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The Guardian - UK
The Guardian - UK
Politics
Jamie Grierson

Election aftermath live: Sturgeon tells voters SNP won't let them down

Sturgeon
Nicola Sturgeon is joined by the newly elected SNP MPs as they gather in front of the Forth Rail Bridge Photograph: Jeff J Mitchell/Getty Images

Jamie Grierson's afternoon summary

As England’s triumphant Tories and rejected Labourites kept their curtains closed following Thursday’s election, Scotland’s politicians continued to steal the political limelight. Basking in the glory of their monumental 56-seat win, the SNP staged a photo opportunity of intent in front of the Forth Rail Bridge. Scotland’s first minister Nicola Sturgeon, surrounded by her new army of MPs, harnessed the symbolism of Scottish might towering behind her and set her sights on Westminster. “No longer will Scotland be sidelined or ignored,” she cried. “Our voice will be heard.” Look, a curtain just twitched in Witney.

The big picture

SNP leader Nicola Sturgeon with her historic 56 newly elected MPs in South Queensferry in the shadow of the Forth Rail Bridge
SNP leader Nicola Sturgeon with her historic 56 newly elected MPs in South Queensferry in the shadow of the Forth Rail Bridge Photograph: Murdo MacLeod for the Guardian

But there are two sides to the story in Scotland. As the SNP and its supporters join arms for a record-breaking ceilidh, Labour is imploding into a desperate barn fight. Unite Scotland and the train drivers’ union Aslef has called on Scottish Labour leader Jim Murphy to step down. It was a bold move for the former Renfrewshire East MP to try and hold on to the role following his wipeout at the hands of the SNP on Thursday - but perhaps it was naive. Shortly after the unions urged him to step down, Neil Findlay MSP piled in and resigned from Labour’s Scottish shadow cabinet, citing the party’s “disaster” in the general election. As is so often the case, it would be surprising if calls for him to move aside didn’t escalate. Labour’s woes continue to grow.

What happened today?

Quote of the day

Alan Johnson

You’d think that Tony Blair had lost us three elections, not won us three elections

Former Labour home secretary Alan Johnson battles with his party’s election strategy

Laugh of the day

Anti-austerity protesters go for the “say what you really think” approach in Whitehall.

Heartwarming moment of the day

Ed Miliband poses for a family portrait with his wife Justine Thornton and their children Daniel and Samuel
Ed Miliband poses for a family portrait with his wife Justine Thornton and their children Daniel and Samuel Photograph: Rob Stothard/Getty Images

Miliband puts on a brave face and poses with is family after his crushing defeat at the hands of the Tories.

Tomorrow’s agenda

Expect more debate over how the Tories will roll out their manifesto pledges, who the next Labour leader will be, how the Lib Dems will rebuild their party and the future of the union.

That’s it from me for today. It has been a pleasure. Join the Guardian’s election team tomorrow morning, as we bring you the latest news, reaction, analysis, pictures, video, and jokes in the aftermath of the election. Barkeeper!

The commentariat on Twitter have reacted to the latest developments for Scottish Labour - unions calling for Jim Murphy to step down as the party’s leader and Neil Findlay MSP stepping down from the shadow cabinet.

Here’s a selection:

My colleague Libby Brooks has more developments for Scottish Labour - Neil Findlay MSP has resigned from the Scottish Labour cabinet, a sign that calls for Murphy’s resignation is part of a co-ordinated union movement.

Unions round on Scottish Labour leader Jim Murphy to resign

Jim Murphy

Pat Rafferty, Unite Scottish secretary, has led calls for Jim Murphy to stand down as Scottish Labour leader after the politician’s humiliating defeat at the hands of SNP.

Rafferty says staying on as leader will “only prolong the party’s agony” adding it is “surprising” Murphy should feel he still has a mandate to lead after Thursday’s results.

