Election 2012: Scottish counts rolling blog

Though no Scottish results were declared overnight, results from south of the border indicate that it has been a bad night for the Liberal Democrats and the Conservatives there, with huge gains for Labour.

As the results are declared in Scotland a different, but connected pattern is starting to emerge.

17.30: And the perfect way to round off our rolling blog (with thanks to all contributors): Edinburgh election hero Professor Pongoo is now trending on Twitter in Scotland. The people have spoken.

17.20: Ewan Fergus signs off - East Ren concludes with Labour SNP and Tories gaining one seat each. Bad day for LibDems but apart from that looks set for business as usual

17.10:  Gerry Braiden tweets -  Not even the most optimistic of Labour supporter or SNP prophet of doom was predicting this in Glasgow today.

16:57: Labour reach 41 (and later 44) to win an absolute majority in Glasgow. They have also become the largest party in Edinburgh.

16:55: A woman who fronted the campaign to have a public inquiry into a deadly outbreak of Clostridium difficile at Vale of Leven hospital was elected as a councillor in Leven ward, West Dunbartonshire. Michelle Stewart had called for an inquiry into the outbreak of the bug, linked to the deaths of 18 patients at the hospital, after her mother-in-law died after contracting the infection.

16:46: Tom Gordon tweets: "Who's going to accept blame for SNP result in Gla. Hunter? Sturgeon? Mackay? Salmond? Only joking about Salmond obviously."

16:42: Failed MSP Frank McAveety is back in the Glasgow Chambers (Shettleston) after leaving for Holyrood in 1999.

1641: Gilbert Davidson has been re-elected for Labour in Springburn. "Bullying allegations and his aversion to the word 'bum' don't appear to have affected Davidson," tweets Gerry Braiden (see archive story).

16:40: "Getting a look at the ballot papers as east ren recount underway." tweets Ewan Fergus. "Some lovely handwriting for the numbers, but a lot of Xs".

Observations from other counts also suggest confusion among voters about the single tranferable vote system, with many people using an X instead of ranking their candidates 1,2,3 etc. To check whether you did it right, see our voting guide.

16:30: More councils are finishing their counts. You can read the full results from your area as they become available here.

16:15: Highland Council got its youngest councillor in the form of the SNP's 19 year old Alex MacLeod, who won a seat in Landward Caithness ward along with three Independents, two with a small i. Alex is Caithness, Sutherland and Easter Ross SNP MSP  Rob Gibson's parliamentary/constituency assistant.

16:06: Labour are now "pretty much assured" of a majority in Glasgow, tweets @ScottishPol as they keep three seats in Garscadden/Scotstounhill.

16:05: "And that's a wrap" writes @JodeHarrison as South Lanarkshire count draws to a close. Labour 33 (+1) SNP 28 (+4) Cons 3, Lid Dems 1, ind 1. A late rally for the SNP, but not the hoped for result.

15:35: Huge cheers as Johann Lamont arrives at SECC to savour Labour victory.

15:20: In South Lanarkshire, SNP take a seat from labour in East Kilbride east. They’ve increased the size of their group by one, but no one can get a majority.

15:18 SNP tweets: SNP on 350 seats, up 50 on 2007. Making progress north, east, south and west.

15:10: Gerry Braiden says: SNP source also telling me three candidates in Govan was a mistake. "Too many of us were too over-confident."

15:05: It’s all over bar the shouting in North Lanarkshire, reports Stef Lach - Labour hold outright majority in North Lanarkshire. Kaye Harmon was 36th Lab elected, 36 being the magic number here.

14:50: Loose wire no more: @alicampsie reports: That's all from East Dun: tories lose 2 councillors and labour gain 2

14:45: It looks as though electoral history is being made in Easter Ross, where a recount in the Cromarty Firth ward has been called over 0.01% of the vote, writes Highland Correspondent David Ross. Has there ever been a closer vote? It means that all other wards will have to be counted and the whole electronic counting system shut down, before starting it up again to undertake the recount. The final result is not expected until about 6pm.

14:24: Jenny Dawe, former Lib Dem leader of Edinburgh City Council has lost her seat. Speaking after defeat, she said there was no ill feeling and she would not have behaved any differently. She had been at the centre of controversy over Edinburgh's tram system, but claimed that trams had not been an issue on the doorstep when she was campaigning (@donnellyherald).

