Our coverage of the last day of campaigning for the Scottish Parliament election 2026 is drawing to a close. The polls open tomorrow morning at 07:00. Here are the headlines that emerged from the last day on the trail:

• It was the final campaign rally for Scottish Labour leader Anas Sarwar in Glasgow this morning and he called for voters to "reject Reform, beat the SNP, change Scotland and vote Labour"
• The Scottish Greens were also campaigning one last time in Glasgow, with co-leader Ross Greer saying a vote for his party was a "vote for hope"
• Alex Cole-Hamilton was at an orchard in Edinburgh, resplendent in a peach suit, and the Scottish Lib Dem leader was trying to persuade people to tick the box by his party on the regional peach ballot
• Russell Findlay was in the capital city as well, and the Scottish Conservative leader was also after the electorate's vote on the regional ballot, citing it as a "secret weapon" to stop the SNP getting a majority
• SNP leader John Swinney was in Hamilton, Glasgow and Edinburgh, highlighting his party's plans to expand childcare, tackle the cost of living crisis and cap prices on essential food in supermarkets
• Reform UK Scotland's Thomas Kerr also took to the streets of Edinburgh saying his party would be the only one to stand up for people across the country

And with that, our live coverage of the Scottish Parliament election 2026 campaign is complete. Join us on Friday 8 May for extensive coverage of all the election results, stories and analysis from our correspondents and expert guests throughout the day. Today's editor was Paul McLaren and the writer was Craig Hutchison. Thanks for joining us.

Ric Bailey
BBC chief adviser, politics

The BBC, like other broadcasters, is not allowed to report details of campaigning or election issues while polls are open in England, Scotland and Wales on Thursday 7 May.

The BBC prepares detailed election guidelines which are written and published for each election, and they include the polling day restrictions.

On polling day, the BBC does not report on any of the election campaigns from 06:00 BST until polls close at 22:00 BST on TV, radio or bbc.co.uk, or on social media and other channels.

However, online sites do not have to remove archived reports, including, for instance, programmes on iPlayer. For Scotland and Wales, the lists of candidates, as well as the manifesto guides, remain available online during polling day.

Coverage of what is happening on the day is usually restricted to uncontroversial factual accounts, such as the appearance of politicians at polling stations, or the weather.

It tends to focus on giving information that will help voters with the process of going to polling stations.

Read more here.

Earlier we reported that Reform's Thomas Kerr picked this afternoon's location for their press call saying Edinburgh City Council plans to house homeless people in the area. Kerr predicted these will be male refugees.

The council refutes this, insisting the site of Reform's photo call is not earmarked for an asylum hotel.

It is former student flats that have been bought by the council to use as temporary accommodation for homeless people, the council says.

John Swinney started his day on the campaign trail in Hamilton and has made his way across central Scotland before a rally of party activists in Edinburgh.

The SNP leader has been talking up his party’s plans to expand access to affordable childcare.

He says, unlike the other party leaders, he is offering a positive vision for Scotland, with plans to cap the price of essential food at supermarkets and improve public services.

Image source, PA Media

The Conservatives' leader in Scotland, Russell Findlay, launched his party's 2026 manifesto for the Holyrood election. The full document runs to 96 pages, external.

Our correspondents analyse it here.

The Labour party's leader in Scotland, Anas Sarwar, launched his party's 2026 manifesto for the Holyrood election. The full document runs to 98 pages, external.

Our correspondents analyse it here.

Reform UK's leader in Scotland, Malcolm Offord, launched his party's 2026 election manifesto. The full document runs to 23 pages, external.

Our correspondents analyse it here.

With less than 16 hours until the polling stations open, we're giving you a quick reminder of the top priorities of Scotland's six largest parties.

The Scottish Greens' co-leaders, Gillian Mackay and Ross Greer, launched their party's manifesto for the 2026 Holyrood election. The full document runs to 164 pages., external

Our correspondents analyse it here.

The Scottish National Party's leader, John Swinney, launched his party's manifesto for the 2026 Holyrood election. The full document runs to 72 pages, external.

Our correspondents analyse it here.

Will unpaid carers in Scotland be better off?published at 15:04 BST 6 May

15:04 BST 6 May

Andrew Picken

Increased support for Scotland’s estimated 700,000 unpaid carers, external has been proposed by the Lib Dems.

