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Scots will today go to the polls in what is said to be the closest poll since the start of devolution and the establishment of the Scottish Parliament in 1999. Scottish National Party leader Nicola Sturgeon’s push for a second independence referendum will mean the stakes are high in the Holyrood contest.

Ms Sturgeon will face off with the Scottish Tories, Scottish Labour, Scottish Lib Dems and the Scottish Greens.

Former Scottish First Minister’s Salmond Nationalist Alba Party and George Galloway’s All for Unity have also shot up onto the scene in recent months and will contest seats in the contest.

In the closely watched Scottish Parliament election, there are 73 first-past-the-post (FPTP) constituencies and eight regional proportional representation top-up seats.

Scottish voters will elect a total of 129 MSPs in the crucial contest which will give an indication of the level of support for the SNP’s push for a fresh vote on independence.

A majority of FPTP seats, 46 in all, are expected to count during the day on Friday with results due from about lunchtime, peaking in the evening.

However, the remaining 27 FPTP constituencies are understood to be planning to count in the day on Saturday with results due from about lunchtime.

Results from the eight regional PR top-up seats are expected on Saturday night, with Scotland Mid & Fife possibly around 6pm, and Scotland West at 7pm.

It is expected the winner of the election and crowning of the First Minister of Scotland will take place by Friday night.

Scottish polling expert Sir John Curtice said the chances of the SNP winning a majority in the Scottish Parliament could come down to nine key battleground constituencies, which include Dumbarton, currently held by deputy leader of Scottish Labour Jackie Baillie and Eastwood by former Scottish Tory leader Jackson Carlaw. 

The Strathclyde University professor said it is “crystal clear” the SNP will remain the largest party in the next session of Holyrood and Nicola Sturgeon will continue as First Minister.

But he told the Express last night the vote would be one of the most “contentious” since the creation of Scottish devolution in 1999.

He added: “Scotland is more polarised than it has been in the last twenty years, the question of independence is more dominating.”

Ahead of today’s vote, Nicola Sturgeon promised to be back at her desk “straight away” tackling the COVID-19 pandemic.

Ms Sturgeon said: “Today’s election is the most important in the history of the Scottish Parliament.

“After a year of unprecedented challenge for all of us, the country needs experienced leadership to take Scotland through the pandemic – and only the SNP are offering a serious programme for government to keep Scotland safe and into a recovery.

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“Polls show that, when it comes to the balance of the new Parliament, the result is on a knife-edge – and in a close election, every vote can make the difference. 

“When the COVID crisis has passed, we will give the people of Scotland the opportunity to decide if they want the recovery to be in the hands of the likes of Boris Johnson and the austerity-driven Tories, or to put Scotland’s future in Scotland’s hands with independence.”

But Prime Minister Boris Johnson said holding a second referendum on Scottish independence would be “reckless and irresponsible”.

Asked if he would allow another referendum to take place if Scots elect a majority of MSPs from independence supporting parties, Mr Johnson said last night: “Let’s wait and see what actually happens.

“I think that most people in Scotland, most people around the whole of the UK, feel that this is not the time, as we’re coming forward out of a pandemic together, this is not the time to have a reckless, and I think irresponsible second referendum.”

Scots voted against independence in 2014, and Mr Johnson referred to that vote as he said there had been a ballot on the issue “only a few years ago”.

Sources close to Mr Johnson added the Prime Minister would immediately refuse a second vote if Nicola Sturgeon brought it up immediately after the elections.

A UK Government source added: “We have made clear our position on a second vote, it will simply not happen.

“The Prime Minister will immediately say no if he was asked tomorrow, now is not the time for a divisive vote.”

Douglas Ross, writing for the Scottish Express, said Scots have the power to stop Nicola Sturgeon “getting her way” and pushing through a second independence vote.

Outlining his final election message, he added: “We can stop the Nats indyref2 but only if we stick together.”

Mr Ross continued: “For 14 years, the SNP have failed Scotland by focusing only on their own selfish obsession at the expense of everything else.

“They’ve divided our country for more than a decade and on every street across Scotland, we can all see the damage they have done.

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“Nicola Sturgeon should be ashamed of what happens when she takes ‘her eye off the ball’ – the worst drug deaths in Europe, schools slipping down league tables and 3,000 avoidable deaths in Scotland’s care homes.”

Anas Sarwar, leader of Scottish Labour told this publication today: “If the SNP could not solve the health problem, the waiting list problem, the mental health problem, the social care problem in any one of the 14 years in government, they will never solve the problem now.

“We aren’t building the opposition to Nicola Sturgeon and the SNP, we’re building the credible alternative to Nicola Sturgeon and the SNP.”

Willie Rennie, leader of Scottish Lib Dems, added: “If you want to put the recovery first then vote Liberal Democrat in every corner of Scotland.

“If you want to cut mental health waits, if you want to bounce-back support for education, if you want to create jobs for people desperate for work and if you want to take action on the climate, then you should vote Liberal Democrat.”

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