14:25: The same three Independent councillors will continue to represent the Caol and Mallaig ward north of Fort William area on Highland Council. The SNP, the Tories and the Scottish Christian Party fielded candidates, but Labour and LibDems didn't.

14:21: A personal blow to SNP local government minister and party campaign organiser Derek Mackay after Labour gained three seats to take overall control of Renfrewshire Council, while the SNP lost two. Mr Mackay, the MSP for Renfrewshire North and West, is a former leader of the council, writes Brian Currie.

13:59: Martin Ford, the councillor who almost derailed Donald Trump's plans for a £1 billion golf resort has successfully defended his seat. The Green Party's Martin Ford was re-elected in the East Garioch ward of Aberdeenshire Council.

13:56: SNP get two of the four seats in the Badenoch and Strathspey ward of the Highland Council, and are joined by an Independent and a LibDem.

13:53: East Dunbartonshire LibDem group leader Ashai Ghai elected in Bearsden North after a "fierce" campaign. But Independent Duncan Cumming, who quit the LibDems in a row over the national party’s approach to welfare, keeps his seat, along with SNP council group leader Ian MacKay. Tory councillor Amanda Stewart is squeezed out…by 23 votes.

13:50: Results for several councils are now complete: click the links to read in full for Clackmannanshire, Inverclyde and Shetland.

13:36: Jamie Stone, former LibDem  MSP for Caithness, Sutherland and Easter Ross returns to frontline politics for his party as one of three councillors for the Tain and Easter Ross ward of Highland Council. The other two places went to Independents. Jamie was in Holyrood from 1999 but did not stand last year.

13:35: There is better news for Glasgow SNP in Southside Central, where they go from one seat to two at the expense of the Greens.

13:33: Independent Alan O'Brien has polled most first choice votes in Cumbernauld North, despite being unpopular with his rivals.  He is joined by 2 Lab & 1 SNP. (@steflachMMA)

13:24: Labour has not dropped a single candidate here yet, reports Gerry Braiden from Glasgow. Minor party candidate are predicting they'll have even bigger majority than before, with Gordon Matheson looking very safe as leader. Tom Gordon adds: "all those Lab doomsayers from start of day now wreathed in smiles."

13:23: Recount in Cromarty Firth ward, Highland Council, where a leading community campaigner against plans for a controversial incinerator at Invergordon (opposed by Mohamed Al Fayed who has the nearby Balnagowan Estate) is standing without party description, along with former SNP, Independent and Liberal Democrat councillors.

13:14: Robbie Dinwoodie, Herald chief political correspondent, writes: "There is some writing on the wall already for the Liberal Democrats, and not just being outpolled in Edinburgh by an “Independent Penguin” candidate.

Stirling is something of a bellwether for the rest of the country and the LibDems have lost all three of their seats there, with two going to the SNP and one to the former Green MSP Mark Ruskell. He will be joining former Holyrood colleagues on council benches across the country, including Robert Brown (LibDem) in South Lanarkshire and Bill Butler (Lab) in Glasgow."

13:10: Three councils, Orkney, Moray and Stirling have now fully announced their results - and there are no Liberal Democrat councillors in any.

13:07: Deputy First Minister Nicola Sturgeon's mother has been re-elected as a councillor. Joan Sturgeon was elected in the Irvine East ward in North Ayrshire as the only returning member. She has been a SNP councillor in the area for the last five years, having lived there for the past 40.

13:06: Loose wire update: The machines are working again in East Dunbartonshire and Alison Campsie reports that the pace is picking up after more than an hour out of action.

13:05: The first Glasgow ward north of Clyde has declared: Calton  has two Labour seats, one SNP.

13:03: Seven out of 20 wards declared in North Lanarkshire. State of play is 14 Labour councillors, 10 SNP and 1 Independent.

13:00 Glasgow City Council leader Gordon Matheson finally arrives at the SECC count. Was he waiting for the Govan result before making an appearance, asks Gerry Braiden?

12:48: If the UK coalition is hurting LibDems it wasn't obvious in Inverness South ward, Highland, writes David Ross. Two of the party's candidates were elected, Carolyn Caddick and Thomas Prag.

