The Scottish Nationalist Party SNP has suffered a catastrophic defeat. The result is the worst since 2010, and means that a new referendum on independence is far away.
The election night has been "very, very difficult and damaging" for the party, notes party leader John Swinney. Of the party's 48 seats, only nine remain, according to a preliminary result.
In Glasgow, for example, Labour took all the seats from SNP.
The catastrophic result means that SNP is no longer Britain's third largest party. It loses key positions in parliamentary committees and misses out on funding.
Finding its soul
It will be about finding the party's soul as a consequence of tonight's election result, said John Swinney to BBC.
SNP has dominated the last three elections in Scotland. But months of turmoil in the Scottish parliament in Edinburgh have made voters tired. Critics have also targeted SNP's focus on the independence issue, while key issues such as high living costs, education, and healthcare have been neglected.
An economic scandal in 2023 involving SNP and its Prime Minister Nicola Sturgeon has also weighed on the party. Sturgeon herself was arrested in connection with the investigation, but released.
Far from a referendum
Last but not least, it is now far from a new referendum on Scottish independence, something that Swinney promised to take up for new discussion with the government in London if the party gets 29 seats in parliament.
In a referendum in 2014, 55 percent voted no to Scottish independence. After Britain's EU exit, the Scottish regional government tried to get a new referendum. This was denied by Britain's highest court in 2022, with the motivation that the power over a referendum lies with the government in London.
The next general election in Britain would instead become the voters' verdict on the issue, declared Nicola Sturgeon then. That verdict has now fallen.
