The Scotsman

The Greens, the Scottish Socialists and UKIP took nearly 21 per cent of the vote and while none of the parties got enough votes to give them a seat, they disrupted the election for the major parties in a big way.

It is the emergence of the smaller parties in this way that marks the real sea-change in Scottish politics.

It was obvious at last year’s Scottish elections, but that was fought under the two-vote proportional representation system and was accepted as part of the package.

What yesterday’s European results showed was that this has now become a feature of other elections, even when the voters only have the one vote.

The Guardian

John Curtice, Scotland's leading electoral expert, said there was little for Labour to be pleased about. "Compared to the utter calamity south of the border, you could regard this as an everyday disaster," he said. "It is still the worst Labour result in Scotland since 1918."

Mr Swinney put a brave face on the SNP's results, arguing that if replicated at a general election, it would take nine seats. "The challenge is to overtake Labour. We remain focussed on that." At the 1999 European elections, the SNP came less than 2% behind Labour, with more than 27%. Professor Curtice said: "It confirms that the SNP are in the doldrums."