Labour holds London but loses in Hartlepool and heartlands

LABOUR leader Sir Keir Starmer completed an unconvincing Shadow Cabinet reshuffle this week after his party suffered yet another difficult election night last Thursday.

The by-election defeat in Hartlepool removed another brick from the Red Wall which Mr Starmer had vowed to rebuild when he took over from Jeremy Corbyn in April 2020. 

Instead, Jill Mortimer became the first Conservative to be elected MP in the County Durham town since 1959 when Cliff Richard was top of the UK Singles' Charts with Living Doll.

Indeed, this result - and many others in council elections around England - shows Labour is still heading backwards at a significant rate in its former heartlands in the north and the midlands.

Labour lost its majorities in County Durham, Sheffield and West Lancashire, while the control of the councils in Harlow and Southampton moved directly from Labour to the Conservatives. 

For a party which has now been in power in Westminster for 11 years, the Tories enjoyed an extraordinarily good night, also gaining control in 14 other areas including Northumberland, Nottinghamshire, and Nuneaton and Bedworth.

Elsewhere, the Conservatives restricted their own losses to just three areas, and all of them to no overall control, rather than directly to Labour. 

This was indeed a defining victory in England for Conservative leader and incumbent Prime Minister Boris Johnson - and proof that the General Election which brought him a majority of 80 in December 2019 had been no fluke.

Of course, Mr Johnson is currently riding the crest of a wave created by a vaccine roll-out which has been among the best in the world and which has allowed restrictions in the UK to be lifted, albeit still cautiously. 

More pertinently for Labour, though, Mr Johnson will simply always hold an advantage over the main opposition party which - even after so long out of power - seems intent on tearing itself apart.

In fairness, it was not all bad news for Labour. Mark Drakeford's Welsh Labour increased the party's seat share in the Senedd, taking exactly half of the 60 seats on offer overall to remain in power. 

Andy Burnham scored a thumping victory in the Manchester mayoral contest while Labour also gained the mayoralities in Cambridgeshire and Peterborough, and in the West of England. 

Sadiq Khan retained his position as Mayor of London, albeit on a slightly-reduced vote - and Labour candidate Tracy Brabin will now depart her Westminster seat of Batley and Spen after she convincingly won the newly-created West Yorkshire mayorality.

North of the border, though, it is the Scottish National Party which continues to dominate the political scene after a fourth successive win. 

This time, the SNP took no fewer than 62 of the 73 constituencies - and 64 seats overall - to fall short of a majority by just one.

But that slight shortfall will not worry the SNP leader Nicola Sturgeon as her allies in the Scottish Green Party still gave her a pro-independence majority at Holyrood in any case.

More importantly, Ms Sturgeon can expect that this nod of approval from the Scottish people will close off the most difficult period of her six-and-a-half-year premiership so far. 

Back in March, an independent report found that Ms Sturgeon had not breached the ministerial code during the Scottish government's botched handling of sexual harassment complaints against her predecessor Alec Salmond.

However, a separate inquiry by MSPs has described the government's actions as "deeply flawed", and questioned some of Ms Sturgeon's evidence.

The row between Mr Salmond and Ms Sturgeon began when allegations of sexual harassment - strongly denied - were made against the former leader by two female civil servants in 2018.

Those complaints were made after Ms Sturgeon asked for new government policies on sexual harassment to be put in place in the wake of the #MeToo movement. 

Mr Salmond believed the policy was aimed at him, and the Scottish government eventually admitted it had acted unlawfully with the result that it had to pay his legal fees which totalled more than £500,000.

It did not end there. In January 2019, Mr Salmond was arrested and charged with multiple counts of sexual assault, including attempted rape.

At the trial in March 2020, Mr Salmond was acquitted of all 13 charges - and, in court, he said the claims made about his alleged conduct were "deliberate fabrications for a political purpose", or "exaggerations".

Mr Salmond has since claimed there was a "deliberate, prolonged, malicious and concerted effort" from some in the Scottish government and leading SNP figures to damage him and even have him sent to prison.

However, Ms Sturgeon has accused him of peddling false conspiracy theories and suggested her predecessor is angry because she "did not collude with him" to make the sexual harassment allegations "go away".

