Scotland election results 2019: Sturgeon says SNP victory ‘mandate for indyref2’

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The SNP has made big gains across Scotland, with Nicola Sturgeon saying the country had sent a “clear message” on a second independence referendum.

The party defeated Liberal Democrat leader Jo Swinson in Dunbartonshire East after overturning a majority of 5,339.

SNP candidates have also won several seats from the Conservatives and Labour across Scotland.

Ms Sturgeon said the results had exceeded her expectations.

The SNP had won 43 of the 50 seats to have declared by 04:45, with the party securing 45.9% of the votes – 8.4% more than in the last general election in 2017.

The Conservatives have won four seats so far, with Labour and the Liberal Democrats winning one each.

Neale Hanvey, an SNP candidate who was suspended over allegations he had made anti-Semitic posts on social media, also defeated Labour’s shadow Scottish secretary Lesley Laird in Kirkcaldy and Cowdenbeath.

He will now sit as an independent until the party’s disciplinary procedures against him are concluded.

Ms Sturgeon, the Scottish first minister, had already pledged to send a letter to the prime minister before Christmas requesting that Holyrood be given the power to hold indyref2.

She said she had been expecting a “good performance” from her party in the election, but that the results had exceeded her expectations.

Ms Sturgeon added: “Scotland has sent a very clear message – we don’t want a Boris Johnson government, we don’t want to leave the EU.

“The results across the rest of the UK are grim but underlines the importance of Scotland having a choice.

“Boris Johnson has a mandate to take England out of the EU but he must accept that I have a mandate to give Scotland a choice for an alternative future.”

The UK government’s cabinet minister, Michael Gove, told ITV before the results started to be announced that he does not believe another independence referendum is inevitable.

The Conservative vote had fallen by 3.6% to 23.8% across Scotland, while the Labour vote was down by 8.9% to 20.0%. The Liberal Democrat vote actually increased by 3.1% to 7.7% despite the loss of the party’s leader.

However the Conservatives have taken a string of former Labour strongholds in England and Wales – with the BBC now forecasting the Tories will get a majority of 76, less than the 86 originally predicted by an exit poll.

Leader Jeremy Corbyn said it was a “very disappointing night for the Labour Party” and confirmed he would not lead the party into the next election.

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Rutherglen and Hamilton West was the first Scottish constituency to declare its result at 01:25, with Margaret Ferrier – who previously held the seat between 2015 and 2017 – polling 23,775 votes, giving her a majority of 5,230 over her Labour rival Ged Killen.

In the second constituency to declare, the SNP’s David Doogan defeated Conservative Kirstene Hair, who had won the seat two years ago, by 3,795 votes.

John Nicolson won the Ochil and South Perthshire seat after defeating Luke Graham of the Conservatives, while the SNP also won back Midlothian from Labour’s Danielle Rowley and Angus from the Conservatives.

The SNP’s Mhairi Black comfortably hold her Paisley and Renfrewshire South seat with a greatly increased majority, while Kenny MacAskill, the former Scottish justice secretary, won the East Lothian seat for after defeating Labour’s Martin Whitfield.

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SNP MEP Alyn Smith won Stirling from Stephen Kerr of the Conservatives, with his party also taking Aberdeen South from the Tories and Coatbridge, Chryston and Bellshill from Labour.

But Douglas Ross held his Moray seat for the Conservatives, while his colleague David Mundell held Dumfriesshire, Clydesdale and Tweeddale and Scottish Secretary Alister Jack held Dumfries and Galloway.

The SNP’s Stephen Gethins lost by 1,316 votes to Wendy Chamberlain of the Liberal Democrats in Fife North East. Mr Gethins had won the seat by just two votes in 2017.

Labour’s Ian Murray held on in Edinburgh South, and is likely to be his party’s only MP in Scotland.

For a nationwide breakdown of results, see our results page, which will be updated throughout the night.

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It’s been a case of so far so good for the SNP, taking a slew of seats from their opponents including a big scalp in the form of Lib Dem leader Jo Swinson.

The party haven’t had it all their own way – running up against Tory resistance in a few seats and losing North East Fife to the Lib Dems – but Nicola Sturgeon’s party have piled on thousands of votes in every seat and are on course for a landslide.

Labour, meanwhile, appear to have collapsed across Scotland, with their share of the vote down sharply. They even lost the shadow Scottish secretary, Lesley Laird, to a candidate disowned by the SNP and who will sit as an independent.

The Conservatives appear on course for victory UK-wide, but have lost a lot of Scottish seats to the SNP – and will be wondering what this means for their campaign to “stop indyref2”.

The Lib Dem vote share is up in most places, but any progress will be massively overshadowed by the loss of Ms Swinson. The party’s leader has just gone from touting herself as a future prime minister to losing her seat for the second time in four years.

Follow election night on the BBC Scotland

• Watch the overnight television programme, on BBC One Scotland and at midnight on the BBC Scotland channel, presented by Glenn Campbell and Brian Taylor.
• On BBC Radio Scotland, there will be live coverage brought to you by presenters Bill Whiteford and Gillian Marles
• The BBC’s news website and app will be the one-stop place to go for live coverage and the latest analysis throughout the night. You will be able to keep in touch with the Scotland-wide picture on your phone, tablet, laptop, internet-enabled television and desktop
• You can find out what is happening in your constituency here
• Follow the key moments and reaction to the results on social media by using #BBCelection and following @BBCScotlandNews on Twitter and BBC Scotland news on Facebook