Highlands & Islands

Argyll & Bute - just the Big 4 here. George Lyon of the LibDems is likely to (just) fend off a challenge from the SNP's Jim Mather.

Caithness, Sutherland & Easter Ross - the Big 4 plus Independent James Campbell. LibDem incumbent Jamie Stone looks like the favourite here.

Inverness East, Nairn & Lochaber - just the 4 here, with Fergus Ewing likely to hold onto his seat.

Moray - again, just the Big 4, and it's hard to see past Richard Lochhead holding onto the seat.

Orkney - along with the Big 4, Barry Johnson is an Independent candidate. This was former LibDem Leader Jim Wallace's Constituency, but he's standing down now, though Liam McArthur is likely to hold onto the seat for the Liberal Democrats.

Ross, Skye & Inverness West - the Big 4 are standing, as well as a Scottish Enterprise Party candidate. This is a fairly safe LibDem seat, and John Farquhar Munro is likely to get back in.

Shetland - just the usual suspects here, and LibDem Deputy Leader and Transport Minister Tavish Scott is pretty much certain to return to Holyrood.

Western Isles - again, just the Big 4, and if any seat in the Region is worth watching, it's this one. Labour's Alasdair Morrison is the incumbent, but he held it in 2003 with a majority of just 720, and the Party lost the seat at Westminster to the SNP, so Alasdair Allan must surely be the favourite.

The Regional List - as well as the Big 8, Scottish Voice are on the ballot paper, along with the BNP, the CPA, the Publicans, the SCP, the SEP, Socialist Labour and UKIP. In terms of winners and losers, Labour's likely loss of the Western Isles will be compensated by regaining the third List seat that they lost in 2003, so Peter Peacock will be re-elected, Rhoda Grant will make a return to the Parliament - she was third on the List in 2003 - and David Stewart, former MP for Inverness East, Nairn and Lochaber will get in as well. The SNP will see Jim Mather and Rob Gibson re-elected, and the Conservatives will retain their two seats, allowing a return to Holyrood for Mary Scanlon, who stood down to contest the Moray By-Election, and re-election for Jamie McGrigor.