Subsequently, in the run-up to these elections, Mr Salmond helped form the Alba Party as a rival independence-supporting front. 

Far from significantly splitting the pro-indy vote, though, Mr Salmond's new outfit polled only 2% and therefore failed to take any seats. 

It feels certain then, with the Brexit process behind us - if not the effects - and with the coronavirus recovery now in full swing, the next chapter of politics will focus on two competing visions of nationalism. 

On the one hand, there is a British version offered by the Union flag-bearing Mr Johnson - and, on the other, a Scottish version offered by the Saltire-spreading Ms Sturgeon. 

All the while, Labour appears destined to remain on the sidelines, hopelessly split into two or more factions, without either fully splitting or, conversely, cobbling together the so-called Progressive Alliance which it clearly now so badly needs.

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ELECTION RESULTS BREAKDOWN

• HARTLEPOOL •	LAB	CON	LDM	GRN	OTH	ELECTED MP
By-election	28.7%	51.9%	1.2%	1.2%	17.0%	Jill Mortimer (CON)
Change	(-9.0%)	(+23.0%)	(-2.9%)	(+1.2%)	(+12.3%)

Conservative gain from Labour

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• ENGLAND •	CON	LAB	LDM	GRN	OTH	NOC
Councils	63	44	7	0	0	29
	+13	-8	+1	-	-	-6
Councillors	2345	1345	586	151	308
	+235	-326	+7	+88	-4
Projected National Share	36%	29%	17%		18%
	(+8%)	(+1%)	(-2%)		(-7%)

• UNITARY AUTHORITIES AND METROPOLITAN BOROUGHS
• Conservatives
Buckinghamshire - Cornwall - Dudley - North East Lincolnshire - North Northamptonshire - Northumberland - Shropshire - Solihull - Southampton - Swindon - Thurrock - Walsall - West Northamptonshire - Wiltshire - Wokingham
• Labour
Barnsley - Bradford - Bury - Calderdale - Coventry - Doncaster - Gateshead - Halton - Knowsley - Leeds - Liverpool - Manchester - Newcastle upon Tyne - North Tyneside - Oldham - Rochdale - Rotherham - Salford - Sandwell - Sefton - South Tyneside - St Helens - Sunderland - Tameside - Trafford - Wakefield - Warrington - Wigan - Wolverhampton
• No Overall Control
Bolton - Bristol - County Durham - Derby - Hartlepool - Isle of Wight - Kirklees - Milton Keynes - Peterborough - Plymouth - Portsmouth - Sheffield - Southend - Stockport - Wirral

• COUNTY COUNCILS
• Conservatives
Derbyshire - Devon - East Sussex - Essex - Gloucestershire - Hampshire - Hertfordshire - Kent - Lancashire - Leicestershire - Lincolnshire - Norfolk - Nottinghamshire - Staffordshire - Suffolk - Surrey - Warwickshire - West Sussex - Worcestershire
• No Overall Control
Cambridgeshire - Oxfordshire

• DISTRICT COUNCILS
• Conservatives
Adur - Amber Valley - Basildon - Basingstoke and Deane - Brentwood - Broxbourne - Cannock Chase - Cherwell - Epping Forest - Fareham - Gloucester - Gosport - Harlow - Havant - Maidstone - Nuneaton and Bedworth - Pendle - Redditch - Reigate and Banstead - Rochford - Rugby - Runnymede - Rushmoor - Tamworth - Welwyn Hatfield - West Oxfordshire - Worcester - Worthing
• Labour
Cambridge - Chorley - Exeter - Hastings - Hyndburn - Ipswich - Lincoln - Norwich - Oxford - Preston - Stevenage
• Liberal Democrats
Cheltenham - Eastleigh - Mole Valley - St Albans - Three Rivers - Watford - Winchester
• Independent
Castle Point
• No Overall Control
Burnley - Colchester - Crawley - Elmbridge - Hart - Norther Hertfordshire - Rossendale - Stroud - Tandridge - Tunbridge Wells - West Lancashire - Woking 

