Nicola Sturgeon pledges second referendum as SNP lands election win [View all]

[muriel_volestrangler]

Source: The Guardian

Nicola Sturgeon has pledged to press ahead with plans for a second independence referendum after the Scottish National party won its fourth consecutive Holyrood election, triggering a constitutional battle with Boris Johnson.

After counting ended late on Saturday evening, the SNP won 64 seats, missing out on an overall majority by just one seat, after winning a record number of constituencies despite a surge in anti-independence tactical voting.

Sturgeon said Scottish voters had given Holyrood a clear mandate by electing a pro-independence majority larger than that in the last Holyrood parliament, with eight Green MSPs elected across Scotland’s regions. It was an “extraordinary” result, she said.
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Sturgeon’s ability to control the timing and strategy on a referendum was secured after Alex Salmond’s attempt to win seats for his new hardline pro-independence Alba party failed; he was humiliated after Alba secured about 2% of the vote, with SNP voters failing to swing behind his demands for an immediate referendum campaign.



Read more: https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2021/may/08/nicola-sturgeon-second-independence-referendum-snp-scottish-elections-holyrood

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Overall, the SNP gained 3 constituency seats, but lost 2 regional seats; the Greens, the other significant pro-independence party, gained 2 regional seats.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/topics/c37d28xdn99t/scottish-parliament-election-2021