How the electoral system determines representation.
The outcome of any democratic election depends on how voters cast their ballot, yet the electoral system shapes the result too.
Between them ...the two parts of Holyrood’s electoral system are likely to have a significant impact on the shape of the next Holyrood chamber. The outcome of the first-past-the-post contests could well ensure that, despite being far less popular than five years ago, the SNP remain the dominant force in the parliament. Yet at the same time, by ensuring both the Greens and Reform secure representation they might otherwise lack, the allocation of party list seats could still prove crucial. The Greens could do well enough to ensure that, together with the SNP, there is once again a pro-independence majority at Holyrood.
Meanwhile, the list part of the system opens up the possibility that Reform could become the second largest party in seats should they manage to emerge as the second largest party in votes. All of which could leave the Conservatives, Labour, and the Liberal Democrats at risk of all looking a little bit like ‘also rans’.