Scottish Election 2021 results: UK minister says granting independence referendum would be irresponsible as SNP wins more seats scotsman.com - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from scotsman.com Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.
The Prime Minister has invited SNP leader Nicola Sturgeon for crisis talks on the Union after the First Minister warned he would be standing in the way of democracy if he denies Scotland a second independence referendum.
The SNP fell one seat short of an overall majority in the Scottish parliament elections, securing 64 seats, but the final result still leaves Holyrood with a pro-independence majority.
In her victory speech, Ms Sturgeon told supporters the result proved a second independence vote was the “will of the country” and said any Westminster politician who stood in the way was “picking a fight with the democratic wishes of the Scottish people”.
Granting a second independence referendum in Scotland would be “irresponsible”, according to the Environment Secretary, as counting got under way again to determine whether the SNP has won a majority in Holyrood.
First Minister Nicola Sturgeon has vowed to plough ahead with plans for a follow-up border poll as her party’s chances of taking more than 65 seats in the Scottish Parliament looked likely to go down to the wire as counting continued on Saturday.
With the SNP leader’s strategy putting her on a collision course with the Prime Minister, who has insisted he will not support an “irresponsible” referendum, senior minister George Eustice said it is the wrong time to be considering another plebiscite.
Saturday May 8, 2021, 7:26 PM
ITV News Scotland Correspondent Peter Smith on how an SNP win is already having an impact in Westminster
Nicola Sturgeon and the SNP are almost certain to win an historic fourth term in the Scottish Parliament, but appear short of an outright majority.
A majority of pro-independence MSPs have been elected in the Holyrood election, with Nicola Sturgeon declaring “it is the will of the country” for Scotland to have a second Scottish independence referendum.
Signs are now suggesting there is likely to be a pro-independence majority thanks to backing from the Green Party.
And Nicola Sturgeon says that gives her a mandate to push ahead with plans to hold another referendum when the time is right.
Mark Drakeford’s Welsh Labour has declared its strong Senedd election performance as “an extraordinary set of results in extraordinary times” as the party look favourite to retain control of the Welsh Government.
The party has exceeded expectations as counting for the Welsh Parliament election continues, having so far lost just one of its seats and taking Rhondda from Plaid Cymru’s former leader Leanne Wood.
Polling at the start of the campaign suggested Labour was facing its worst ever result and was at risk of winning as few as 22 of the Senedd’s 60 seats, a loss of seven from 2016, though later polls suggested a stronger showing.