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• LONDON •	CON	LAB	GRN	LDM	UKIP	OTH
Constituency	5	9	0	0	0	0
	0	0	0	0	0	0
Votes	32.0%	41.7%	13.0%	10.3%		3.1%
	(+1.0%)	(-1.9%)	(+3.9%)	(+2.8%)		(-5.8%)
Region	4	2	3	2	0	0
	+1	-1	+1	+1	-2	0
Votes	30.7%	38.1%	11.8%	7.3%	1.0%	11.1%
	(+1.5%)	(-2.2%)	(+3.8%)	(+1.0%)	(-5.5%)	(+1.4%)
TOTAL	9	11	3	2	0	0
	+1	-1	+1	+1	-2	-

Labour (11/25) is two seats short of a majority

• CONSTITUENCY SEATS
• Conservatives 5
Bexley and Bromley - Croydon and Sutton - Havering and Redbridge - South West - West Central
• Labour 9
Barnet and Camden - Brent and Harrow - City and East - Ealing and Hillingdon - Enfield and Haringey - Greenwich and Lewisham - Lambeth and Southwark - Merton and Wandsworth - North East

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• SCOTLAND •	SNP	CON	LAB	GRN	LDM	OTH
Constituency	62	5	2	0	4	0
	+3	-2	-1	0	0	0
Votes	47.7%	21.9%	21.6%	1.3%	6.9%	0.6%
	(+1.2%)	(-0.1%)	(-1.0%)	(+0.7%)	(-0.9%)	(+0.1%)
Region	2	26	20	8	0	0
	-2	+2	-1	+2	-1	0
Votes	40.3%	23.5%	17.9%	8.1%	5.1%	5.1%
	(-1.4%)	(+0.6%)	(-1.2%)	(+1.5%)	(-0.1%)	(+0.6%)
TOTAL	64	31	22	8	4	0
	+1	-	-2	+2	-1	-

Scottish National Party (64/129) is one seat short of a majority

• CONSTITUENCY SEATS
• Scottish National Party 62
Aberdeen Central - Aberdeen Donside - Aberdeen South and North Kincardine - Aberdeenshire East - Airdrie and Shotts - Almond Valley - Angus North and Mearns - Angus South - Argyll and Bute - Ayr - Banffshire & Buchan Coast - Caithness, Sutherland and Ross - Carrick, Cumnock and Doon Valley - Clackmannanshire and Dunblane - Clydebank and Milngavie - Clydesdale - Coatbridge and Chryston - Cowdenbeath - Cumbernauld and Kilsyth - Cunninghame North - Cunninghame South - Dundee City East - Dundee City West - Dunfermline - East Kilbride - East Lothian - Edinburgh Central - Edinburgh Eastern - Edinburgh Northern and Leith - Edinburgh Pentlands - Falkirk East - Falkirk West - Glasgow Anniesland - Glasgow Cathcart - Glasgow Kelvin - Glasgow Maryhill and Springburn - Glasgow Pollok - Glasgow Provan - Glasgow Shettleston - Glasgow Southside - Greenock and Inverclyde - Hamilton, Larkhall and Stonehouse - Inverness and Nairn - Kilmarnock and Irvine Valley - Kirkcaldy - Linlithgow - Mid Fife and Glenrothes - Midlothian North and Musselburgh - Midlothian South, Tweeddale and Lauderdale - Moray - Motherwell and Wishaw - Na h-Eileanan an Iar - Paisley - Perthshire North - Perthshire South and Kinross-shire - Renfrewshire North and West - Renfrewshire South - Rutherglen - Skye, Lochaber and Badenoch - Stirling - Strathkelvin and Bearsden - Uddingston and Bellshill
• Conservatives 5
Aberdeenshire West - Dumfriesshire - Eastwood - Ettrick, Roxburgh and Berwickshire - Galloway and West Dumfries
• Liberal Democrats 4
Edinburgh Western - North East Fife - Orkney - Shetland
• Labour 2
Dumbarton - Edinburgh Southern