Murphy was the biggest casualty of the night for Labour in Scotland losing his once safe majority seat in Renfrewshire East to the SNP’s Kirsten Oswald.

In a statement, Rafferty says:

It is time for change the Scottish Labour Party. That is the overwhelming, unambiguous message from Scotland’s people, including its trade union members, on Thursday.

He adds:

Change must begin with a new leader. I do not say this out of any personal animus. Jim fought a courageous campaign, and the Party’s problems clearly long predate his leadership. But staying on as leader will only prolong the party’s agony.... I therefore call on Jim Murphy to resign without delay, and give the membership of the Scottish Labour Party the chance to determine their own way forward in rebuilding from Thursday’s ruins.”

Kevin Lindsay, organiser in Scotland for Aslef, the train drivers’ union, also called for Murphy to bow out. He said:

Jim Murphy has just presided over the worst election defeat in the history of the Scottish Labour Party. He has to go - and he has to go now.

Anti-cuts protest arrives at Tory HQ

An anti-austerity protest organised by socialist activists London Black Revs has arrived outside Tory HQ in London.

More than 8,000 supporters have indicated on a Facebook event page that they will attend the demonstration in Matthew Parker Street.

Images posted on Twitter and Vine show a significant turnout of protesters clutcing banners, placards and megaphones.

Theresa May

With an unexpected majority government, the Conservatives will now turn to their manifesto and legislative agenda for the next parliamentary term. My colleague Damien Gayle reports that the home secretary, Theresa May, is likely to revive her snooper’s charter now that the block placed by her former coalition partners the Lib Dems has been removed. He writes:

Speaking as early results on Friday indicated the Conservatives would form a government with a Commons majority, May said increased surveillance powers was “one very key example” of Tory policy blocked by the coalition arrangement.

Updated

Ukip claim first council majority in Thanet district.

Just want to bring you something coming in from Thanet, in Kent, where Ukip are claiming to have won their first council majority.

Thanet distict council covers North Thanet parliamentary constituency as well as South Thanet, where the former Ukip leader Nigel Farage failed to win a seat in parliament.

Updated

Willie Rennie

As the SNP bathes in the glory of its landslide victory (see 11.15), the Scottish Liberal Democrats are reflecting on their losses north of the border and further afield.

Willie Rennie, the Scottish Lib Dem leader, says his party is still “hopeful for the future”, insisting next year’s Holyrood elections are an “opportunity to grow”, according to the Press Association.

Our vision for Scotland is hopeful for the future, founded on opportunity and liberty for all. It is a positive prospectus.

A year from now we have an opportunity to grow. The Scottish parliamentary election campaign starts today.

Scotland has lost liberal giants. Our members of parliament were local champions with powerful liberal voices. They enriched the political debate of our country.

I am sad for the loss to our party, to their communities and to the politics of our country. I know they will make a contribution to rebuilding our strength.

Updated

What are the country’s politicians doing up and down the country today after the election? Some are celebrating, some are relaxing, some are drinking, some are at the football.

Scottish Tory leader Ruth Davidson is bemused by sweet treats in Edinburgh ...

Labour leadership contender Andy Burnham is watching the football at Goodison Park ...

One of the Lib Dems’ few remaining MPs, Tom Brake, is cleaning his office ...

Tory MP for High Peak, Andrew Bingham, is off to the football ...

Labour MP Lilian Greenwood is enjoying a pint in Nottingham ...

Angus Robertson has joined his fellow newly elected SNP MPs in South Queensferry ...

Tory MP for Totnes, Sarah Wollaston, is thinking about the next opposition leader ...

Labour MP for Sheffield and Barnsley, Angela Smith, is attending a VE Day event in Barnsley ...

SNP MSP for Aberdeen, Mark McDonald, is mocking the Lib Dems ...

Suffolk’s Tory MP Therese Coffey is putting her feet up...

Labour MP for Walthamstow, Stella Creasy, is keeping her eye on an EDL march ...

