Holyrood 2016: SNP's Fiona Hyslop regains Linlithgow seat

The SNP's Fiona Hyslop regained her seat at Holyrood with a storming show in the Linlithgow constituency.

MSP for Linlithgow Fiona Hyslop makes her victory speech following the count at the 2016 Scottish Parliamentary elections in Livingston at West Lothian College. Picture: Scott McAngus

She received 19,362 votes with her nearest challenger Angela Boyd Moohan of Labour trailing with 10,027 in second.

Tory candidate Charles Kennedy was third with 7,699 and Dan Farthing-Sykes of the Lib Dems limped in last with just 1,319.

The turnout was 38,407 on a night when the result was never in much doubt in the sports hall at West Lothian College in Livingston.

After West Lothian Council chief executive Graham Hope announced her as the winner, Mrs Hyslop said: “This is a real privilege. This is a wonderful place to represent and a wonderful place to bring up families.

“I look forward to representing all my constituents with determination and with energy and we will take forward what we have taken from this campaign, a very positive campaign, the vision for this county, the prospects of the people here.

“They are great people with great potential. If we are going to do anything in parliament it’s important we take everybody, everybody, across our skies with us.”

In Almond Valley, the SNP’s Angela Constance also regained her seat by more than 8,000 votes over Labour’s Neil Findlay.

Mrs Constance received 18,475 votes with Findlay trailing in second with 10,082. Stephanie Smith of the Conservatives came third with 5308 and the Lib Dems’ Charles Dundas, who wasn’t on the podium for the announcement, was last with 1007.

The constituency turnout was 34,872.

In her victory speech Mrs Constance said: “I have the great honour and privilege of representing my home constituency, I’m very proud of my West Lothian heritage.

“I grew up in Addiewell in the 1980s at a time of mass unemployment which affected my family along with many others and that has informed and shaped my political beliefs and it informs and shapes everything that I do, as a constituency MSP and as a Minister.

“A key priority for me has always been about ensuring that our children, irrespective of their background, will get the very best start in life.”

The SNP also took the lion’s share of the regional vote in Linlithgow with 16,987 to Labour’s 8,905. The Conservatives weren’t far behind on 7,931.

In Almond Valley, the SNP enjoyed 16,878, Labour 8,453 and Conservative 5,868.

There was some confusion towards the end of the counts with turnout figures as a pile of postal votes were not added to one of the tallies, making the figures reported earlier inaccurate.

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