A LIST of the most tweeted words from all MSPs has been published, and the results … will probably not surprise you.

Analysis of social media use in Scotland highlights the role that Twitter has played in developing the country’s political debate, with 120 of Scotland’s 129 MSPs regular active users of the platform.

The most prominent word tweeted by MSPs is “Scotland”, with 84 of the 120 accounts using it more than any other.

Tory MSP Murdo Fraser, known for his tweets about the “Queen’s 11”, tweeted the word “SNP” more than anything else, followed by “Sturgeon”, “Minister” and “Rangers”. Surprisingly (or not), none of Fraser’s most tweeted words are connected to Conservative party policy, but instead focus on the SNP. And Rangers.

Meanwhile, failed Scottish Labour leader contender Anas Sarwar tweeted his own name more often than he tweeted “Scotland” or “Brexit”.

First Minister Nicola Sturgeon tweeted the word “Scotland” more than any other, though for a party supposedly obsessed with independence the word itself does not appear in her top 10 most used phrases.

Instead, keywords often used by the First Minister include “music”, “politics”, “Brexit”, “love” and “culture”.

Scottish Greens co-convenor Patrick Harvie also tweeted the word “Scotland” more than any other, while his other most used words included “Brexit”, “Green”, “public” and “fox”.

The research, conducted by Weber Shandwick between January and the start of December this year, reveals that on average each MSP has 7,778 followers, excluding the accounts of the party leaders who have significantly more. Nicola Sturgeon, the SNP leader, has over 800,000.

The analysis also reveals that Scottish political twitter is not particularly representative of Scotland’s demographics, with the average MSP’s Twitter followers being 70% men, while 51% of Scotland’s population is female.

Commenting on this discrepancy, Manager Director of Weber Shandwick in Scotland, Moray MacDonald, said: “Twitter discourse is not representative of the real world, but politicians and journalists increasingly think it is the place to make their views known or to gather the views of the public.”

On the over-representation of male voices on social media, MacDonald says the social media platform “isn’t anywhere near representative of society”.

Weber Shandwick’s Director of Public Affairs Conor MacGowan noted that the research also shows how social media is used to tackle opposition parties, rather than focusing on policy. Murdo Fraser is not the only MSP to overwhelmingly use the platform to attack other parties, with this trend repeated across politicians from all backgrounds.

MacGowan states: “Politics is a rough and tumble business and attacking your opponents is part and parcel of the environment. But what is striking about the Weber Shandwick research is how much politicians talk about their opponents on their own channels. It reinforces the impression of a political ‘bubble’ where it is as important to kick your foes as much as it to defend your own side.”

He concludes that “In a time of increased political polarisation the ground for responsible and measured output is there for the taking.”