Former Plaid Cymru MP Adam Price is turning his thoughts to devolution ...

Selly Oak’s Labour MP, Steve McCabe, is also off to the football ...

Lib Dem peer Sarah Ludford is reflecting on her party’s huge losses ...

And Labour MP for Heywood and Middleton, Liz McInnes, is gearing up for a 10km run in Manchester tomorrow.

Updated

Lunchtime summary

Updated

The SNP aren’t the only ones straight back into politics after the election. A group of campaigners gathered outside Downing Street today to campaign for the introduction of a bill to stop tax dodging.

Demonstrators call for the government to introduce a bill to stop tax dodging outside Downing Street.

Updated

This map of second-place general election results from parliamentary service Dods is generating a lot of interest on Twitter.

It certainly underlines the surge in support for Ukip in England.

Miliband poses for family portrait outside home

Defeated former Labour leader Ed Miliband has appeared with his family outside their home in London.

Apparently in high spirits after resigning from the party’s top post yesterday, Miliband appeared with his wife, Justine, and children, Daniel and Samuel.

Ed Miliband poses for a family portrait with his wife Justine Thornton and their children Daniel and Samuel outside their home in London
Miliband with his eldest son Daniel
Miliband with his eldest son Daniel Photograph: Rob Stothard/Getty Images
Ed Miliband poses for a family portrait with his wife Justine Thornton and their children Daniel and Samuel outside their home in London

Updated

How is the devastating Labour defeat being explained? The Spectator’s Ian Leslie has listed 10 “delusions” to watch out for. Among them:

  • The media did it

No leftwing account of this defeat will be complete without a reference to the Tory press (bonus drink for “Murdoch-controlled”) and its supposed inexorable hold over the political psyche of the nation.

  • The SNP stole our victory

Labour saw a net gain of one seat from the Tories in England. One. Seat. One seat, in an election where everything favoured them.

  • Ed was the wrong messenger

People who cling to this reason are committing the very sin of which they accuse the voters and media. Labour lost (mainly) because of the message, not the messenger.

Updated

The Telegraph commentator Dan Hodges wins the award for the most prescient political journalist with this eerily accurate Tweet sent the day before the election campaign officially launched.

Updated

David Lammy

The race for the Labour leadership has begun as David Lammy, a former minister under Tony Blair and Gordon Brown, becomes the first MP to publicly express interest in the role.

My colleague David Feeney writes:

Lammy, 42, who has represented Tottenham since 2000, is already standing to be the party’s candidate for London mayor in next year’s election.

But he told the BBC today that “for people like me it’s absolutely time to step up into a leadership role”.

“Now, I have been thinking very, very carefully and indicating that I want to seek the Labour nomination for London mayor. But actually, putting together that team, now that we have a proper race to lead the party, of course, me and others are looking very carefully at who is the best leader and if colleagues come to me over the coming days and say ‘look, David, why don’t you put your [hat in]’ I will look at it.”

Updated

Guardian live: election results special - video highlights

Hosted by Jonathan Freedland, with a rotating panel featuring Polly Toynbee, Hugh Muir and Owen Jones, Guardian political analysts take stock after a dramatic day for British politics.

Updated

While we’re looking at Scotland, it’s worth reading this Guardian comment piece by Timothy Garton Ash arguing the case for building a federal state in the UK.

He writes:

So now we need a Federal Kingdom of Britain. Otherwise this most dramatic British election result could mark the beginning of the end of Britain, and of Britain in the EU.

With leftwing Scottish nationalists sweeping the board north of Hadrian’s Wall while rightwing Eurosceptic Conservatives form the British government only because they triumphed in England, the two largest parts of our increasingly disunited United Kingdom – England and Scotland – are doomed to discord.

Meanwhile, millions of Green, Liberal Democrat and Ukip voters wake up to find that because of Britain’s unfair election system their own individual votes counted for nothing.

Updated

Things go from bad to worse for the poor Lib Dems...

