Bruce Crawford has been re-elected as Member of Scottish Parliament for the Stirling constituency on a strong night for the SNP, as Dean Lockhart secured second place in the midst of a Conservative surge.
Crawford increased his majority by 1445 votes from 2011, taking 16,303 of the vote.
Voter turnout was 61.5%, with 34,318 votes cast.
Liberal Democrats candidate Elizabeth Wilson polled just 1416 votes.
Crawford, who has been an MSP since the first election of the Scottish Parliament, was elected with a majority in the Stirling constituency for the second time. He was previously a list MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife.
In his victory speech, Crawford pledged to his supporters that he will “make it his work” to see that Trident nuclear weapons will no longer pass through the Stirling constituency.
He also stated “I sincerely hope by the end of this evening we have a majority SNP government.”
In the end, the SNP were unsuccessful in achieving a majority government, falling short with just 63 seats.
Crawford also spoke to Brig about his joy of being re-elected, praising the students who worked on his campaign.
As well as a strong night for the SNP, the Conservative and Unionist Party also had a good showing. Now the opposition party in Holyrood, the results also reflected in Stirling as Dean Lockhart beat Labour’s Rebecca Bell with 9585 votes to 6885.
So much to take in from this election – and more to come! Absolute highlight seeing Ruth take Edinburgh Central in her stride. Brilliant!
— Dean Lockhart MSP (@DeanLockhartMSP) May 6, 2016
Speaking to Brig, Lockhart describes his win as “the recovery of the Conservative vote in Scotland”.
“Quite a number of people who have previously voted Labour or Liberal looked at their parties and thought ‘they are allowing their MSPs to support independence’. The only party who wants to stay in the Union are the Conservatives.”
Rebecca Bell tweeted today calling the result ‘disappointing’, but that she has had a great campaign and was proud to have stood as a Labour candidate.
Disappointing result last night, but big thanks 2 @LabourStirling – it's been a great campaign & I'm proud 2 have stood for @scottishlabour
— Rebecca Bell (@MissBecsBell) May 6, 2016
UPDATE: Dean Lockhart was elected as a Member of Scottish Parliament later in the night on the regional vote for Mid Scotland and Fife.
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