Nicola Sturgeon has secured her second term and it will see the SNP reach 19 consecutive years in power
Following another big election held on ‘Super Thursday’, the Scottish National Party look set to win the most seats but fall just short of a majority.
By around 6:30pm on Saturday 8th May, the SNP had won 63 of the 89 seats declared, with the Tories taking 12, Labour just six, and the Lib Dems just four.
In her victory speech, Sturgeon said another independence referendum is a case of “fundamental democratic principle.”
“While we have obviously focussed this weekend on our own election results, the results south of the border reveal an important truth about Scotland and the rest of the UK,” she said.
“The majority of people in Scotland back a progressive, inclusive, outward looking vision for the future of our nation. And yet we are facing many more years of right-wing Brexit-obsessed Tory governments that we don’t vote for.”
The SNP came into power under Alex Salmond back in 2007 and has already been in power for 13 years. This latest win will see Scotland reach a total of 19 consecutive years under a Scottish National Party government.
Despite the scandal surrounding supposed breaches of ministerial code, the former first minister congratulated his successor after first winning her Glasgow Southside seat. On the other hand, he did accuse the SNP of “losing their nerve” over independence and described the administration as “among the most graceless people I’ve ever come across”.
Like a tartan Uncle Ben, the leader of the recently formed Alba Party did go on to say that with victory comes responsibility – namely, the pushing forward another Scottish independence referendum by 2024 at the very latest.
The potential follow-up referendum – currently dubbed ‘IndyRef2’ – would mark a decade since the first attempt at secession, which would see Scotland end its over 300-year union with Britain. However, the pro-independence party hopes to hold another earlier than that, with Sturgeon hoping to secure legal powers to do so by 2023.