Sturgeon keeps up pressure on Cameron - verdict

Nicola Sturgeon is joined by the newly elected SNP MPs as they gather in front of the Forth Rail Bridge Photograph: Jeff J Mitchell/Getty Images

It’s as if Cameron was trying to have what he believes is a well-earned lie-in and Sturgeon has burst into his bedroom to open the curtains. Scotland’s first minister will not let up.

As Tory top-brass appeared to be taking a day off after weeks of relentless campaigning culminated in that most unexpected of victories, the SNP was back out, bright-eyed and in force, as all 56 of its newly elected MPs appeared on banks of the Firth of Forth.

Joining them was their leader Nicola Sturgeon determined to squeeze out as much mileage as she can from her party’s landslide triumph in Scotland. With the grand Forth Rail Bridge providing a fitting and dramatic backdrop of Scottish supremacy, it was one of the more effective photo-ops seen in recent weeks. Here are Sturgeon’s key messages:

Listen up Westminster

Our message to Westminster is simple, our message to the politicians of the other parties at Westminster is this one: no longer will Scotland be sidelined or ignored in Westminster. Our voice will be heard. Our interests will be protected.

SNP win was historic

Scotland has given the SNP a mandate on a scale unprecedented for any political party, not just in Scotland but right across the UK.

Austerity is in the SNP’s sights

Let us be very clear, the people of Scotland on Thursday voted for an SNP manifesto which had ending austerity as its number one priority, and that is the priority that these men and women will now take to the very heart of the Westminster agenda.

Politics won’t be the same

After Thursday, and as I told the prime minister when I spoke to him yesterday, it simply cannot be, and it will not be business as usual when it comes to Westminster’s dealing with Scotland.

Updated

Just pulling away from Scotland to flag this Facebook post from David Cameron. The prime minister rehashes his No 10 doorstep speech, thanks Tory supporters and urges others to join the party.

Cameron on Facebook
David Cameron has posted a thank you note to supporters on Facebook. Photograph: Facebook

Alex Salmond at his home in Strichen after becoming the new MP for Gordon

Staying with the SNP, Alex Salmond is yet to step foot in the House of Commons after his election victory in the Gordon constituency - but he’s already provoking his Tory rivals.

In an interview with Sky News, the former SNP leader claimed the Conservatives’ majority would erode. He told the news channel:

Although the Tories have an absolute majority now, that’s going to erode and change within - well, not even within years, I suspect within months … I don’t think the ground is secure under Mr Cameron’s feet.

Updated

Sturgeon has promised SNP voters she won’t let them down, as she appeared with all 56 of her party’s newly elected MPs.

Here are a few tweets about her appearance in South Queensferry.

Updated

Nicola Sturgeon

Sturgeon has warned Cameron it will not be “business as usual” in Westminster, as she appeared alongside her army of newly elected MPs.

She said:

It simply cannot be and will not be business as usual when it comes to Westminster’s dealing with Scotland. Scotland this week spoke more loudly and more clearly than even before. My message to Westminster is this: Scotland’s voice will be heard in Westminster more loudly than it ever has before.

Updated

Sturgeon joins parade of new Scottish National party MPs

Nicola Sturgeon.
Nicola Sturgeon. Photograph: Rob Stothard/Getty Images

The SNP leader, Nicola Sturgeon, has appeared with her party’s new army of MPs after yesterday’s landslide victory for the nationalists.

The SNP won all but three of Scotland’s 59 general election seats, and is now the third largest party in the House of Commons.

Appearing in South Queensferry with a dramatic Forth Bridge backdrop, flanked by all the party’s MPs who were elected on Thursday, she said:

Our pledge is that these 56 SNP MPs will represent the interests of all of Scotland. We will represent in Westminster just as we do in the Scottish parliament.

