SCOTTISH voters look to have rallied behind Nicola Sturgeon’s call for Scotlan to take control of its own future.
The exit poll released at 10pm last night suggested the SNP had won 55 of Scotland’s 59 seats.
That would be just one fewer than the party took in 2015.
If the poll is correct then it could mean Jo Swinson losing her seat in East Dunbartonshire.
The poll also suggests that Boris Johnson looks set to remain in Number 10 in the immediate future with the Tories predicted to win 368 seats, a majority of 86.
That would be the biggest Tory majority since Margaret Thatcher’s third election victory in 1987.
The SNP’s Angus MacNeil tweeted: “If the exit poll is correct then England and Scotland have spoken and we are clearly two different countries.
“Pressure next on Scot Lab and Scot Lib – do they support five years of Boris or Scottish independence? “ His colleague Hannah Bardell agreed: “If this is even close to true the future of the UK as we know it is over. Be in no doubt, a Tory majority like this will be devastating for our communities.
“Scotland’s clearly chosen a different path – we must now decide our own future.”
The exit poll, which is compiled on the basis of a large-scale survey of voters as they leave polling stations, put Labour on just 191, their worst result since before the second world war. In Scotland it would see them down to just one MP – Ian Murray, in Edinburgh South.
Last night questions were being asked about Jeremy Corbyn’s continued leadership of the party.
If the poll is proved right, it gives the Prime Minister a majority in the Commons to push his Brexit deal through his Parliament and take the UK out of the EU.
Former Tory chancellor George Osborne said the UK was “entering the Boris Johnson era of British politics”.
He added: “He’s won a huge majority, the biggest Conservative majority since Margaret Thatcher, if this poll is correct. It’s been very much his election with him at the centre of it. You haven’t seen much of the Cabinet and his gamble, in calling this risky election, will have paid off if this is accurate.”
Labour’s Barry Gardiner said the campaign had been dominated by Brexit: “If this is the case obviously it is a devastating result for us. And not just for us. It’s not about our party or the people who’ve worked so hard to support Labour. It’s about all the people who were really needing a Labour government to improve their lives. “ Across the UK, the LibDems were on course for 13 seats, the Brexit Party none and the Green Party of England and Wales one.
The poll also suggested that Neale Hanvey – who was suspended by the SNP in a row over antisemitism – had won in Kirkcaldy and Cowdenbeath.
The final results should be known by Friday lunchtime.
In an exit poll, voters are asked to fill in a mock ballot paper as they leave the polling station indicating how they have just voted.
The survey was conducted by Ipsos Mori at 144 polling stations, with 22,790 interviews.
Exit polls have proved to be very accurate in recent years. In 2017 it correctly predicted a hung Parliament, with no overall winner, and in 2015 it predicted the Tories would be the largest party.
Nicola Sturgeon has previously said she will write to Downing Street to request a Section 30 order, allowing Holyrood to hold a legally watertight referendum on independence, before the end of the year.
The Scottish Government wants to hold the independence referendum next year and has started the legislative process in Holyrood to achieve this.
Johnson has been very clear that he will not allow another vote.
During the Scottish Tory manifesto launch he said: “I can guarantee that we will reject any request from the SNP government to hold an independence referendum.
“There will be no negotiation – we will mark that letter return to sender and be done with it.”
Before the election former Scottish Tory leader Ruth Davidson said she would go skinny dipping in Loch Ness if the SNP won 50 seats. If the poll is right, she’ll soon be heading to Drumnadrochit in her birthday suit.
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