First Minister John Swinney pledged a period of “soul searching” after what he described as a “very poor” performance for the SNP.
Mr Swinney said the SNP has to be “better at governing on behalf of the people of Scotland”, adding that the party was not “winning the argument” on Scottish independence.
He said: “Although we’re going to have a bad election result tonight, I still believe in my head and in my heart that Scotland will be better off as an independent country.
“But we’re obviously not winning that argument with the public to make that a priority at this moment, so we’ve got to think long and hard about how we address that question and I don’t think that in the early hours of the morning after a General Election I can give you the definitive answer to what we do in that circumstance.”
Here’s a list of the SNP MPs who will not be returning to Westminster.

1. Alyn Smith and Stuart McDonald are among the SNP MPs to lose their seats
Alyn Smith, the Stirling politician, has lost his seat, although the boundary has been redrawn, after serving since 2019. Before that, he served as a Member of the European Parliament for Scotland from 2004 to 2019. Stuart McDonald has also lost the Cumbernauld, Kilsyth and Kirkintilloch East seat, a constituency he has held since 2015. He previously served as the SNP spokesperson for justice and immigration from 2022 to 2023, and as the SNP spokesperson on immigration, asylum and border control from 2015 to 2021. Picture: Andrew Milligan/PA Wire Photo: Andrew Milligan

2. The SNP's Joanna Cherry conceding defeat in Edinburgh
Joanna Cherry has failed to be re-elected as MP for Edinburgh South West. Ms Cherry is an outspoken critic of expanding the rights of transgender people, and has increasingly come into conflict with the SNP leadership. Martyn Day lost the seat of Linlithgow and East Falkirk, having held the constituency since 2015. He was previously SNP spokesperson for health from 2021 to 2023. Owen Thompson has lost the seat of Midlothian for the second time. He was elected in 2015, defeated at the 2017 general election, and regained the seat at the 2019 general election Photo: Katielee Arrowsmith/SWNS

3. SNP leader John Swinney at the Perth count
Amy Callaghan has lost the East Dunbartonshire seat after famously beating then-Scottish Liberal Democrat leader Jo Swinson in 2019. John Nicolson served as MP for Ochil and South Perthshire from 2019 until the seat's abolition in 2024, but failed to win the redrawn constituency. He was previously the MP for East Dunbartonshire, having been elected at the 2015 general election, and defeated at the 2017 general election. Picture: PA Photo: Jane Barlow

4. Tommy Sheppard makes his conceding speech
- Tommy SheppardTommy Sheppard, the Edinburgh East MP since 2015, has lost the race to be the successor constituency's MP following boundary changes. Stewart McDonald, the Glasgow South MP from 2015 and a columnist for The Scotsman, has also lost his seat. Anum Qaisar has lost her seat of Airdrie and Shotts, having held the constituency since 2021, following a by-election triggered by Neil Gray resigning to contest the Scottish Parliament seat. Picture: SWNS Photo: Katielee Arrowsmith / SWNS