Britain polls: Scottish National Party has landslide win

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IANS London
Last Updated : May 08 2015 | 1:13 PM IST

The Scottish National Party (SNP) has recorded a historic landslide general election victory in Scotland, winning 56 out of 59 seats, a media report said on Friday.

The only three seats to slip out of the SNP's grasp were taken one each by the Conservatives, Labour and Liberal Democrats.

The result means that the SNP has made a clean sweep - recording its most successful general election victory ever. Its previous best was in October 1974, when it won 11 seats. The party won six seats in 2010, BBC reported.

So far, Prime Minister David Cameron's Conservative Party is leading with 304 seats, Ed Miliband's Labour Party has secured 222 seats and the Democratic Unionist Party and the Liberal Democrats are tied at eight. The House of Commons has 650 seats.

The SNP has won all seven seats in Glasgow from the Labour Party, while former party leader Alex Salmond will be returning to the House of Commons after winning the constituency from the Liberal Democrats.

Former Liberal Democrat (Lib Dem) leader Charles Kennedy lost his Ross, Skye and Lochaber seat to SNP's Ian Blackford. Kennedy had held the seat for 32 years.

SNP leader Nicola Sturgeon, who was at the Emirates Stadium when the Glasgow votes were being counted, told the BBC that the Labour has been "losing the trust of the people of Scotland over a period years".

She added: "What we're seeing tonight is Scotland voting to put its trust in the SNP to make Scotland's voice heard, a clear voice for an end to austerity, better public services and more progressive politics at Westminster. That's what we now intend to do."

Labour leader Ed Miliband said his party has been "overwhelmed" by a "surge of nationalism" in Scotland.

Speaking after winning his Doncaster North seat, Miliband added: "I want to say to all the dedicated and decent colleagues in Scotland who've lost their seats that I'm deeply sorry for what has happened."

"And I also want to say that the next government has a huge responsibility in facing the difficult task in keeping our country together. Whatever party we come from, if we believe in the UK, we should stand up for people in every part of our United Kingdom. Because I believe what unites us is much, much more than what divides us," Miliband added.

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First Published: May 08 2015 | 1:04 PM IST

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