12:47: Gerry Braiden tweets: "Mathematically there can be no SNP majority. Overheard senior Labour cllr say his party was 'running riot'. They may well be."

12:42: Glasgow City Council report results from Ward 5 Govan: 2 Lab, 1 SNP, 1 Glasgow First. The results prompts Labour joy as the SNP now can't win Glasgow.

12:40: The Scottish Greens are celebrating the election of their second councillor.

12:38: Tom Gordon tweets: "Nicola Sturgeon ticked off for trying to eavesdrop on Govan result." (@scottishpol)

12:36: Edinburgh's Conservative group leader Jeremy Balfour is re-elected in the Corstorphine/Murrayfield ward (@donnellyherald)

12:35: Gail Sheridan says she is pleased to have taken fifth place in her local election. "You have to buy a ticket to win the raffle," she said. "The big parties are taking the votes today. I have beat the Tories, beat the Liberals, I have beat the Green Party. Nothing will change for me. I will go back to my normal campaigning, fighting, as a member of the community council for an area that I live in and love."

12:30: Refrewshire SNP leader Brian Lawson says the count has "not gone as well as we'd hoped, but there's still time." Also comments that he's not happy with 'the system'.

12:28: Graham MacKenzie, recently retired rector of Dingwall Academy, elected as an SNP councillor for the Dingwall and Seaforth ward of the Highland Council.

12:25: Some Labour councillors are starting to predict they will gain an overall majority in Glasgow, as the SNP struggle.

12:20: Shock in Renfrewshire as former Labour councillor Paul Mack is elected decades after leaving under a cloud. He is now an Independent in Ward 5, Paisley South (@EwanFergus).

12:15: Bad news for the SNP in Glasgow. They have already lost 3 of the 43 candidates. Lose another one and thats goodnight to an overall Nationalist majority in Glasgow. (@gerrybraiden)

12:13: In Edinburgh, the city of pandas, Professor Pongo (standing as a penguin) gained 444 votes, defeating the Lid Dem candidate who scored just 370.

12:12: Loose wire update: Tory candidate in East Dunbartonshire wants a review into electronic counting as loose cable continues to halt results (@alicampsie).

12:11: In Airdrie South Councillor John Love (Lib Dem) loses his Airdrie South seat, polling 224 votes. In North Lanarkshire Provost Tom Curley (LAB) holds.

12:09: A former Labour minister at the South Lanarkshire count tells Jody Harrison that votes are going with the status quo, saying "if this was the result we'd take it."

12:08: Malcolm Harvey's lunchtime overview: Labour doing well in Scotland, SNP making gains but not that many, Lib Dems still hanging on for the most part (@MalcH).

11:57: Jim Leishman colourful former manager of Dunfermline FC, has been elected as Labour councillor in Fife, in Dunfermline central ward.

11:56: Another leading SNP councillor in the Highlands falls with his party fielding two candidates in the same ward (David Ross reports). Bob Wynd was Provost of Inverness but failed to get elected in Culloden and Ardersier, though party colleague Glynis Sinclair did. Independent Roddy Balfour, Labour's John Ford and Lib Dem Kate Stephen join her on the council.

11:53: First Edinburgh result in from Almond Ward 1. Tory Lindsay Paterson, Lib Dem Alastair Gordon Shields and SNP's Norman Work (@donnellyherald).

11:52: South Lanarkshire leader Eddie Mcavoy has been re-elected for Rutherglen Central North. Labour and SNP have each taken another seat. (@JodeHarrison)

11.51: Loose wire update: the search is on for the loose cable at the East Dunbartonshire count at Bishopbriggs Leisure Dome. "Local democracy on its hands and knees" tweets Alison Campsie (@alicampsie)

11:45: Craigton results are in, with 2 seats for Labour and 2 for the SNP. Gail Sheridan has not been elected.  

11:44: Will a Sheridan (Gail) re-enter front line politics? Count results to follow in a few moments.

11:42: "Self-effacing but realistic, successful LibDem candidate Margot Clark admits she may be Glasgow's 'Queenmaker'" - Gerry Braiden (@gerrybraiden) tweets.

11:38: A loose wire in a scanning machine has halted the count in East Dunbartonshire (@alicampsie).

