Summary

  • Scotland's six larger parties continue on the campaign trail across the country

  • They are highlighting - among other things - energy bills, the NHS and nuclear power

  • Voters will go to the polls on 7 May to elect 129 members of the Scottish Parliament

  • Have you decided which party should get your vote? If not, you can read the BBC's guide on where the main parties stand on the issues most important to voters

Live Reporting

Edited by Paul McLaren

  1. Cole-Hamilton pledges to cut the cost of living with fairer heating and insulation

    Alex Cole-Hamilton looking at a precision engineered part for hydraulic pump made at Abbey Tools in Kelso

    Alex Cole-Hamilton looking at a precision engineered part for a hydraulic pump made at Abbey Tools in Kelso

    Alex Cole-Hamilton has visited Kelso to set out his party’s plans for bringing down the cost of living and energy bills.

    He is proposing a £100m emergency insulation programme to protect people from spikes in energy prices brought on by the US-Israel war with Iran.

    The Scottish Liberal Democrat leader says: “Even before Donald Trump’s reckless war with Iran, people were paying far more for their energy than they were a few years ago."

    He says his party will bring down energy bills and protect people from volatile fossil fuel prices through the emergency insulation programme and by accelerating the rollout of smart, climate-friendly heating and solar panels.

  2. Alliance to Liberate Scotland say independence should be priority

    Tommy Sheridan tops the party's candidate list in Glasgow

    Tommy Sheridan tops the party's candidate list in Glasgow

    The Alliance to Liberate Scotland party has said independence should be Holyrood's priority following the 7 May election.

    The party, led by activist Hazel Lyon, is hoping to maximise the number of pro-independence MSPs returned to the Scottish Parliament.

    Glasgow candidate Tommy Sheridan told BBC Scotland News that independence was the answer to tackling poverty, improving the NHS and boosting wages.

    The former Scottish Socialist Party MSP urged voters not to "waste" their second regional vote by backing the SNP.

    "If you give both votes to the SNP, you're voting for unionists," Sheridan said.

    "Don't vote for unionists, vote for an independence party – vote for the Alliance to Liberate Scotland and make independence the priority for the next Scottish Parliament."

    Read more here.

    We'll be bringing you the views of one of Scotland's other smaller parties, the Scottish Family Party, tomorrow on the live page.

  3. Analysis

    The TV debate where no-one looked a fool - and everyone claimed to have won

    Kirsten Campbell
    BBC Scotland political correspondent

    As one journalist observed afterwards, in less unparliamentary language, no-one made an eejit of themselves.

    Everyone survived unscathed from the STV leaders’ debate on Monday Tuesday night, the final set-piece on TV of this campaign.

    There were no obvious gaffes though Malcolm Offord’s admission that he owns six houses, six boats and five cars raised a few eyebrows.

    But most of the politicians I spoke to said they’d enjoyed the cross-examination format and found that the time flew by.

    I actually found the questions more telling than the answers, giving us an insight into what the leaders think are the strengths and weaknesses of their opponents.

    Everybody got stuck in to Reform UK’s Malcolm Offord, but there was less antagonism towards the Liberal Democrats’ Alex Cole-Hamilton, whose votes might be needed to pass budgets or shore up a first minister in the future.

    The Greens wanted to challenge Labour about the war in Gaza while Labour grilled the Greens on their opposition to nuclear energy. The Conservatives and the Lib Dems traded blows over whose peach ballot paper campaign was more deserving.

    The SNP asked questions about potential “grubby deals” to keep it out of power. While Reform drew attention to Lib Dem support for gender reform.

    There were questions over what constituted a mandate for another independence referendum and which party was best placed to stop it.

    In the spin room afterwards, all parties claimed their guy had nailed it.

  4. Offord and Greer clash over Reform UK Scotland leader's houses, boats and cars

    Angus Cochrane
    BBC Scotland senior political reporter

    The leaders of Scotland's six larger parties took part in the debateSTV/PA

    The leaders of Scotland's six larger parties took part in the debate

    There was one stand-out moment from last night's STV leaders debate.

    Reform UK's leader in Scotland was called "entitled" after telling a Holyrood election debate that he owned six houses, six boats and five cars.

    Malcolm Offord made the comment as he clashed with Scottish Green co-leader Ross Greer.

    SNP leader and First Minister John Swinney, Labour's Anas Sarwar, Conservative leader Russell Findlay and Lib Dem leader Alex Cole-Hamilton also took part in the STV broadcast.

    The debate, at the Signet Library in Edinburgh, came little over a week before Scots head to the polls on 7 May.

    Read more from Angus Cochrane on the STV debate here.

  5. What will the parties be up to today?

    Here's what to expect from another day on the campaign trail...

    The Scottish Labour leader Anas Sarwar will go to Johnstone in Renfrewshire to outline how his party would tackle the creeping privatisation of the NHS.

    We'll see the SNP leader John Swinney in Edinburgh to unveil a new campaign billboard.

    The Reform UK Scotland leader Malcolm Offord will be focusing on his party's commitment to end the SNP's ideological opposition to new nuclear facilities. He'll be at Torness nuclear power station in East Lothian.

    Scottish Tory leader Russell Findlay will begin two days of campaigning in the south of Scotland when he pitches up in Gretna later.

    The Scottish Liberal democrat leader Alex Cole-Hamilton will be in Kelso, to highlight a £100m proposal for an emergency home insulation programme to protect people from spikes in energy prices.

    Scottish Greens co-leader Ross Greer will be pushing his party’s plans to introduce a bill that will make Scotland’s bodies of water cleaner, safer and less polluted.

  6. Welcome

    Good morning and welcome to our live daily coverage of the Scottish Parliament election campaign on 29 April.

    The six larger parties in Scotland will be on the campaign trail and we'll bring you full coverage and analysis throughout the day.

    Voters will go to the polls on 7 May to elect 129 members of the Scottish Parliament.