six constituencies in the capital - Edinburgh Central, Edinburgh Eastern, Edinburgh Northern & Leith, Edinburgh Pentlands, Edinburgh Southern and Edinburgh Western - have been delivered to the counting venue at the Royal Highland Centre in Ingliston.

Counting is due to start at 09:30, with returning officer Andrew Kerr keeping an eye on proceedings.

Some Edinburgh polling venues stayed open later last night to accommodate queues of voters.

What are the parties saying behind the scenes?published at 09:18 British Summer Time 7 May 2021

09:18 BST 7 May 2021

Nick Eardley
Political correspondent

Treat everything you hear over the next few hours with a big dollop of caution. It’s going to be a while before the first results come in. But from chat with the parties this morning, here are a few things I’m hearing.

The SNP think they have got their vote out – and attracted some new voters. Senior sources say it feels less like 2017, when the party lost a number of seats at a general election, and more like 2019 when they won many back.

We can’t say for sure what that means because the system is complicated, but the SNP are in good spirits overnight. The Tories are too – they think their regional list focus will bear fruit. The Greens are also confident of doing well on the list, with a source suggesting they are on course for a record return. Labour and the Liberal Democrats are talking up tactical voting in the seats they hold, but both are keeping cards close to their chests when it comes to the list.

As I say, don’t get over-excited by this. A lot could change over the next few hours, and the data machines the parties have aren’t the same this year because of the pandemic. But it’s a flavour of the chat behind the HQs this morning.

Professor Sir John Curtice
Polling expert

Image source, Green Party/PA

Professor Sir John Curtice, speaking to BBC Radio's Good Morning Scotland programme, says there has been very little movement in the polls over the course of the Scottish election campaign.

"Labour made a bit of ground in the constituencies, according to the polls," he said.

"The SNP certainly fell back on the list, down about three points over the course of the campaign, and lo and behold, the Alba Party has 3% on the list. So Mr Salmond’s intervention has probably cost the SNP some list votes.

"But at the end of the day, the performance of the Greens is primarily responsible for the fact the SNP list vote appears to be more than 10 points adrift of its constituency vote."

Can the Lib Dems hold on to Shetland?published at 08:51 British Summer Time 7 May 2021

08:51 BST 7 May 2021

Jen Stout
BBC Scotland reporter in Shetland

Image source, Getty Images

The big story in Shetland today is whether this Liberal Democrats stronghold might switch. It would be a huge coup for the SNP.

The Lib Dems have held this seat in the Scottish parliament since its creation in 1999, and the Westminster seat has been Liberal or Liberal Democrats for seven decades.

There are historical reasons for that allegiance but in recent years it has started to slip. In the by-election vote two years ago when Tavish Scott stood down, the Lib Dems' vote dropped nearly 20%.

Orkney's internal and external issuespublished at 08:40 British Summer Time 7 May 2021

08:40 BST 7 May 2021

Huw Williams
BBC Radio Orkney

It’s a glorious day in Orkney and we’re expecting the ballot boxes to arrive under police escort shortly.

The main issues in Orkney, like across the rest of the country, have been recovery from the Covid pandemic, the future for business and tourism and making sure young people don’t suffer because of the disruption to their education.

And, of course, the continuing impact of Brexit – remember Brexit? – with special concerns in the country for agriculture, shellfish and food business.

Some island-specific issues too, which you could sum up in a word as connectivity.

That’s things like our internal and lifeline external ferry links. The Orkney Ferries fleet needs to be replaced and we don’t yet have the cheaper fares that the road-equivalent tariff has brought to the Hebrides and Clyde network. Connectivity too for broadband speeds and digital connections

And like everywhere else across Scotland, the big issue of do you think those things need to be tackled first with constitutional change put on the back burner – or do you think independence is the key to sorting all those challenges out.

'50% chance' that SNP might get overall majoritypublished at 08:30 British Summer Time 7 May 2021

08:30 BST 7 May 2021

Professor Sir John Curtice
Polling expert

Sir John Curtice, Professor of Politics at Strathclyde University, has been speaking to Good Morning Scotland about what the opinion polls over the last week of the campaign say about the likely outcome of the Scottish election.

"They suggest on average the SNP are running at 49% of the constituency vote, although much lower – about 38% - on the regional list. The Conservatives are narrowly ahead of Labour – about 22 points to 21 – on the constituency vote, but the Conservatives enjoy a comfortable four-point lead on the list vote. That is going to be the crucial one so far as seats are concerned.

"It looks as though the Greens are heading for a record performance – they have been running at around 10% in the final polls. The Lib Dems are bouncing around at six or seven points, while the Alba party under Alex Salmond are running at about three.

"If you take all the numbers and play the dangerous game of trying to predict what the outcome might be, you get to 64 SNP seats, which means there is a 50% chance they might get an overall majority, and equally a 50% chance they might fail. It is probably going to turn on the outcome in nine really marginal opposition-held seats – some held by the Conservatives, some held by Labour but all of them with majorities of less than five points.

"It is probably going to be a question of how many of those seats the SNP manage to pick up, and that’s the one thing you can’t tell from national polls."