11:33: Family success in Paisley East and Ralston, as husband and wife Jim and Maureen Sharkey (both Labour) are elected, along with Brian Lawson (SNP) and Will Mylet (SNP).

11:30: Looks like SNP will need to patch together anti-Lab alliance if they are to run Glasgow, says Tom Gordon (@ScottishPol)

11:29: Ewan Fergus reports a Labour source confidently stating "we've taken Renfrew." (@EwanFergus)

11:28: A sole Tory hangs on in Pollokshields. No change there as the SNP again fail to make a gain and Hanif Raja is elected for Labour.

11:11: HeraldScotland blogger Malcolm Harvey's assessment of the situation so far: "SNP steady but not making significant gains. Labour holding on. Lib Dems not getting thumped (yet). Early days." (@MalcH)

11:15: Steve Cardownie, leader of SNP Group and former Depute Leader of Edinburgh Council, appears to be in trouble on first preferences, says HeraldScotland blogger Kate Higgins (@burdzeyeview)

11:08: "SNP starting to look jumpy," reports Tom Gordon in Glasgow, as they fail to make gains in 2 out of 3 wards declared.

11:04: "Shock shift in the burbs" reports Alison Campsie, as Tories lose their councillor in Milngavie and Labour win in this ward for first time. (@alicampsie)

11:01: The SNP's tactic of fielding more than one candidate has backfired in Highland with Pauline Munro, one of the party's leading councillors failing to make it in the three member Inverness West ward. But Allan Duffy was elected for the SNP along with Alex Graham for the LibDems and Independent Graham Ross.

10:57: Glasgow results are starting to come in with Greater Pollok giving the first SNP gain. "Bill Butler Lbr, Rashid Hussain Lbr , Shabbar Jaffri SNP, David McDonald SNP. 2 each" reports Gerry Braiden (@GerryBraiden).

10:50: The new Highland Council has exactly the same party distribution as the last council, although the previous SNP councillor John Finnie is now an MSP.

10:43: David Ross reports: The first result for the Highland Council saw both the Liberal Democrat candidate Alasdair Christie and the SNP's Jean Slater elected at stage one for the Inverness Ness-side ward. Meanwhile Labour's Fraser Parr and and Independent Norrie Donald made it at stage five.

10:37: Orkney have completed their count. Read the results in full here.

10:36: Midlothian council tweeted the pic of screens in the election hall showing the count progress.

10:30: Stef Lach reports Annette Valentine (SNP), Paul Kelly (LAB) and Michael Ross (LAB) elected in Motherwell West. Valentine polled most '1' votes.

10:15: Gerry Braiden observes "palpable nerviness" as announcements come closer at the SECC. "I suspect valium stocks in Glasgow are running low." (@GerryBraiden).

10:12: Stef Lach reports upbeat mood at Ravenscraig count in North Lanarkshire "Labour types looking very smiley after English results" (@steflachMMA).

10:10: Tom Gordon's Labour contact predicts 'tough' result for party and says 'terrible' turnout is helping SNP "as their people more motivated." (@ScottishPol)

10:01: Deputy First Minister Nicola Sturgeon has arrived at the SECC for the Glasgow count.

9:58: The SNP claim a gain from Labour in Stirling Ward 1, with Alicia Hayes and Fergus Wood elected.

9:55: Tom Gordon has been chatting to politicians at the count in Glasgow. "Ex Labour MSP tells me 'We've won the campaign'. Probable translation: 'We've lost the council'"

9:53: Slightly more positive news on turnout from Argyll and Bute, which reports 46.7 per cent.

9:48: Ewan Fergus reports that counting is under way for the first ward in East Renfrewshire. "Computers whir!" (@EwanFergus).

9:44: Orkney council got off to a high-speed start and has already used Twitter to declare what appear to be the first results, with Alan Clouston, Jack Moodie, John Richards, David Tullock elected for Kirkwall West (@OrkneyCouncil).

9:34: Tom Gordon (@scottishpol) tweets: "Saltire flying over Glasgow City Chambers looks like an omen this morning."

9:28: In Bradford, Scottish politician George Galloway is celebrating the continuation of his winning streak. His Respect party has taken five seats, and outsted the Labour leader of the council.

9:25: Counting is under way across the country, with early signs suggesting one of the lowest turnouts on record. Moray council is reporting average turnout of less than 38 per cent.