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• WALES •	LAB	CON	PC	LDM	GRN	OTH
Constituency	27	8	5	0	0	0
	0	+2	-1	-1	0	0
Votes	39.9%	26.1%	20.3%	4.9%	1.6%	7.2%
	(+5.2%)	(+5.0%)	(-0.2%)	(-2.8%)	(-0.9%)	(-6.3%)
Region	3	8	8	1	0	0
	+1	+3	+2	+1	0	-7
Votes	36.2%	25.1%	20.7%	4.3%	4.4%	9.3%
	(+4.7%)	(+6.3%)	(-0.1%)	(-2.2%)	(+1.4%)	(-10.1%)
TOTAL	30	16	13	1	0	0
	+1	+5	+1	-	-	-7

Labour (30/60) is one seat short of a majority

• CONSTITUENCY SEATS
• Labour 27
Aberavon - Alyn and Deeside - Blaenau Gwent - Bridgend - Caerphilly - Cardiff Central - Cardiff North - Cardiff South and Penarth - Cardiff West - Clwyd South - Cynon Valley - Delyn - Gower - Islwyn - Llanelli - Mertyhr Tydfil and Rhymney - Neath - Newport East - Newport West - Ogmore - Pontypridd - Rhondda - Swansea East - Swansea West - Torfaen - Vale of Glamorgan - Wrexham
• Conservatives 8
Aberconwy - Brecon and Radnorshire - Carmarthen West and South Pembrokeshire - Clwyd West  - Monmouth - Montgomeryshire - Preseli Pembrokeshire - Vale of Clwyd
• Plaid Cymru 5
Arfon - Carmarthen East and Dinefwr - Ceredigion - Dwyfor Meirionnydd - Ynys Mon

🗳️

• ELECTED MAYORS •	LAB	CON	LDM	GRN	OTH	ELECTED MAYOR
[1] LONDON	55.2%	44.8%				Sadiq Khan (LAB)
[2] Bristol	56.5%	43.5%				Marvis Rees (LAB)
[3] Cambridgeshire & Peterborough	51.3%	48.7%				Nik Johnson (LAB gain)
[4] Doncaster	59.8%	40.2%				Ros Jones (LAB)
[5] Greater Manchester	67.3%	19.6%	3.2%	4.4%	5.5%	Andy Burnham (LAB)
[6] Liverpool	59.2%	40.8%				Joanne Anderson (LAB)
[7] Liverpool City Region	58.3%	19.6%	10.3%	11.8%		Steve Rotheram (LAB)
[8] North Tyneside	53.3%	31.2%	5.7%	6.9%	2.8%	Norma Redfearn (LAB)
[9] Salford	59.0%	23.4%	3.3%	8.8%	5.5%	Paul Dennett (LAB)
[10] Tees Valley	27.2%	72.8%				Ben Houchen (CON)
[11] West Midlands	46.0%	54.0%				Andy Street (CON)
[12] West Yorkshire	61.5%	38.5%				Tracy Brabin (LAB)
[13] West of England	59.5%	40.5%				Dan Norris (LAB gain)

