The Scottish National Party (SNP) won a third term to lead the government in Scotland’s Parliamentary elections, despite losing their overall majority.
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SNP leader Nicola Sturgeon has ruled out a coalition after the party fell just two seats short of a second successive majority at Holyrood.
That is not enough for the SNP to have an outright majority, which means that a political alliance of some sorts will be needed to further its intentions.
The party’s telegenic leader, Ruth Davidson, campaigned strongly against a second referendum on leaving the United Kingdom and in support of the union with England, and was rewarded with her party’s best showing in Scottish devolved elections.
The SNP leader also vowed to assert the values set out in the party’s manifesto.
The elections are being seen as a test of the popularity of party leaders only weeks before Britons vote on a critical referendum on whether the country should remain in the EU.
Labour leader Kezia Dugdale, conceding defeat, admitted the election was always going to be tough for Labour following last year’s painful general election defeat.
Polls suggested the SNP were on course for as many as 71 seats but they relentlessly pushed their “both votes SNP” message and insisted they were taking nothing for granted, suggesting internal polling was causing consternation behind the scenes. Plaid Cymru are now in second with six, the Conservatives have six and the Liberal Democrats have one. With over 90 percent of the vote counted, Khan has 44 percent of the vote, compared to 35 percent for Zac Goldsmith, the candidate from the Conservative Party.
But with the SNP now having to cut deals to pass plans, the other parties will gain new leverage over Ms Sturgeon’s group. “We didn’t. We hung on and we grew support in a lot of places”, Jeremy Corbyn, head of Labour, said.
British Prime Minister David Cameron addresses councillors and supporters following the local elections outside Peterborough Conservative Club in Peterborough, central England.
Twenty-one-year-old politician Ross Greer from East Dunbartonshire has become the youngest ever MSP after being elected for the Scottish Green Party for West of Scotland region. It failed to convince voters to cut ties to Britain in a 2014 referendum but easily remains the most popular party in Scotland.
“However, the government I lead will be an inclusive government”, Ms Sturgeon said.
The Scottish Conservatives, who won a number of concessions from Alex Salmond’s minority administration, is now Holyrood’s second biggest party and leader Ruth Davidson pledged to “work constructively where required” but “provide challenge where they do not listen”. “We understand that over the coming days key Cabinet appointments will be made, and we will ask meet with those ministers at the earliest possibility to seek solutions to the unique challenges now facing our industry and develop the solutions that can return our sector back to profitability”.
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The pro-independence Greens had a good night, tripling their representation in parliament to six and pushing the Liberal Democrats, once a major force in Scottish politics, into fifth place.