The party’s manifesto pledges they will ensure these people are “at least £1,000 per year better off than they would be under the old system of Carer’s Allowance.”

The Carer’s Allowance was replaced by the Carer Support Payment , externallast year and pays £86.45 a week, external, with the some additional money also available for some eligible people.

In its last full year of operation the Carer’s Allowance, external was £76.75 a week but the Lib Dem manifesto does not state what the payment would increase to under its plans.

In its analysis of the party’s manifesto, the Fraser of Allander Institute suggests, external this makes it “impossible to compare with the current provision”.

Here's the first of our at-a-glance manifesto guides.

The Scottish Liberal Democrat's leader, Alex Cole-Hamilton, launched his party's manifesto, external for the 2026 Holyrood election. The full document runs to 96 pages.

Our correspondents analyse the manifesto here.

Now as it's the last day of the Scottish Parliament election campaign we'll bring you a reminder of the top priorities in the six largest parties' manifestos.

Coming up first is the Scottish Lib Dems.

Richard Forbes

Thomas Kerr says time's up for Scotland's political establishment. The Reform UK candidate was speaking on the eve of an election that he predicts will catapult his party in to second place at Holyrood.

Reform's Scottish leader was missing from today's media event. We were told that Malcom Offord has spent the morning meeting people in Grangemouth having decided he "wanted to spend the day with voters".

When asked if Reform was open to collaborating with other parties after the election, Kerr said "We're not interested in propping up failing politicians who just want to ride the gravy train".

Reform had picked this afternoon's location for their press call saying Edinburgh City Council plans to house homeless people here.

Kerr predicts these will be male refugees. He says his party would give priority to local people who were already on the waiting list. He says he speaks for communities across Scotland who feel forgotten about.

Image source, PA

Reform UK Scotland's Thomas Kerr is in Edinburgh and he says: "You have less than 24 hours to send a very clear message to the political establishment that enough is enough.

"Reform tomorrow is the only party that's actually going to stand up for people right across Scotland," he adds.

Kerr says the SNP are "tired and knackered" and he does not want them propped up for another five years by the "extremist Greens".

"If you don't want to see that in Scotland then get out and vote Reform."

Paul Ward
BBC Scotland News in Edinburgh

A number of the political parties are spending the last day of campaigning in the Edinburgh Central constituency.

According to polls, it could be a tight three-way race for this seat - but it’s not the only contest on the mind of some voters.

The constituency includes Tynecastle, home of Hearts who are in their own three-way race for the Scottish Premiership title.

In the Tynecastle Arms pub, football is on the minds of most.

Owner Mel Nayar said: “You can easily forget there’s an election campaign with all the football excitement.

“We’ve obviously been busy and it’s good for business but we need politicians to address the rates. The hospitality sector is being hit so hard.

“I know pubs that are facing bills three times bigger than last year. That’s the focus for me.”

The outcome of the electoral race in Edinburgh Central will be known on Friday but it will be next week before Hearts know if they can celebrate a first top flight title win in more than 60 years.

The 2021 election took place on Thursday 6 May, when Scotland was still dealing with Covid restrictions.

The SNP won 64 seats - one short of a majority but one more than it won in the previous election.

The Scottish Conservatives came second with 31.

Next was Scottish Labour, on 22.

The Scottish Greens had eight and the Scottish Liberal Democrats secured four seats.

Image source, Getty Images

Votes used to be counted as soon as the polls closed at 22:00 on Thursday, with the results being announced overnight and into Friday morning.

This time, the count will begin on Friday morning.

The first declarations are expected at lunchtime, with most results in by the evening.

Voters are given two ballot papers - one is to vote for a constituency MSP, who will represent their local area, and another is for the regional ballot.

Constituency MSPs are elected using a first-past-the-post system, where the winner in each seat is the candidate who receives the most votes.

In the regional ballot, votes are cast for parties rather than individual candidates.

These seats are allocated using a special formula which takes into consideration how many constituencies a party has won.

It also works out how many additional MSPs the party needs to ensure the make up of the parliament is reflective of how the country voted in the regional ballot.

Anyone who lives in Scotland and is registered to vote is eligible, as long as they are 16 or over on the day of the poll and have not been legally excluded from voting (for example, because they are serving a prison sentence of longer than 12 months).

They must also be a British or Irish citizen, or a foreign national of another country who is permitted to enter or stay in the UK.