Summary

  • Kenneth Gibson, SNP MSP, is elected new Presiding Officer of the Scottish Parliament, which enters its seventh term. He beat rivals Claire Haughey, Stuart McMillan and Liam McArthur

  • Holyrood went on to elect Clare Adamson (SNP) and Katy Clark (Labour) as deputy presiding officers

  • Over a three-hour ceremony earlier, MSPs took an oath, or made an affirmation, in the Scottish Parliament chamber

  • The SNP's John Swinney was first to be sworn in, as leader of the largest party - followed by the other leaders

  • The rest of the MSPs were called forward in alphabetical order

  • They all declared in English first with some repeating in other languages, including Scots, Doric and Gaelic

Media caption,

MSPs swear allegiance to the King

  1. Today's headlinespublished at 19:58 BST

    It's been a huge - and very long - day for MSPs at Holyrood. Before we go, here's a recap of the headlines.

    • All 129 MSPs were sworn in this morning and took an oath, or made an affirmation, in the Scottish Parliament chamber
    • The SNP's John Swinney was first to be sworn in, followed by the other party leaders
    • SNP MSP Kenneth Gibson was then elected the new Presiding Officer of the Scottish Parliament
    • He will give up his party membership for the duration of his stint as presiding officer
    • The SNP's Clare Adamson and Scottish Labour's Katy Clark were elected as deputy presiding officers.

    That brings our live coverage of today's session at the Scottish Parliament to a close. Thanks for being with us.

  2. Katy Clark's journey from the House of Lords to Holyroodpublished at 19:58 BST

    Katy Clark, or Baroness Clark of Kilwinning, resigned her seat in the House of Lords on Monday.

    New dual mandate rules would have prevented her staying on as a member of both the upper house at Westminster and the Scottish Parliament.

    She had just a fortnight to quit the Lords after her election to Holyrood.

  3. Katy Clark elected as the second deputy presiding officerpublished at 19:42 BST

    katy clarkImage source, scottish parliament tv
    Image caption,

    Scottish Labour's Katy Clark

    The results in the final round of voting are:

    Miles Briggs - 55

    Katy Clark - 68

    And that means Katy Clark is elected as the second deputy presiding officer.

  4. It's hugs and handshake time againpublished at 19:41 BST

    The final candidates, Miles Briggs and Katy Clark, snatch a peek at the results before they are officially confirmed by the presiding officer.

  5. The final round of voting is under waypublished at 19:29 BST

    So, MSPs now have have a straight choice between Miles Briggs (Scottish Conservatives) and Katy Clark (Scottish Labour) as to who becomes the second deputy presiding officer.

    Presiding Officer Kenneth Gibson gives MSPs some short, sharp instructions.

    "Ballot papers, up the back. Please vote now."

  6. Briggs leads after round four with Claire Baker eliminatedpublished at 19:21 BST

    The results in the fourth round of voting are:

    Claire Baker - 30

    Miles Briggs - 50

    Katy Clark - 44

    No candidate has a majority, so we will move to a final vote with Claire Baker eliminated.

  7. The rules which prevent Stuart McMillian from rejoining the ballotpublished at 19:08 BST

    Stuart McMillanImage source, Getty Images

    The parliament’s standing orders prevent the presiding officer and both deputies all coming from the same party. So after Clare Adamson’s election, Stuart McMillan will not be eligible to stand again. The gender rule would not apply.

    Rule 3.3 (7)

    (a) Where the Presiding Officer and the first deputy Presiding Officer represent the same political party, any candidate representing that party shall not be a candidate for election as the second deputy Presiding Officer; and

    (b) Where the Presiding Officer and the first deputy Presiding Officer are the same gender, any candidate of that same gender shall not be a candidate for election as the second deputy Presiding Officer.

  8. Three losing candidates remain in the running to be a deputy POpublished at 19:04 BST

    There will now be another round of voting to elect the second deputy presiding officer.

    This ballot will feature all the losing candidates - except SNP MSP Stuart McMillan.

    This is because both the new presiding officer and the first deputy have come from the SNP and the second deputy must be from another party.

  9. Clare Adamson is elected as deputy presiding officerpublished at 18:59 BST

    Clare AdamsonImage source, Getty Images
    Image caption,

    Clare Adamson

    In the third round of voting, the results are:

    Clare Adamson - 68

    Claire Baker - 18

    Miles Briggs - 41

    So, Clare Adamson is elected as deputy presiding officer.

