Making history
Nicola Sturgeon hails Holyrood victory as she welcomes landmark MSP
It was a campaign like no other and an election that made history.
The SNP won an unprecedented fourth consecutive Holyrood victory as the first women of colour were elected yesterday. The first, Kaukab Stewart, who won Glasgow Kelvin for the SNP, said: “It has taken too long but to women and girls of colour out there – the Scottish Parliament belongs to you too.”
The SNP fell just one MSP short of an overall majority of 65 but Nicola Sturgeon said Scots had delivered a mandate for a second referendum although voters split 50/ 50 between pro- independence and unionist parties.
An election campaign like no other made more history last night as the S NP won an unprecedented fourth consecutive victory to form the next Scottish government.
Nicola Sturgeon’s party fell just short of an overall majority but, as the last results were coming in last night, it was clear pro- independence SNP and Green MSPS will be a majority at Holyrood.
The first minister hailed the victory last night saying Scotland had spoken and there was a clear democratic mandate for another referendum, adding: “The people in Scotland must have the right to decide our own future when the Covid crisis has passed.
“The SNP and Scottish Greens both stood on a clear commitment to an independence referendum within the next parliamentary term and both of us said that the timing of a referendum should be decided by a simple majority of MSPS in the Scottish Parliament.”
The SNP were last night projected to win 63 of Holyrood’s 129 seats – two short of an overall majority but Sturgeon described the result as an “extraordinary and historical achievement”.
She said: “When the SNP first entered government back in 2007, we secured just one more seat than the Labour Party.
“Few people back then could have predicted that 14 years on, the SNP would be re- elected for a fourth consecutive term as Scotland’s government.
And absolutely no- one then would have predicted the sheer scale and recordbreaking nature of our victory at this election.
“We have won 62 constituency seats – a record number and an incredible 85% of the total.
“We haven’t just held on to every constituency we won in 2016 – we’ve also gained seats from both Labour and the Tories.
“And while the constituency vote shares of Labour, the Tories and the Lib Dems are all down, the SNP has recorded our best ever share of the constituency vote.
Indeed, we have won more votes and a higher share of the votes in the constituency ballot than any party in the history of devolution.
“This election result is – by any standard – an extraordinary and historic achievement.”
She said that an independence referendum was now a“matter of fundamental democratic principle”.
She said: “The SNP and Scottish Greens both stood on a clear commitment to an independence referendum within the next Parliamentary term.
“And both of us said that the timing of a referendum should be decided by a simple majority of MSPS in the Scottish Parliament.
“So in no way is a referendum just demand of me or the SNP. It is a commitment made to the people by a majority of the MSPS who will take their seats in our national parliament next week.
“Usually – and by the normal standards of democracy – parties are expected to deliver on the commitments they make in elections, not face attempts to block them from doing so.
“Given the outcome of this election, there is simply no democratic justification whatsoever for Boris Johnson or anyone else seeking to block the right of the people of Scotland to choose our future.
“If there is such an attempt it will demonstrate conclusively that the UK is not a partnership of equals and that – astonishingly – Westminster no longer sees the UK as a voluntary union of nations.
“That in itself would be a very powerful argument for independence.”
The First Minister added: “While I’m delighted about all of the SNP MSPS elected, I am thrilled beyond words to see Kaukab Stewart elected.
“It has taken us far too long, more than 20 years, but today she becomes the first woman of colour to be elected to our national parliament.
“So party politics aside, this is a really special and a very significant moment for Scotland and I could not be prouder right now.”
One of the SNP’S target seats was Aberdeenshire West, where they were hoping to overturn the Tories’ small majority of 900.
But Alexander Burnett held on to the seat with 19,709 votes, ahead of the SNP’S Fergus Mutch on 16,319.
Burnett, whose share of the vote was up by more than nine points on 2016, said the majority of people have voted for parties who want Scotland to stay in the Union. He added: “We need to be focused on the economy.”
Alex S almond was on course to fail to win a seat but insisted his Alba Party put in a “credible performance” in the Holyrood election.
He said: “It is now Nicola’s responsibility to carry forward the independence argument and she now has to answer the questions of how you proceed with obduracy from Westminster.”
The Scottish Greens ruled out for ming a coalition government with the SNP but co- leader Patrick Harvie said his party would continue to provide a pro- independence majority at Holyrood.
He said: “I’ve always said Parliament is at its best when there’s a balance and ministers are at their best when they’re kept on their toes.”
According to polling expert Professor Sir John Curtice, Scotland was now “well and truly split” over the constitutional question.
He said: “Once both sides finish celebrating their victories and commiserating on their failures, they should conclude that this election confirmed the message of the opinion polls – that Scotland is divided straight down the middle on the constitutional question.
“We are going to end up in a situation where roughly 50% of people are going to vote for pro- independent parties and roughly 50% of people are going to vote in favour of unionist parties.
“It is clear the constitutional question really matters – note the big turnout, and the tactical voting among unionist parties. The unionists have been able to stop the SNP from getting an overall majority – despite them getting a record vote share in the constituencies.
“Ironically, one reason is because despite the claims from the unionists the constitutional question wasn’t the most important question facing Scotland, the voters behaved in such a way they quite clearly think it is.”