Labour has swept to power across Scotland, upending the SNP’s near decade-long majority of Westminster seats – though the final election result will not be known until Saturday.
Anas Sarwar’s party tore across the country’s central belt, mirroring the success of Labour UK-wide, sweeping the SNP out of Glasgow and Edinburgh.
However, a recount in the Inverness, Skye and West Ross-shire seat will not restart until 10.30am on Saturday, delaying the final result of the General Election.
Speaking to journalists, Mr Sarwar said he was “absolutely delighted” with his party’s performance as he thanked the people of Scotland for “putting their faith and trust in the Scottish Labour Party”.
He added: “I understand their desire for change, I know there’ll be a huge sigh of relief that we finally ended 14 years of total chaos and failure.”
He conceded it will “not be an easy road” for a Labour government, but vowed the party will “get to work straight away”.
Meanwhile, First Minister and SNP leader John Swinney pledged a period of “soul searching” after what he described as a “very poor” performance for his party.
The SNP did beat outgoing Scottish Conservative leader Douglas Ross in Aberdeenshire North and Moray East, but it was one of just a handful of victories.
“It’s a very poor result for the SNP tonight,” Mr Swinney told the BBC.
“There will have to be a lot of soul searching as a party as a consequence of these results that have come in tonight.”
Mr Swinney said the SNP has to be “better at governing on behalf of the people of Scotland”, adding the party is not “winning the argument” on Scottish independence.
He said: “Although we’re going to have a bad election result tonight, I still believe in my head and in my heart that Scotland will be better off as an independent country.
“But we’re obviously not winning that argument with the public to make that a priority at this moment, so we’ve got to think long and hard about how we address that question, and I don’t think that in the early hours of the morning after a General Election I can give you the definitive answer to what we do in that circumstance.”
Mr Sarwar said the First Minister “has got a lot of reflecting to do on a lot of things” after the party’s dismal performance.
“He spent the entire six weeks attacking the Labour Party because it seems the only person more depressed at the thought of the Tory Government ending and the Labour government was John Swinney and the SNP,” he said.
“You can see the verdict of the Scottish people, both to his approach in this election campaign but also the SNP’s approach to Government, where they have failed far too many people.”
Mr Ross sought election to the Aberdeenshire North and Moray East seat in place of former MP David Duguid, who was barred from standing by party bosses due to ill health.
His decision – which reversed an announcement he would not seek re-election to Westminster – was met with criticism from opponents and some within his own party.
Speaking to the BBC, Mr Ross suggested the Reform UK vote had handed the SNP the seat.
Reform candidate Jo Hart came third with 5,562 votes, while Mr Ross trailed his SNP rival by less than 1,000.
Scottish Green co-leader Patrick Harvie thanked people who voted for his party.
“We have established our party as the third political force in Glasgow and have broken new ground across the country,” he said.
“These results are an important springboard for the Scottish Greens and show that we are well on track for big gains as we approach the next Scottish election in 2026 and the local elections in 2027.”