Updated

Carswell rules himself out as Ukip leader

Carswell
Nigel Farage and Douglas Carswell Photograph: Gareth Fuller/PA

Ukip’s only sitting MP has ruled himself out of the race to be the party’s next leader.

Douglas Carswell, who held his Clacton seat on a reduced majority, told The Times (read here - paywall) would not seek to fill the post vacated by Nigel Farage, who announced his resignation after losing out in South Thanet.

He told the newspaper:

I am not going to be running as leader.

Updated

Alan Johnson

Former Labour home secretary Alan Johnson has said his party’s next leader should embrace Tony Blair’s success to make the party appeal to aspirational voters who no longer relate to it.

He told BBC Radio 4’s Today programme:

The issue of aspiration in people’s lives, we can no longer relate to them as a party of aspiration. And that was one of the big successes that won us three elections.

Johnson criticised Labour’s strategy of talking down its 13 years in government under Blair and then Brown, and suggested the party must now embrace those years.

Asked whether Labour still had a problem with Blairites and Brownites arguing over the direction of the party, he said:

I mean it’s an incredible thing now that I was part of a successful government that did really good things, but you’d think that Tony Blair had lost us three elections, not won us three elections, it’s almost de rigeur now not to mention his name.

Johnson’s comments come after he wrote this brutally honest critique of where the Labour campaign went wrong for the Guardian.

Updated

Iranian President Hassan Rouhani

Further reaction from world leaders to Cameron’s win is coming in.

A top adviser to the Iranian president called on Saturday for a more active British foreign policy in the Middle East after Prime Minister David Cameron’s upset election victory, according to news agency AFP.

Hamid Aboutalebi’s remarks were the first significant reaction from a senior Iranian official to Cameron’s poll win.

Aboutalebi, President Hassan Rouhani’s deputy chief of staff for political affairs, complained that in the negotiations that led to a framework accord last month Britain had taken a back seat, and called for a more active role in the efforts under way to reach a full agreement by June 30.

In a series of tweets, he said:

British policy in the region and on the nuclear issue in recent years has been far from the capacities of that country and has been overshadowed by American policy.

David Cameron

There weren’t too many gaffes during the election campaign - but David Cameron’s “brain fade” as he appeared to forget which football team he supported was a cringeworthy treat.

The Prime Minister, who had always maintained he was a fervent Aston Villa fan appeared to slip up when he said he supported West Ham United during a speech on the campaign trail.

And immaculate timing means the prime minister has a chance to cheer his two favourite football teams as they clash today at Villa Park at 3pm.

Twitter users were quick to remind the Tory leader of his embarrassing stumble.

Here’s a clip of the awkward moment, if you can bear to watch it:

Many of us have been furiously dwelling on why or how the election polls got it so wrong. Thankfully, our data Editor Alberto Nardelli has been asking the same question. He writes:

Across the polls there appear to have been at least three errors:

    1. Labour significantly underperformed compared with expectations set by polls. Support for Miliband’s party averaged 34% in the final polls, 3.5 points above the actual result. The figures for Ukip (12.5%), the Lib Dems (8%), and the Greens (4%) were within the polls’ margins of error. Although the Conservatives’ average in the final pre-election polls (34%) was nearly three points shy of the party’s actual result, several companies – including Ipsos Mori, Opinium and ComRes – had the party’s share on 35-36%.
    2. The Lib Dems’ result was catastrophic even in their strongholds. The party held on to only eight of their 57 seats, which is in stark contrast with the snapshots provided by constituency polling.
    3. Although turnout saw a one-point increase on 2010, the level (66%) was lower significantly lower than that implied in most polls.

Green party leader Natalie Bennett leaves after voting at a polling station in London on Thursday.
Green party leader Natalie Bennett leaves after voting at a polling station in London on Thursday.

Natalie Bennett has made it clear she is going nowhere.

The Green Party leader, who finished third in Holborn and St Pancras, didn’t follow other leaders Ed Miliband, Nick Clegg and Nigel Farage in standing down after her party only managed to retain its one Westminster seat, that of Caroline Lucas in Brighton Pavilion.

