THE annihilation was as emphatic as the humiliation was brutal. On a night when third place nationally was underscored by a similar standing in parts of Fortress Glasgow, the last of the 'class of "99' were reduced to helpless bystanders as the SNP tsunami in the city washed away a generation of Labour's one-time A-list.

As predicted and repeating of last year's Westminster poll, all eight seats fell to the SNP. The story was the manner of the victory. And who was left in its wake.

Patricia Ferguson, a three-times Scottish Executive minister, secured little more than half her SNP rival Bob Doris's 13,000 in Maryhill and Springburn.

In neighbouring Provan the political dynasty of former House of Commons speaker Michael Martin came to an end as son Paul's 17-years as an MSP were halted by Ivan McKee, the former Business for Scotland figure who took around 13,000 votes to Labour's 8500.

Across the river, former Labour leader Johann Lamont was dumped from Pollok by Humza Yousaf, who secured nearly 55 per cent of the vote.

The Herald:

The remnants of Labour's officer class, sussing what was coming down the line, secured their place on Glasgow's Regional List. Ms Lamont will see another five years at Holyrood thanks to her number two ranking.

Former deputy leader Anas Sarwar, a casualty of last year's Westminster wipeout, took top spot, while James Kelly lives another day despite losing his Rutherglen constituency and former Kelvin MSP makes an unexpected return.

A handful of survivors counted for little though.

"It's horrendous", said one senior Labour figure. "They don't deserve this. Patricia is a brilliant parliamentarian and Paul does fantastic community work.

"It's not the same getting in via the list. To lose your constituency is something you take personally, especially after 17 years slogging for it.

"This is something of a huge magnitude for Labour and nearly impossible to articulate. But we have been on the decline for a long time and this is off our own making. This is the story of our times."

The night's narrative was set within minutes of the ballot boxes arriving. Almost immediately both Labour and SNP number crunchers were calculating the Nationalists were ahead by around two to one. Kelvin was the exception. Here, Labour were quickly looking a polling third.

The Herald:

SNP pollsters at the Emirates Arena were seeing their vote was high as 60 per cent in several constituencies, the only issue really up for grabs being the permutation of the seven seats on the regional lists.

A buoyant Patrick Harvie arrived at the Arena around 2am with fellow candidate Zara Kitson, exuding an optimism both would be MSPs by dawn.

Within an hour, with national victory a given and a Glasgow whitewash all but certain, Nicola Sturgeon arrived to huge applause, predicting with some certainty a clean sweep.

"We're just waiting on the Queen arriving" said one senior Labour staffer, "These people."

First to declare was Anniesland, the tightest victory in Holyrood history in 2011 with the SNP winning by just seven votes. This time in the Battle of the Bills, the SNP's Bill Kidd's 15,000 votes were over 6000 more than Labour's Bill Butler. The dye was cast.

In Cathcart, James Dornan bettered Labour's Soryia Siddique by almost 10,000 votes, while in Shettleston, a potential banana skin, the often maverick John Mason scored 14,200 for the SNP.

His nearest challenger, Thomas Rannachan, until recently a single-issue candidate opposing the Scottish Government's controversial football laws came second with 6875.

In Kelvin, as indicated earlier in the evening, Labour did finish third behind the Greens and Sandra White clinching it for the SNP.

In Southside Ms Sturgeon took 15,300 votes. Her nearest challenger, Labour councillor Fariah Thomas, was just shy of10,000 behind.

The Herald:

Ms Sturgeon said: "If you had told me when I was a teenager, starting out in politics, that one day the SNP would win every constituency in the city of Glasgow, not just in one election but in two elections, I would scarcely have been able to believe it."

Why, through SNP eyes, had their foes caved in in such a dramatic fashion: Humza Yousaf said: "They have fundamentally misunderstood what has caused this collapse and believe a change of leader and few trims around the policy edges is the resolution to their problems.

"But they're being punished for standing shoulder to shoulder with the Tories during the Referendum. There were significant numbers of people who mentioned that sense of betrayal in Pollok."

The Herald: SPECTACULAR: Glasgow City Chambers on George Square is one of the most impressive and opulent buildings in the city

And what's next? "The campaign to take Glasgow City Council starts tomorrow, to plan the return of the City Chambers to the people", he added. "All campaigns are different and council elections are fought at a ward level. This will be a grassroots campaign."

For Labour, shorn of funds, activists and networks, and fighting against the tide of history, keeping Glasgow City Council is shaping up as a mammoth task.

But the night's real surprise was not until the very end. A Tory MSP had long been predicted. In the post-Referendum political landscape, the champions of the Union would coalesce around them. They had a high-profile candidate in law academic Adam Tomkins.

Shortly after 5am it became clear they had two in a city long considered lost to Scottish Conservatism.

Mr Tomkins said: "The Scottish electorate has proved over the last couple of elections that its quite fluid. The SNP aren't riding as high as they were and Nicola Sturgeon doesn't have the mandate she'd like to have. Ruth (Davidson) is clear, decisive, effective and doesn't flip flop. She's a great communicator and we've taken a strong, and indeed very popular, line on the constitution which has been a big part of of our appeal.

"There's a big opportunity for the Scottish Tories next year to consolidate a growing presence in this part of the world."