Election brings down big beasts of Scottish politics

Some larger-than-life figures in Scottish politics are amongst the 22 now ex-MSPs who won’t be seen back inside the parliamentary chamber, after losing their seats in Thursday’s election.

Among them, the Tory’s Jackson Carlaw, the SNP’s Angus Robertson and independent (and ex-SNP) Fergus Ewing.

They’ve all been rejected by Scotland’s voters, making way for a mixture of faces – fresh, old and new – at Holyrood.

Angus Roberston

In Edinburgh Central, the SNP’s Angus Robertson was ousted, spectacularly and ignominiously, by the Scottish Greens.

He’s been a big beast for 25 years, as an MP and MSP, cabinet minister, deputy party leader and Westminster leader.

But from sitting-MSP, Robertson ended up in a humiliating third place, behind both the Greens and Labour.

Some respite in that placing was there at least, in that he did manage to come better in the polls than one of the other candidates in the constituency: a man dressed as a giant Guga.

Jackson Carlaw

To the south of Glasgow, where the Scottish Conservatives’ Jackson Carlaw has been ousted from leafy Eastwood, squeezed out by just over 700 votes to SNP’s Kirsten Oswald.

A former car salesman, he became a big beast in the Scottish Tories. Carlaw rose to the top of the party, having a stint as Scottish Tory leader in 2020, sandwiched between Ruth Davidson and Douglas Ross.

There’s some bitter irony that Carlaw’s loss in Eastwood, led to the re-election of the party’s current leader.

Only one Conservative MSP only was granted a seat through the West of Scotland regional list vote.

Russell Findlay was saved by the idiosyncrasies of the Holyrood voting system.

Fergus Ewing

Fergus Ewing isn’t just a big beast, he’s part of a dynasty in the campaign for Scottish independence.

And like the Ewings in Dallas, he was keen on oil. So keen in fact that he’d found himself running as an independent candidate in Inverness & Nairn, having fallen out with the SNP over their energy policies — and a few other issues too.

He had been an SNP MSP since being elected to Holyrood in 1999, but took the decision to stand as an independent against his own party.

Ewing came third, behind the SNP winner Emma Roddick and the Scottish Lib Dems. For almost 30 years, a Ewing MP or MSP has been a constant in Westminster or Holyrood, elected to fight for Scottish independence.

That period is over.