Friday, 8 May 2015

'Scottish Lion Roars' In Historic SNP Landslide

Scottish National Party leader Nicola Sturgeon has declared her party's stunning election success as an "historic watershed" in Scottish politics.
The nationalists have secured an unprecedented number of MPs at Westminster and left Labour with just one MP north of the border.
With a final total of 56 MPs, it is easily the party's best ever performance at a Westminster election.
Labour's return of one MP is its worst ever result in Scotland.
Ms Sturgeon said: "The political firmament, the tectonic plates in Scottish politics have shifted.
"What we are seeing is a historic watershed.
"Whatever the government is that emerges at Westminster, they cannot ignore what has happened in Scotland."

Ms Sturgeon is likely to use her party's success to gain more powers for Holyrood.

But David Cameron has made it clear he is determined to not allow the increasing tide of nationalism lead to the break-up of the United Kingdom, promising to quickly deliver a package of further devolution that has already been agreed.

The SNP surge that now confronts Mr Cameron claimed a number of high-profile Labour casualties.
The party's leader in Scotland, Jim Murphy, lost his East Renfrewshire seat to the nationalists, while general election campaign chief Douglas Alexander was also ousted.
The shadow foreign secretary, who had held the seat since 1997, lost out to 20-year-old student Mhairi Black, who becomes the UK's youngest ever MP.
Some constituencies showed swings from Labour to the SNP of more than 30%.
Former leader Alex Salmond's bid to become an MP proved successful; he will represent the constituency of Gordon.
He declared: "The Scottish lion has roared across the country this morning."
One of the seats lost by Labour was its safest seat in Scotland - Kirkcaldy - which had been held by former prime minister Gordon Brown.
Labour's shadow Scottish secretary Margaret Curran lost her Glasgow East seat to the nationalists, with the SNP winning all seven constituencies in the city.

The tone was set early on when Alan Brown won the SNP's first seat of the night with 30,000 votes, unseating Labour's Cathy Jamieson in Kilmarnock and Loudoun.

It has not been a complete whitewash for the SNP, with Labour holding onto Edinburgh South and the Conservatives retaining Dumfriesshire, Clydesdale and Tweeddale seat.
A defiant Mr Murphy admitted it was an "enormous" moment for the SNP, but said Labour's fightback begins tomorrow.
He said: "The Scottish Labour party has been around for more than a century. A hundred years from tonight we will still be around.
"Scotland needs a strong Labour party and our fight back starts tomorrow morning."
Mr Alexander acknowledged it has been a "difficult night" for Ed Miliband's party.
Mr Miliband said he was "deeply sorry for what has happened" in Scotland, and added: "We have seen a surge of nationalism overwhelm our party".

The Lib Dems also felt the force of the SNP charge.
Danny Alexander was the most senior Lib Dem MP to lose his seat to the SNP, by a margin of more than 10,000 votes.
Jo Swinson, a business minister in the last government, lost her East Dunbartonshire seat due to a 16% swing to the SNP.
Former leader Charles Kennedy was another victim, losing in Ross, Skye and Lochaber.
The Lib Dems did hold off the SNP challenge in Orkney and Shetland, the seat of Scottish Secretary Alistair Carmichael.

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