Beatrice Wishart is the new MSP for Shetland. The independent councillor was elected in the early hours of the morning as the LibDem MSP for the islands.

Photo Shetland Islands Council

Wishart successfully held off a strong challenge by Tom Wills of the SNP with a campaign which attacked the record of the SNP and a second independence referendum.

The LibDem vote was hit hard and decreased by 19.5% with the  SNP vote increasing by 9.3%.

There were 10 candidates with Independent Ryan Thomson, also a local councillor doing well.

The total number of votes given to each candidate was:

• Beatrice Wishart, Scottish Liberal Democrats – 5,659
• Tom Wills, Scottish National Party (SNP) – 3,822
• Ryan Thomson, Independent – 1,286
• Brydon Goodlad, Scottish Conservative and Unionist – 425
• Debra Nicolson, Scottish Green Party – 189
• Johan Adamson, Scottish Labour and Co-operative Party – 152
• Michael Stout, Independent – 134
• Ian Scott – 66
• Stuart Martin, UK Independence Party (UKIP) – 60
• Peter Tait, Independent – 31

11,835 people voted, turnout 66.5%, out of an electorate of 17,810.  Which means , for whatever reason, 6,000 people who were entitled to vote chose not to.

The turnout was particularly high for postal votes at 83%.  These tend to be completed early on in a campaign.

Beatrice Wishart will now join her 3 colleagues in the Scottish Parliament when it returns from its recess on 2nd of September.

Investigations are still ongoing to find the person who vandalised the war memorial in Lerwick. During the By-Election islanders were shocked at the vandalism of the war memorial where the letters S,N,P were spray painted onto it.

On the same night in another By Election the SNP won in East Kilbride with the SNP also increasing their vote there by 6.9%.

Reporter: Fiona Grahame