  10. A result is in the offingpublished at 18:55 BST

    It looks like we have a result as the three candidates shake hands.

    We just need to wait for official confirmation from the presiding officer.

  11. Voting for the two deputy presiding officers is under waypublished at 18:48 BST

    votingImage source, scottish parliament tv

    As the third round of voting gets under way, remember that two deputy presiding officers will be elected.

    So, with it down to a three-horse race, this could - could - be the vote that gives us a deputy presiding officer.

  12. Adamson leads after round two with McMillan dropping outpublished at 18:35 BST

    The results in the second round of voting are:

    Clare Adamson - 58

    Claire Baker - 22

    Miles Briggs - 37

    Stuart McMillian - 10

    Again, no candidate has a majority so there will be a third vote, with Stuart McMillan dropping out.

  13. Counting in the second vote beginspublished at 18:26 BST

    MSPs in the chamberImage source, Scottish Parliament TV

    There's a jovial mood in the chamber, with MSPs moving between party lines, as the second round of voting closes an the counting begins.

  14. Clare Adamson leads after the first round of voting with Katy Clark eliminatedpublished at 18:11 BST

    In the first round of voting, the results are:

    Clare Adamson - 46

    Claire Baker - 16

    Miles Briggs - 38

    Katy Clark - 6

    Stuart McMillian - 17

    No candidate has a majority and so we will move to a second round of voting, with Katy Clark eliminated.

  15. Keeping a close eye on the numberspublished at 18:08 BST

    All the interested parties have their eyes on the piles of ballot papers as the votes are totted up.

    votes being countedImage source, scottish parliament tv
  16. Who's in the running to be a deputy PO?published at 17:57 BST

    Just a reminder that the five nominees are:

    Clare Adamson (SNP)

    Claire Baker (Scottish Labour)

    Miles Briggs (Scottish Conservatives)

    Katy Clark (Scottish Labour)

    Stuart McMillian (SNP)

    Unlike the presiding officer, the successful MSPs will not have to give up their party membership during their stint as deputies.

  17. Voting for two deputy presiding officers beginspublished at 17:54 BST

    Presiding Officer Kenneth Gibson has announced the ballot to appoint two new presiding officers is open.

    MSPs are making their way to the rear of the Holyrood chamber to get their ballot papers and vote.

    The election follows the same rules as those for the presiding officer ballot earlier today.

    If no member gets a majority, there will be subsequent votes with the MSP who receives the least votes being eliminated.

  18. Today's headlines so farpublished at 17:37 BST

    While we wait for the start of the vote to elect the deputy presiding officers, this is a chance to recap on the big events of the day so far.

    • All 129 MSPs were sworn in this morning and took an oath, or made an affirmation, in the Scottish Parliament chamber
    • The SNP's John Swinney was first to be sworn in, followed by the other party leaders
    • SNP MSP Kenneth Gibson was then elected the new Presiding Officer of the Scottish Parliament
    • He will give up his party membership for the duration of his stint as presiding officer
    • The contest to be elected deputy presiding officer is between Clare Adamson (SNP), Claire Baker (Scottish Labour) Miles Briggs (Scottish Conservatives), Katy Clark (Scottish Labour) ad Stuart McMillan (SNP)
    • Voting is due to begin at about 17:50 and you can follow events in the chamber by clicking the Watch live icon at the top of this page from just before then

  19. Five nominees for deputy presiding officerpublished at 16:57 BST

    The first meeting of the seventh session of the Scottish Parliament resumes, with the five nominees for the role of deputy presiding officer being announced.

    They are:

    Clare Adamson (SNP)

    Claire Baker (Scottish Labour)

    Miles Briggs (Scottish Conservatives)

    Katy Clark (Scottish Labour)

    Stuart McMillian (SNP)

    The session is now suspended and MSPs will return to vote at about 17:50.

  20. WATCH: Kenneth Gibson elected the new presiding officerpublished at 16:37 BST

    Kenneth Gibson has been elected by his MSP colleagues as the Scottish Parliament's new presiding officer.

    The SNP MSP will give up his party membership for the duration of his spell as PO.

    Gibson was elected ahead of the SNP's Claire Haughey and Stuart McMillan, and Scottish Liberal Democrat Liam McArthur.