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• POLICE COMMISSIONERS •	LAB	CON	LDM		OTH	ELECTED
[1] Avon & Somerset	47.6%	52.4%				Mark Shelford (CON gain)
[2] Bedfordshire	45.9%	54.1%				Festus Akinbusoye (CON)
[3] Cambridgeshire	47.3%	52.7%				Darryl Preston (CON)
[4] Cheshire	47.0%	53.0%				John Dwyer (CON gain)
[5] Cleveland	28.9%	54.2%	4.8%		12.2%	Steve Turner (CON gain)
[6] Cumbria	26.1%	53.6%	20.4%			Peter McCall (CON)
[7] Derbyshire	44.0%	56.0%				Angelique Foster (CON gain)
[8] Devon & Cornwall	34.8%	65.2%				Alison Hernandez (CON)
[9] Dorset	38.2%	61.8%				David Sidwick (CON gain)
[10] Durham	51.0%	49.0%				Joy Allen (LAB)
[11] Dyfed-Powys		45.0%			55.0%	Dafydd Llywelyn (PC)
[12] Essex	22.9%	54.0%	13.3%		9.8%	Roger Hirst (CON)
[13] Gloucestershire		60.4%	39.6%			Chris Nelson (CON gain)
[14] Gwent	60.5%	39.5%				Jeff Cuthbert (LAB)
[15] Hampshire	31.8%	68.2%				Donna Jones (CON)
[16] Hertfordshire	44.7%	55.3%				David Lloyd (CON)
[17] Humberside	47.4%	52.6%				Jonathan Evison (CON gain)
[18] Kent	25.3%	57.8%	17.0%			Matthew Scott (CON)
[19] Lancashire	48.7%	51.3%				Andrew Snowden (CON gain)
[20] Leicestershire	43.0%	57.0%				Rupert Matthews (CON gain)
[21] Lincolnshire	20.0%	59.9%	5.9%		14.2%	Marc Jones (CON)
[22] Merseyside	56.9%	22.9%	16.5%		3.7%	Emily Spurrell (LAB)
[23] Norfolk	36.7%	63.3%				Giles Orpen-Smellie (CON)
[24] Northamptonshire	27.5%	53.2%	15.3%		4.0%	Stephen Mold (CON)
[25] Northumbria	59.6%	41.4%				Kim McGuinness (LAB)
[26] North Wales	52.1%	47.9%				Andy Dunbobbin (LAB gain)
[27] North Yorkshire	39.0%	61.0%				Philip Arlott (CON)
[28] Nottinghamshire	48.6%	51.4%				Caroline Henry (CON gain)
[29] South Wales	63.8%	36.2%				Alun Michael (LAB)
[30] South Yorkshire	53.9%	32.2%	13.8%			Alan Billings (LAB)
[31] Staffordshire	27.5%	55.7%	4.4%		10.1%	Benedict Adams (CON)
[32] Suffolk	23.0%	54.7%	8.7%		13.6%	Tim Passmore (CON)
[33] Surrey	42.0%	58.0%				Lisa Townsend (CON)
[34] Sussex	34.4%	65.6%				Katy Bourne (CON)
[35] Thames Valley	42.7%	57.3%				Matthew Barber (CON)
[36] Warwickshire	27.7%	52.1%	16.2%		4.0%	Philip Seccombe (CON)
[37] West Mercia	24.0%	55.3%	15.7%		5.0%	John-Paul Campion (CON)
[38] West Midlands	53.7%	46.3%				Simon Foster (LAB)
[39] Wiltshire	36.7%	63.3%				NONE - by-election required

Election 2017: Young hearts run free as May clings on

GENERAL ELECTION

Preview - Results - Review

OVERALL SUMMARY

CON	318 (-13)	42.4% (+5.5%)
LAB	262 (+30)	40.0% (+9.5%)
SNP	35 (-21)	3.0% (-1.7%)
LD	12 (+4)	7.4% (-0.5%)
DUP	10 (+2)	0.9% (+0.3%)
Others	13	6.3%

RESULT CON minority government 
Turnout 68.7% (+2.6%)

THERESA MAY has desperately clung onto her position as Prime Minister following a failed gamble on another dramatic General Election night.

Mrs May's Conservatives won the most votes and most seats in Thursday's poll but they fell short of retaining even the narrow majority which they had previously held.

Consequently, Mrs May has been forced into doing a deal with the Democratic Unionist Party who won 10 seats in Northern Ireland, though it is only a loose arrangement and not a formal coalition.

Certainly, it is not the strong and stable government which Mrs May had set her heart on when she called the election seven weeks ago.

In all, the Tories lost a net total of 23 seats against Labour in England and Wales, and only gains from the Scottish Nationalists provided any solace.

The SNP had won 56 out of the 59 Westminster seats in 2015 but, with their own record in the devolved Holyrood government to defend, they were always likely to go backwards.

Indeed, Nicola Sturgeon's party lost 13% of their previous share of the vote in Scotland, resulting in almost 40% of their MPs being unseated.

The defeated included their former party leader Alec Salmond in Gordon and Angus Robertson, who had been their leader in the House of Commons during the last Parliament.

But the biggest name of the night to lose his seat was former Deputy Prime Minister Nick Clegg who finally got his comeuppance as Labour gained Sheffield Hallam from the Liberal Democrats.

