Scottish Government minister Paul Wheelhouse has admitted he is “not expecting good news” on the regional list on Saturday.

Mr Wheelhouse lost his bid to take Ettrick, Roxburgh and Berwickshire from Tory incumbent Rachael Hamilton by 18,564 to 11,701 votes.

Gains in other parts of the South Scotland region may harm the energy and islands minister’s chances on the regional list, with the SNP taking the East Lothian and Ayr seats from Labour and the Tories respectively.

Under Holyrood’s voting system, winning constituencies in a certain region harms the chances of a party also gaining seats on the corresponding regional list.

In a tweet replying to a supporter, Mr Wheelhouse said he was hoping for the SNP to secure one list seat, but because he is third in the party’s ranking it may not go to him.

“Not expecting it will be good news personally given the fact I am third, but still hopeful we get at least one list MSP elected to cover our area,” he said.