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Nicola Sturgeon 'tectonic plates of Scottish politics” promises to fight austerity imposed by Tory government

Saturday, May 9th 2015 - 08:57 UTC
Full article 48 comments
“This election was not about another referendum. We will in the House of Commons vote against an in/out EU referendum, if there is going to be one” said Sturgeon. “This election was not about another referendum. We will in the House of Commons vote against an in/out EU referendum, if there is going to be one” said Sturgeon.

Scottish nationalist leader Nicola Sturgeon on Friday held out the possibility of a new independence referendum – but not immediately – after her party's crushing victory north of the border in a British national election.

 The Scottish National Party (SNP) obliterated its opponents, taking 56 of Scotland's 59 seats in the Westminster parliament. The Conservatives, Labour and Liberal Democrats could muster only one seat each.

This marked a spectacular gain from the six seats the SNP won in the last UK election in 2010. But with the Conservatives securing victory across Britain overall to stay in power, a wide divide has opened up between England and Scotland.

Sturgeon described the result as ''historic'' and said the ''Tectonics plates of Scottish politics shifted yesterday“.

”This is a massive, massive result; we saw some swings that haven't been seen before in the history of Westminster politics. Clearly, there is an appetite to change in Scotland and there is a very, very strong desire for Scotland's voice to be heard more loudly, and that's the job of these 56 SNP MPs who are heading to the House of Commons,'' she added.

She said the SNP will continue to put campaigning against austerity imposed by a Tory government at “the top of their agenda”.

The results from the election immediately put the question of another referendum on Scottish independence at the forefront of minds north and south of the border.

“This election was not about another referendum. I'm not going to start speculating about what might or might not happen in the future. We will in the House of Commons vote against an in/out EU referendum, if there is going to be one” said Sturgeon.

“We will seek to ensure that there is what is called a double-majority rule, so that Scotland couldn't be taken outside the European Union against its will. So we will seek to use the substantial influence we now have in the House of Commons. We're the third-biggest party in the House of Commons. We will seek to use that influence to get policies which are in Scotland's best interest”.

Despite Sturgeon's words, her opponents say the SNP's aim is to push for a second referendum. Not all SNP voters are pro-independence, though, and polls show the sentiment on that issue has not changed much since the 2014 referendum.

Sturgeon however admitted she was ''disappointed by a Tory government but attacked Labour's poor result in England“.

”Labour wasn't strong enough to beat the Conservatives in England. We have seen the shadow chancellor lose his seat. Labour's vote is barely up, they've failed to take key seats that they needed to take to be in contention to be the next government. The fact we're heading for another Conservative government is nothing to do with what happened in Scotland, it's everything to do with the fact Labour isn't strong enough in England”, concluded Nicola Sturgeon.

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  • Stevie

    She needs to play quiet. If the English treats the Scots the way they treat less fortunate ones, there's a huge possibility England will take matters in own hands and kick Scotland out of the union themselves...

    May 09th, 2015 - 09:10 am 0
  • The Voice

    What? She blames Labour for their rout whilst being the cause for their rout?

    Cheek!

    Give us a blast on the bagpipes and pass the deep fried Mars Bars…

    May 09th, 2015 - 09:12 am 0
  • Skip

    If Scotland really wishes to leave the union then it will eventually leave. However using it as a stick to bully for always getting its own way won't really work.

    Quebec still rattles the independence stick frequently and look how well the Bloc Québécois did after its big win in federal elections in 1993 where they became the official opposition.

    They currently have only 2 federal MPs.

    Anyway I'm very much a federalist and I think the UK could federalise the union a lot more than it is. The House of Lords could become the Federal Commons dealing with UK issues and the House of Commons could convert to an English Parliament.

    I'm sure any future independence referendum will have to take place when oil prices have climbed a little higher than right now.

    May 09th, 2015 - 09:31 am 0
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