The first results from Scotland are starting to come in as the nation waits to discover who has won the Scottish Parliament election.
Voters took to the polls on Thursday to elect 73 constituency representatives and a further 56 MSPs via eight regional lists.
Unlike previous elections – other than 2021 because of the Covid-19 pandemic – votes are being counted on Friday rather than overnight, with the final result likely to be known by late Friday evening.
The first result was declared shortly after midday, with the Lib Dems holding onto Orkney.
Here’s an overview of the results in Scotland so far:
Campaigners have spent the past six weeks traversing the country in the hopes of winning the keys to Bute House.
John Swinney’s SNP has led the polls throughout the campaign. He has told voters a majority for his party – a rarity in the Holyrood voting system – will allow him to put more pressure on Westminster to grant a second referendum on independence.
The final pre-election poll from YouGov forecast the party would win 62 seats at the contest, just short of the 65 needed to secure a majority.
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Reform UK looked set to secure an unprecedented foothold in the nation’s politics, the authoritative pollster also found, winning 19 MSPs in its central projection.
Meanwhile, Labour and the Conservatives could be set for their worst Holyrood elections to date, falling to 17 and seven seats respectively in the poll.
The Greens were projected to double their seat total to 16, including potentially gaining two constituency seats, with the Lib Dems also doubling their tally, to eight seats.
In England, the first results from the local elections began rolling in from the early hours of Friday, revealing an already difficult picture for Sir Keir Starmer’s Labour party.
The prime minister insisted he would carry on in his post despite the disastrous losses.
He acknowledged it had been a “tough” night for Labour but said that “days like this don’t weaken my resolve to deliver the change that I promised”.
Reform UK made gains across the country as hundreds of Labour councillors were voted out, heaping pressure on the prime minister.
Mr Farage said the results showed a “truly historic shift in British politics” away from the old era of Labour and Conservative domination, vowing “the best is yet to come” for his party.