Despite this, the Lib Dems at least had a mixed night, rather than a totally disastrous one. 

There were modest gains in Scotland at the expense of the SNP and in London against the Conservatives as former ministers Vince Cable, Ed Davey and Jo Swinson all returned to Parliament.

Overall, though, the party's vote share was down slightly, and there was little sign of a revival in their former heartland in south west England.

Elsewhere, Green Party co-leader Caroline Lucas defied a slight decrease in her party's overall vote to retain her Brighton Pavilion seat.

However, the UKIP vote collapsed massively just about everywhere, down from 12.6% to just 1.8%. 

Paul Nuttall was humiliated in the Boston and Skegness constituency, taking only just over 3,000 votes, and he became the only party leader - so far - to resign.

At the time of writing, Mrs May has not followed suit despite this having been a huge personal humiliation for her.

After all, just a few weeks ago, the polls suggested that she was on course for the massive landslide victory which she craved heading into the Brexit negotiations.

In Jeremy Corbyn, she faced a supposed relic of an opponent, a man who had struggled to keep his party united during the course of his leadership.

But, with the launch of the manifestos, the tone of the campaign changed. 

The Conservatives' policy on social care became dubbed the dementia tax and, generally, the discussion moved away from Brexit and towards the provision of services.

Historically stronger ground for Labour, Mr Corbyn was able to point out that - even after seven years of austerity - Mrs May was set to make even more cuts.

Worse still in the eyes of many of the public, the Tories did not even appear to be prepared to defend their policy positions.

For, while Mr Corbyn toured the country holding mass rallies, Mrs May organised small private events with a particularly memorable instance of her hiding away coming in a barn in Aberdeenshire.

Rarely can there ever have been a lazier, more arrogant, more insulting campaign in a General Election in Britain.

Terrorist attacks in Manchester and London, which killed a combined total of 30 people, naturally left a sombre backdrop to the election, and campaigning was briefly suspended twice.

But, on its resumption, Mr Corbyn went straight back on the offensive, criticising Mrs May for cutting police numbers during her six-year tenure as Home Secretary.

Suddenly, it was Mrs May who was having to defend her political past - and there is a certain further irony in her eventual deal with the DUP.

The DUP's past links with loyalist paramilitary groups are more well-founded than anything connecting Mr Corbyn to the IRA - and yet, as it stands, their 10 MPs now hold a significant stake in determining Britain's future.

That, of course, includes the Brexit negotiations. There, a diminished Mrs May, previously a Remainer herself, will head to the table aware that she only retains any sort of power courtesy of MPs from Scotland and Northern Ireland, areas which both voted to stay in the EU.

Already, the lack of authority which Mrs May commands, even within her own party, has been exposed by the resignation today of her two top aides Nick Timothy and Fiona Hill.

But, rather than shoring up Mrs May, their departure undoubtedly makes her weaker still - and, far from delivering her a massive landslide majority, this whole election has turned into a complete mess.

By contrast, things are looking up for Labour. True, the party still finished 56 seats short of the Conservatives - but there has been some excellent progress, especially in the south.

Seats like Peterborough, Enfield Southgate and Reading East - all won in the 1997 landslide under Tony Blair - have returned to the Labour fold after an intervening period of Conservative control.

More astonishingly, Labour gained Canterbury, a seat which had been held by the Tories since its inception in the 1800s.

And then, in the final result to declare, Kensington - the richest constituency in the country - fell to Labour after a third recount.

Overall, Mr Corbyn won over 12 million votes, more than Mr Blair in his "quiet" landslide in 2001 as Labour polled at 40% for only the third time since 1970.

The return of two-party politics has undoubtedly helped - though it has also assisted in keeping the Conservatives in power.

Nevertheless, if there is now going to be a period of binary politics, a strong opposition must now focus on presenting itself as a government-in-waiting. 

That means more support for Mr Corbyn from his own side, less sniping against him and certainly no embarrassingly pointless and diversionary leadership elections.

