Scottish election 2021: Who are the smaller parties standing for election?

There are a total of 25 parties contesting the Holyrood elections, mostly standing in the regional vote.

The policies of the five parties who won seats in 2016 - the SNP, Conservatives, Labour, Greens and Lib Dems - can be seen here.

SCOTLAND ALERTS: Get extra updates on BBC election coverage

There are six other parties who are standing enough candidates in every region to qualify for a party election broadcast: All for Unity (56 candidates), Scottish Family Party (42 candidates), UKIP (39 candidates), Freedom Alliance (36 candidates), Reform UK (36 candidates), and the Alba Party (32 candidates).

All for Unity

Founded by the former Labour MP George Galloway, the All For Unity party supports the union and has pledged to "tackle the scourge of separatism".

It claims to be best placed to "take the fight" to the SNP, and wants to form a cross-party Government of National Unity with Scottish Labour, Conservative and Liberal Democrat MSPs after the election.

The party says indyref2 should only happen if a majority of Scottish adults vote for pro-independence parties, and maintains that regions that vote No should be allowed to remain in the UK if the country as a whole backs independence.

Scottish Family Party

The socially conservative Scottish Family Party believes that family life "underpins our society", and that the state should not seek to interfere in it.

It wants tax cuts for parents, to scrap the Curriculum for Excellence in schools, restrict abortions, repeal the smacking ban and promote marriage.

The party is "neutral" on the issues of Scottish independence and EU membership, but says it respect the results of the referendums held in 2014 and 2016 respectively. And it says Covid-19 restrictions should be lifted "swiftly", to allow people to make their own decisions.

UKIP

UKIP is campaigning in this election to scrap the Scottish Parliament - calling it an expensive and glorified form of local government - as well as the UK's other devolved administrations in Cardiff and Belfast.

UKIP largely spearheaded the campaign for the UK to leave the EU, but its leader in Scotland said the party still had a reason to exist despite achieving its core objective of Brexit. It also opposes Scottish independence and any further independence referendums.

The party is opposed to the Covid lockdown, and endorses the Great Barrington Declaration - which calls for "focused protection" for the elderly and those particularly vulnerable to Covid, while others continue to live relatively normally.

Freedom Alliance

The Freedom Alliance was created to oppose the emergency restrictions - including lockdown - that were introduced at Holyrood in response to the Covid pandemic.

The anti-lockdown party disputes how many lives have been saved by lockdown and believes the furlough scheme is propping up lots of non-viable jobs. It also wants to scrap face covering rules and reinstate international travel.

The Freedom Alliance is neutral on the issue of Scottish independence, saying its MSPs would abstain on any votes on the subject.

Reform UK

Reform UK wants to slash the range and level of taxes paid in Scotland. It believes its plans to simplify the system would add more than £4bn to the Scottish economy each year by boosting growth and productivity.

The party - which was formerly known as the Brexit Party - also opposes independence and a second referendum, and wants to see further powers devolved to local government.

Reform UK says it is also opposed to more lockdowns and domestic vaccine passports.

Alba Party

The party launched by former first minister and SNP leader Alex Salmond maintains it is the only party taking Scottish independence seriously. It is asking those who support independence to give Alba their regional list vote, in the hope of creating a "supermajority" of MSPs who support Scottish independence.

It calls on the next Scottish government to immediately begin negotiations with the UK government on both the delivery of a referendum and the terms of independence, and says it will push to "make sure no more cans are kicked down the road" when it comes to another referendum.

Mr Salmond stressed that this was not a one-issue party, stating that Alba's manifesto also contained "the most ambitious and profound economic recovery agenda" as well as "the strongest commitment to women's rights" of the parties standing for Holyrood - promising a Citizens Assembly to "reconcile the search for equality with the hard-won rights of women".

SCOTLAND'S ELECTION: THE BASICS

What's happening? On 6 May, people across Scotland will vote to elect 129 Members of the Scottish Parliament (MSPs). The party that wins the most seats will form the government. Find out more here.

What powers do they have? MSPs pass laws on aspects of life in Scotland such as health, education and transport - and have some powers over tax and welfare benefits.

There are two other parties which are standing candidates in all eight election regions, the Scottish Libertarian Party (15 candidates) and the Abolish the Scottish Parliament Party (13 candidates):

Scottish Libertarian Party

The Scottish Libertarian Party says it stands for individual liberty, a free economy, foreign neutrality and political independence.

It also wants to see an end to lockdowns and to "rescue" freedom of speech.

Leader Tom Laird told BBC Scotland: "The first thing on our agenda as a party is to end all lockdown restrictions now - that's the main thrust of our platform. Secondly will be the defence of free speech, the tearing up of the Hate Crime Act which we find an assault on people's ability to speak freely, and also cutting back on government waste and easing the tax burden on people."

Abolish the Scottish Parliament Party

The Abolish the Scottish Parliament Party says it wants to see Holyrood scrapped to maximize the pro-union vote.

It argues that devolution has failed Scotland, and wants to avoid another referendum on Scottish independence.

Leader John Mortimer said: "We want to scrap the expensive, divisive, failed devolution experiment, and what we're doing at this election is incredibly unique and important - we're giving Scots an opportunity to vote against devolution for the first time since the 1997 referendum."

Other parties fielding candidates in the Scottish Parliament election include:

• Trade Union and Socialist Coalition (13 candidates)

• Scottish Renew (8 candidates)

• Social Democratic Party (7 candidates)

• Women's Equality Party (7 candidates)

• Independent Green Voice (5 candidates)

• Restore Scotland (4 candidates)

• Communist Party of Britain (3 candidates)

• Scotia Future (2 candidates)

• Animal Welfare Party (2 candidates)

• Liberal Party (1 candidate)

• Reclaim Party (1 candidate)

• Vanguard (1 candidate)

There are also a further 25 candidates who are standing in various constituencies and regional list ballots who are not affiliated to any party.

• BASICS: A really simple guide to the election

• POLICIES: Who should I vote for?

• CANDIDATES: Who can I vote for in my area?

• PODLITICAL: Updates from the campaign