Nicola Sturgeon has pledged to press ahead with plans for a second independence referendum after the Scottish National party was poised to win its fourth consecutive Holyrood election, triggering a constitutional battle with Boris Johnson.
With counting continuing into Saturday evening, the Scottish National party was expected to fall two seats short of an overall majority despite winning a record number of Holyrood constituency seats, after a surge in anti-independence tactical voting.
Sturgeon’s lingering hopes of winning a majority were quashed after the Scottish Conservatives won the key SNP target seat of Aberdeenshire West with a hefty majority – a result the Tories will argue vindicates their decision to make independence one of the biggest issues in their campaign.
Buoyed by a record turnout in a Holyrood election of 64%, the first minister said Scottish voters had given her an “emphatic” mandate to stage a legally-recognised referendum in the next parliament – a challenge the prime minister dismissed before the election result was declared. » | Severin Carrell and Libby Brooks | Saturday, May 8, 2021