It seems inconceivable that the Conservatives will not, at some point in the near future, tear themselves apart over Mrs May's continued leadership after her failed gamble. Meanwhile, the arrangement with the DUP is tenuous in the extreme.

This General Election, when it was called, seemed incredibly unnecessary - and yet perhaps the greatest irony of this result is that it has necessitated another. 

Strong and stable times, indeed.

Election 2015: Tories take control as Nationalists sweep Scotland

GENERAL ELECTION 2015 RESULT

CON	36.9% (+0.8%)	331 (+24)
LAB	30.5% (+1.4%)	232 (-26)
SNP	4.8% (+3.1%)	56 (+50)
LD	7.8% (-15.1%)	8 (-49)
UKIP	12.6% (+9.5%)	1 (+1)
GRN	3.8% (+2.8%)	1 (nc)
PC	0.6% (nc)	3 (nc)
Others	3%	18 (nc)

CON majority of 12 seats - Turnout 66.1%

DAVID CAMERON returned to Downing Street for a second term after the Conservatives won a sensational, and largely unforeseen, first majority since 1992.

The Tories won 331 of the 650 seats on a devastating night for Labour - and it was also one which just about completely wiped out the Liberal Democrats.

Unsurprisingly, given the outcome, Ed Miliband and Nick Clegg both resigned as party leaders - and Nigel Farage joined them after he failed to win a House of Commons seat for UKIP for a seventh time. 

Meanwhile, in Scotland, the Nationalists' revolution - which began last September during the independence referendum - continued unremittingly.

Nicola Stugeon's party took 56 of the 59 seats available to them with some absolutely stunning victories, and so became easily the third biggest party at Westminster.

Shadow Foreign Secretary Douglas Alexander was beaten by 20-year-old student Mhairi Black, while Scottish Labour leader Jim Murphy also lost his seat. In Gordon, former SNP leader Alec Salmond returned to Westminster after a five-year absence.

And, eventually, only Edinburgh South for Labour, Orkney & Shetland for the Lib Dems and Dumfriesshire, Clydesdale & Tweeddale for the Conservatives escaped the SNP's clutches.

Elsewhere, it was a night of truly historic swings north of the border with Glasgow North East taken on a swing of 39.3%, and Gordon Brown's former seat - Kirkcaldy and Cowdenbeath - also falling on a swing far in excess of 30%.

But the worst thing about this election for Labour was that the defeats were not confined solely to Scotland. In England and Wales too, Labour fared poorly.

Straight away, a sense of shock filled their camp as the exit poll, released at 10pm on BBC, ITV and Sky, showed the Tories were just short of a majority.

It was totally out of line with the stalemate in the polls throughout the campaign - and was dismissed by several commentators in the election studios.

As time went on, though, it became clear the research had actually underestimated Conservative support and Mr Cameron was set for a majority.

Ultimately, Mr Miliband's party made just 10 direct gains from the Tories, and all-but-one of these were rebuffed by the Tories surprisingly taking Labour seats back in response. It was a hideously depressing night for the left.

The biggest of these shocks was in the Leeds suburb of Morley and Outwood where, as dawn broke, the undoubted Portillo moment of the 2015 election took place.

Shadow Chancellor Ed Balls, so long the right-hand man of Mr Miliband, was defeated by Andrea Jenkyns. The Tories had another unexpected seat on the board.

By then, though, the result only simply served to cap a huge Labour failure which had already become apparent much earlier in the night.

Nuneaton was on Labour's target list and North Warwickshire was the closest Tory-Labour marginal of all. They both again returned a Conservative MP.

Remarkably then, Mr Cameron became the first Prime Minister since Margaret Thatcher in 1983 to increase his party's representation following a period of governance.

The same cannot be said for junior coalition partners, the shattered Lib Dems, who lost 49 of their 57 seats after totally collapsing to the Conservatives, Labour and the SNP.

Of course, Mr Clegg's decision to form a coalition with the Conservatives in 2010 can still be considered an eminently sensible and responsible one, given the arithmetic at the time.

But his party's failure thereafter to adhere to high-profile promises on tuition fees and VAT cost them dearly - and a moribund, identity-less campaign was always going to leave a ragtag bunch facing oblivion.