The party won 1.1 million votes – up from 285,000 in 2010 – and finished second in four seats. Bennett told BBC Breakfast:

What we have done is very much establish ourselves as a national party as part of the national political force. So for us, we’ve had the first stage of the green surge and what I’m aiming to do from today onwards is build the second stage of the green surge.

Updated

Morning summary

Yes! It really happened! Good morning and welcome to the Guardian’s election aftermath blog, as we continue to digest and dissect yesterday’s remarkable events – a Tory majority win, an SNP landslide, a devastating defeat for Labour, a near-collapse for the Liberal Democrats and three party-leader resignations. Phew.

I’m Jamie Grierson, kicking off the blog today and steering you through Saturday’s twists and turns. I’m on Twitter @JamieGrierson, so get in touch with anything you find interesting and please do comment below the line.

The big picture

Nicola Sturgeon, leader of the Scottish National party, is interviewed by STV in Westminster the day after the election.
Nicola Sturgeon, leader of the Scottish National party, is interviewed by STV in Westminster the day after the election. Photograph: Rob Stothard/Getty Images

Scotland’s first minister, Nicola Sturgeon, will meet the SNP’s new army of MPs this morning as speculation mounts over how her emboldened party will harness its new-found power in Westminster. With the nationalists taking 56 of the 59 Scottish seats on huge swings from Labour in its former heartland, the prime minister is likely to face immediate pressure to draw up a plan to save the union. Speculation is mounting over whether Cameron is considering offering the SNP full fiscal autonomy for Scotland after alluding to greater taxation powers in his victory speech outside No 10.

What else can we expect from today?

David Cameron giving his first speech in his second term as prime minister.

The extent to which the Tories will implement their manifesto pledges will be subject to much debate. There is an argument that the Conservatives may have not expected to implement many of their promises in the face of such convincing polls suggesting they would not achieve a majority. But they did and now journalists and political commentators are revisiting those key commitments oft-repeated throughout the campaign. Scrapping the human rights act, an in-out referendum on EU membership and, of course, spending cuts were all on the table. My colleague Alan Travis has a great summary here.

David Lammy

After returning fewer seats than Gordon Brown’s administration in 2010, the Labour party has much soul-searching to do. It also needs a new leader after Ed Miliband bowed down yesterday. Rumours are flying around as to who will put themselves forward. David Lammy told BBC Breakfast this morning he would consider putting himself forward. Andy Burnham, Chuka Umunna, Yvette Cooper and Dan Jarvis are also thought to be contenders. We’ll post any developments on the blog as and when they come in.

Tim Farron

It isn’t just Labour facing a leadership contest, the decimated Liberal Democrats need someone take up Nick Clegg’s mantle after the Sheffield Hallam MP stepped down. One of the party’s few remaining MPs - Gregg Mulholland - says the next Liberal Democrat leader must be someone who defied Nick Clegg over student fees in an apparent endorsement of Tim Farron. And, of course, Nigel Farage resigned or rather announced he was going on holiday.

Election round-up

Today’s reading

Behold, Westminster after an all-nighter, with the patch of grass known as College Green full of politicos lurching terrifyingly towards the cameras in search of a bite. Think of it as Lawn of the Dead.

There, among the mobile studios and microphones, politicians and producers come together in an orgy of feeding. Bits of this tented corner of Westminster resemble a field hospital, which, in a sense, they are.

Of those elected, some have parliamentary experience, the existing six and former leader Alex Salmond, who has been elected as member for Gordon in Aberdeenshire. Then you have got a group of just under 20 councillors, including Highland Council leader Drew Hendry. Their arrival will trigger a series of by-elections across Scotland.

The rest are a combination of longstanding party members and activists, many of who cut their teeth in the referendum campaign and have not been heavily involved in party politics.

Here’s the front pages...

Updated

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