Parties gear up for final week of campaigning ahead of election
Getty ImagesScotland's political parties are gearing up for their final week of campaigning ahead of the Holyrood election.
On Thursday, 7 May, voters will head to their local polling station to choose who they want to lead the next Scottish government.
They will be able to back a candidate in their constituency, as well as cast a regional ballot for a party.
There are 440 candidates standing in constituency races, and no fewer than 29 different parties contesting the eight regional lists.
By the end of this week Scotland should have decided who its 129 MSPs will be, with results expected throughout Friday as there will be no overnight counting.
Parties are offering a very broad range of policies, as can be seen in BBC Scotland's interactive guide.
PA MediaThe six larger parties have met at a series of head-to-head debates in the lead up to the Scottish Parliament election.
But it could all come down to the final push.
SNP leader and First Minister John Swinney will be hoping to sway voters in Dumfries and Galloway on bank holiday Monday.
His party is calling for an independence referendum in 2028 if a majority of at least 65 MSPs can be achieved.
The SNP has pledged to use devolved powers to compel supermarkets to limit the cost of bread, milk, cheese and other groceries.
Swinney also announced ambitions to simplify the income tax system, roll out a £2 cap for single bus fares and deliver extra funded childcare.
In West Lothian, Scottish Labour leader Anas Sarwar will outline his party's plans to transform Scotland.
As his appearances at First Minister's Questions have shown this year, Sarwar's top priority is to "fix the NHS".
Labour has also pledged childcare tax breaks for parents, to fix potholes and to lift a Scottish government block on new nuclear power.
At his party's manifesto launch, Sarwar said the choice at this election was between "more of the same with the SNP or change with Scottish Labour".
Meanwhile, the Scottish Greens will be meeting with a support service for people migrating to Scotland, as well as highlighting plans for free bus travel.
This is their top policy as well as plans to expand free childcare.
Currently the government funds 1,140 hours of childcare for two and three-year-olds per child per year. The Greens want to extend this to all two-year-olds, and provide 570 hours of free childcare from six-months-old.
They also want to recruit more NHS staff including GPs, nurses and social care workers, and change the school starting age to seven.
The Scottish Conservatives will be campaigning around Edinburgh ahead of Thursday, with hopes of persuading undecided voters to back them.
Leader Russell Findlay has promised to cut income tax, deliver faster GP appointments and send prisoners abroad.
Their manifesto also details plans to fix roads, employ more police officers and to introduce a two-child cap on the Scottish Child Payment.
Getty ImagesIn the Highlands, Alex Cole-Hamilton will be pushing for his Scottish Liberal Democrats to gain new seats.
If his party wins power, he has vowed action to improve NHS performance and bring down the cost of living.
Lib Dem proposals include recruiting 900 extra NHS staff, and 2,000 pupil support assistants in schools. They also plan to spend an extra £400m on social care.
And the last of the six larger parties, Reform UK, will be highlighting the importance of the Faslane naval base.
The party's leader in Scotland, Malcolm Offord, has pledged to cut income tax below the UK rate and reform the NHS.
Its manifesto also outlined plans to cut "unsustainable" welfare spending and "rehabilitate" the North Sea oil and gas industry.
Polling stations are open from 07:00 until 22:00 across the country on Thursday, and many people will have already voted through a postal ballot.
- The main results programme on BBC One Scotland and BBC Radio Scotland will air from 09:30 on Friday, the morning after the vote, and the BBC Scotland news website will publish all results as they come.
