In UK election, Scottish nationalists may win 53 out of 59 Scottish seats
Scotland’s First Minister and leader of the Scottish National Party (SNP) Alex Salmond. (REUTERS)
Scottish nationalists could win 53 out of 59 seats in Scotland in the May 7 election, a poll-based forecast showed on Friday, potentially giving a party that wants to break apart the United Kingdom unprecedented influence at the heart of British power.
Less than seven months since losing a Sept. 18 independence referendum, nationalists hope the likely failure of David Cameron’s Conservatives and the opposition Labour party to win an overall majority will give them a kingmaker position.
Since failure to secure their stated aim of independence in the referendum, the Scottish National Party (SNP) has attracted record support, partly on anger at the perceived failure of London to deliver powers promised to Scots before the vote.
A YouGov poll for The Times newspaper found the SNP had 49 percent support in Scotland, while Labour was on 25 percent. It was the biggest ever lead for the SNP and the lowest ever level for Labour since 2007 in such a YouGov poll.
According to The Times, these results would translate under a uniform swing to 53 seats for the SNP, just 4 seats for Labour and one seat each for the Liberal Democrats and the Conservative Party in Scotland.
“While local factors, including MP incumbency, are likely to lead to Labour and the Lib Dems doing better than this, even so, this looks more like a tsunami than landslide,” YouGov President Peter Kellner was quoted as saying by The Times.
In 2010, Labour won 41 of the 59 seats in Scotland, the Liberal Democrats won 11, the SNP six and the Conservative Party one.
Labour has warned voters that if it loses Scotland, Ed Miliband’s chances of ousting Cameron – who has admitted he is not popular with many Scots – will be undermined.
After a day which saw one online poll give Labour a UK-wide lead of six percentage points, Miliband will visit Scotland on Friday in the hope of reviving his party’s fortunes.
SNP leader Nicola Sturgeon on Tuesday raised the prospect of another independence referendum after the 2016 Scottish election.
Miliband has ruled out a formal coalition with the SNP, but has not ruled out a less formal arrangement. The SNP has said it wants more powers for Scotland, more spending and that it would reject the renewal of Britain’s nuclear deterrent.
After the referendum, Britain agreed to further dismantle its highly centralised system of government, striking a political deal to grant Scotland new tax-raising powers.
Source:: Indian Express