Scottish elections: what happened – and what comes next?

By Rob Johns, Professor of Politics, University of Essex

The casual observer, looking at the 2021 Scottish election results, could be forgiven for thinking “nothing to see here”. The parties’ vote shares barely changed and, as a result, neither did their seat shares. The elation of a gain in the constituency races, such as the SNP’s victory over the Conservatives in Ayr, is swiftly followed by the realisation that this probably means the loss of a seat via the regional list – the part of the electoral system designed to keep the overall…

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