Overall South Scotland Regional list result:
| Party | 2nd Votes | % | +/-% | Regional Seats | +/- | Constituencies | +/- | Total Seats | +/- |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| SNP | 114,270 | 41% | +12.4% | 4 | -1 | 4 | +4 | 8 | +3 |
| Labour | 70,595 | 25.3% | -3.5% | 2 | +2 | 2 | -3 | 4 | -1 |
| Conservative | 54,352 | 19.5% | -2.8% | 0 | -1 | 3 | 0 | 3 | -1 |
| Liberal Democrats | 15,096 | 5.4% | -4.5% | 1 | 0 | 0 | -1 | 1 | -1 |
| Scottish Green Party | 8,656 | 3.1% | -0.3% | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| All Scotland Pensioners Party | 4,418 | 1.6% | -0.4% | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| UKIP | 3,243 | 1.2% | +0.6% | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Socialist Labour Party | 2,906 | 1.0% | +0.5% | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| BNP | 2,017 | 0.7% | -0.4% | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Scottish Christian Party | 1,924 | 0.7% | -0.1% | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Solidarity | 813 | 0.3% | -0.7% | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Scottish Socialist Party | 697 | 0.2% | -0.2% | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Worth noting:
Kilmarnock & Irvine Valley moved into South Scotland, which gave the SNP a constituency in South Scotland prior to the election.
Boundary changes here meant that the SNP notionally held Midlothian South, Tweeddale & Lauderdale, despite the Lib Dems’ Jeremy Purvis being the incumbent while Labour notionally won Dumfriesshire, where their own Elaine Murray was the incumbent.
The SNP’s sizeable regional vote meant that, rather than being punished for winning constituency seats in the region, they were only down one on their 2007 tally, a net increase of 3 seats for the region.
The South Scotland region saw the Finance spokesmen for both the Conservatives (Derek Brownlee) and Liberal Democrats (Jeremy Purvis) lose their Holyrood seats.
Regional seats as elected:
| SNP | Labour | Conservative | Lib Dem | Green | |
| 2ND VOTES | 114,270 | 70,595 | 54,352 | 15,096 | 8,656 |
| 1st divisor | 5 | 3 | 4 | 1 | 1 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1st allocation | 22,854 | 23,532 | 13,588 | 15,096 | 8,656 |
| 2ND DIVISOR | 5 | 4 | 4 | 1 | 1 |
| 2ND ALLOCATION | 22,854 | 17,649 | 13,588 | 15,096 | 8,656 |
| 3rd divisor | 6 | 4 | 4 | 1 | 1 |
| 3rd allocation | 19,054 | 17,649 | 13,588 | 15,096 | 8,656 |
| 4TH DIVISOR | 7 | 4 | 4 | 1 | 1 |
| 4TH ALLOCATION | 16,324 | 17,649 | 13,588 | 15,096 | 8,656 |
| 5th divisor | 7 | 5 | 4 | 1 | 1 |
| 5th allocation | 16,324 | 14,119 | 13,588 | 15,096 | 8,656 |
| 6TH DIVISOR | 8 | 5 | 4 | 1 | 1 |
| 6TH ALLOCATION | 14,284 | 14,119 | 13,588 | 15,096 | 8,656 |
| 7th divisor | 8 | 5 | 4 | 2 | 1 |
| 7th allocation | 14,284 | 14,119 | 13,588 | 7,548 | 8,656 |
| 8TH DIVISOR | 9 | 5 | 4 | 2 | 1 |
| 8TH ALLOCATION (Hypothetical) | 12,697 | 14,119 | 13,588 | 7,548 | 8,656 |
South Scotland Regional MSPs in order elected above:
1. Claudia Beamish (Labour)
2. Joan McAlpine (SNP)
3. Aileen McLeod (SNP)
4. Graeme Pearson (Labour)
5. Paul Wheelhouse (SNP)
6. Jim Hume (Liberal Democrat)
7. Chic Brodie (SNP)
Almost all change in the South Scotland list, with only Liberal Democrat Jim Hume returning. Labour’s Claudia Beamish is an active member of the Socialist Environment and Resources Association while Graeme Pearson is a former police chief. The SNP’s Joan McAlpine is a former journalist and blogger, Aileen McLeod has a PhD and worked in Brussels for five years, Paul Wheelhouse is an economist and former community councillor, and Chic Brodie is an entrepreneur and former councillor.
| National | Central Scotland | Glasgow | Highlands & Islands | Lothian | Mid-Scotland & Fife | North East Scotland | South Scotland | West Scotland |
| Ayr | Carrick, Cumnock & Doon Valley | Clydesdale | Dumfriesshire | East Lothian | Ettrick, Roxburgh & Berwickshire | Galloway & West Dumfries | Kilmarnock & Irvine Valley | Midlothian South, Tweeddale & Lauderdale |