Scottish Elections: What happened and what can you do now?
Here's how to hold new MSPs to account
The Scottish election campaign is over. The speeches have been made, the leaflets recycled (hopefully) and the promises counted. Now comes the important part: delivery.
Last month, Surfers Against Sewage travelled across Scotland speaking to communities who are sick of sewage pollution, plastic waste and political excuses. From wild swimmers and surfers to parents, campaigners and local residents, one message came through loud and clear: people want clean, safe waterways – and they want politicians to treat this crisis with the urgency it deserves.
At our election hustings events, candidates were given the opportunity to answer directly to the communities affected by pollution. Some parties engaged seriously, making clear commitments on sewage monitoring, transparency and clean water legislation. Others failed to show up at all.
What were the results of the elections in Scotland?
The results of the 2026 Scottish Parliament election have reshaped Scotland’s political landscape. The SNP remains the largest party and is set to form a fifth consecutive government, but without an outright majority. Labour and Reform UK finished tied for second place on seats, the Scottish Greens recorded their strongest Holyrood result yet, and the Conservatives suffered major losses across the country.
This election also saw growing public concern around the cost of living, public services, climate and environmental protection – including sewage pollution and the health of Scotland’s rivers, lochs and coastlines. During the campaign, we travelled across Scotland speaking directly to communities and hosting election events where candidates were asked to answer tough questions on sewage and plastic pollution.
Some parties came prepared with stronger commitments on sewage monitoring, transparency and clean water legislation. Others failed to engage seriously with the issue… and in some cases failed to engage with communities at all.
Now let’s hold them accountable
Now that the votes have been counted, MSPs must be held accountable for what they promised during the campaign. Scotland’s waterways cannot afford another parliamentary term of delays, weak targets and political excuses.
We’re enabling supporters to hold their newly elected representatives to account. Below you’ll find email templates to send to your newly elected officials.
Copy the email template below that matches your constituency result, personalise it if you can, and send it to your newly elected MSP today.
Not sure who your newly elected MSPs are? You can quickly find your constituency and regional representatives using the Scottish Parliament’s postcode search tool.
Email templates to send to new MSPs
We’ve created some email templates – which we encourage you to add your own spin on! The first version is for parties to attended SAS hustings events (SNP, Labour, Green and Lib Dem MSPs). The second version is for parties who did NOT attend SAS hustings events (Reform and Conservatives).
Email template for parties who attended SAS hustings events:
Use the template below for SNP, Labour, Green and Lib Dem MSPs, as they attended SAS Hustings events.
Dear [Representative Name],
Congratulations on your election as MSP for [Constituency].
I followed the recent Scottish election campaign closely, including the Surfers Against Sewage Scotland election tour and the community hustings held across Scotland. Those events gave candidates a direct opportunity to hear from swimmers, surfers, paddlers and residents about the reality of sewage and plastic pollution in Scotland’s waters.
I’m writing now because communities expect those promises to become action.
Scotland still lacks many of the measures needed to properly tackle sewage and plastic pollution – including binding sewage reduction targets, full monitoring of overflows and stronger enforcement.
So, it’s imperative that the commitments your party made must now be delivered, alongside SAS’s manifesto asks. SAS-ScottishElectionManifesto-v3.pdf
[FOR SNP MSPs]
The SNP committed to keeping Scottish Water in public hands and exploring how waterways such as the Water of Leith and Wardie Bay could become safe for recreation. But feasibility studies alone are not enough. Communities need clear timelines for:
- 100% sewage overflow monitoring
- legally enforceable sewage reduction targets
- public transparency on sewage spills
- investment that makes waterways genuinely safe for recreation
[FOR LABOUR MSPs]
Scottish Labour promised increased sewage monitoring, real-time public reporting, expanded testing for water users and stronger accountability for Scottish Water.
Now that Labour has been elected in constituencies across Scotland, voters will expect:
- full monitoring coverage, not partial transparency
- proper enforcement against polluters
- protection for swimmers and surfers
- action that reduces sewage spills rather than simply recording them
[FOR GREEN MSPs]
The Scottish Greens put forward some of the strongest proposals in the election, including a Clean Water Bill, 100% sewage overflow monitoring and stronger penalties for environmental offences.
At SAS events, Green candidates spoke strongly about treating clean water as a public health and environmental priority. Communities now expect Greens to push hard for these commitments in Parliament and resist any watering down of targets or timelines.
[FOR LIB DEM MSPs]
The Scottish Liberal Democrats committed to a Clean Water Act, modernised bathing water rules and moving toward 100% sewage monitoring. SAS welcomed this direction while warning that principles must become enforceable action.
Please now work to ensure:
- clear deadlines for full monitoring
- enforceable reduction targets
- year-round protection for water users
- stronger action on single-use plastics and reuse systems
Scotland’s sewage scandal is still partly hidden because most overflows remain unmonitored. Communities across the country are watching closely to see whether elected representatives deliver on the commitments made during this election campaign.
I would welcome hearing what action you will personally support in this parliamentary term.
Kind regards,
[Your Name]
[Postcode]
Email template for parties who DID NOT attended SAS hustings:
Use the template below for Conservative and Reform MSPs, as they did NOT attend SAS hustings events.
Dear [Representative Name],
Congratulations on your election as MSP for [Constituency].
I’m writing as a constituent and supporter of Surfers Against Sewage following the recent Scottish election campaign.
During the campaign, Surfers Against Sewage held community election events across Scotland so candidates could answer public questions about sewage pollution, water quality and plastic pollution. Candidates from multiple parties attended and engaged directly with concerned communities. (Surfers Against Sewage)
However, your party did not properly engage with these events or put forward meaningful commitments on sewage and plastic pollution in its manifesto.
Our analysis highlighted that your manifesto included no specific commitments on sewage reduction, water quality monitoring, or tackling plastic pollution.
At a time when:
- Scotland recorded 23,000 sewage discharges in 2024
- most sewage overflows remain unmonitored
- water users are increasingly worried about public health
- plastic pollution continues to choke rivers and coastlines
that absence of ambition is deeply disappointing.
Communities expected elected representatives to show up, answer questions and commit to action. Many candidates from other parties did exactly that at SAS hustings across Scotland. Your party largely chose not to.
Now that the election is over, I hope you will finally engage seriously with this issue.
I am asking you to publicly support our manifesto SAS-ScottishElectionManifesto-v3.pdf which calls for:
- 100% monitoring of sewage overflows
- legally binding sewage reduction targets
- stronger enforcement powers for regulators
- protection for swimmers, surfers and paddlers
- meaningful action to reduce plastic pollution at source
The public will continue holding MSPs to account on the promises – and absences – from this election campaign.
I would welcome a response outlining what action you now intend to support.
Kind regards,
[Your Name]
[Postcode]
This is our moment for change
This election showed that public pressure works. Clean water, sewage pollution and plastic waste became unavoidable issues during the campaign because communities across Scotland refused to stay silent.
But elections are only the beginning. Manifestos and hustings promises mean very little unless MSPs are pushed to turn them into action.
Whether your elected party or representative made bold commitments or avoided the conversation altogether, now is the time to contact them and demand real progress: full sewage monitoring, legally binding reduction targets, stronger enforcement and cleaner, safer waterways for everyone.
We’ll be digging into all of this at our upcoming online workshop, where we’ll be analysing what the election results mean for water quality — and brainstorming together about what comes next. Sign-up here.
Sign up for the online workshop