Mr Clegg himself held onto his seat in Sheffield Hallam, after rumours he would not, but other high-profile figures such as Danny Alexander, Vince Cable, Simon Hughes, and Charles Kennedy all lost out.

In fact, their final representation of just eight MPs is the lowest return by a Liberal party since the 1956 - and it will be a long road back to respectability, if indeed it ever happens at all.

For now, though, a country effectively divided in three parts can only watch on as Mr Cameron sets the agenda.

The reshuffle so far has been nothing of the sort. George Osborne, Theresa May and Philip Hammond all kept their positions of Chancellor, Home Secretary, and Foreign Secretary respectively - and Mr Hammond, in particular, has an interesting few months ahead.

With a relatively small majority, Tory backbenchers will ensure the promised referendum on Europe happens sooner rather than later - and any stalling would spell trouble for Mr Cameron.

Remember, the last Conservative Prime Minister to win a majority, John Major, saw his premiership dominated and ruined by rebellions over Europe and the Maastricht Treaty. Remember too, Mr Major had a majority of 21, nine more than Mr Cameron.

But, while it may not all be plain sailing for the Prime Minister, his remarkable win has now given him clear blue water. Will the good ship Great Britain sink or sail?

Election 2015: The full results

CON	36.9% (+0.8%)	331 (+24)
LAB	30.5% (+1.4%)	232 (-26)
SNP	4.8% (+3.1%)	56 (+50)
LD	7.8% (-15.1%)	8 (-49)
UKIP	12.6% (+9.5%)	1 (+1)
GRN	3.8% (+2.8%)	1 (nc)
PC	0.6% (nc)	3 (nc)
Others	3%	18 (nc)

CON majority of 12 - Turnout tbc

EXIT POLL CON short of a majority by 10.

CON 316 LAB 239 SNP 58 LD 10 PC 4 UKIP 2 GRN 2 OTH 19

HEADLINES

* First Conservative majority government since 1992.

* Scottish National Party win all-but-three Scottish seats.

* Miliband resigns after devastating defeat.

* Clegg resigns after making his party an irrelevance.

* Farage resigns after failing in South Thanet for UKIP.

 

REGION-BY-REGION AS IT STANDS

NORTH EAST ENGLAND

Conservative

Berwick-upon-Tweed - Hexham - Stockton South

Labour

Bishop Auckland - Blaydon - Blyth Valley - Darlington - City of Durham - North Durham - North West Durham - Easington - Gateshead - Hartlepool - Houghton & Sunderland South - Jarrow - Middlesbrough - Middlesbrough South & East Cleveland - Newcastle upon Tyne Central - Newcastle upon Tyne East - Newcastle upon Tyne North - Sedgefield - South Shields - Stockton North - Sunderland Central - Tynemouth - North Tyneside - Redcar - Wansbeck - Washington & Sunderland West

NORTH WEST ENGLAND

Conservative

Altrincham & Sale West - Blackpool North & Cleveleys - Bolton West - Bury North - Carlisle - Cheadle - Congleton - Crewe & Nantwich - Eddisbury - Fylde - Hazel Grove - Macclesfield - Morecambe & Lunesdale - Pendle - Penrith & The Border - Ribble Valley - Rossendale & Darwen - South Ribble - Tatton - Warrington South - Weaver Vale - Wyre & Preston North

Labour

Ashton Under Lyne - Barrow & Furness - Birkenhead - Blackburn - Blackley & Broughton - Blackpool South - Bolton North East - Bolton South East - Bootle - Burnley - Bury South - City of Chester - Chorley - Copeland - Denton & Reddish - Ellesmere Port & Neston - Garston & Halewood - Halton - Heywood & Middleton - Hyndburn - Knowsley - Lancashire West - Lancaster & Fleetwood - Leigh - Liverpool Riverside - Liverpool Walton - Liverpool Wavertree - Liverpool West Derby - Makerfield - Manchester Central - Manchester Gorton - Manchester Withington - Oldham East & Saddleworth - Oldham West & Royton - Preston - Rochdale - St Helens North - St Helens South & Whiston - Salford & Eccles - Sefton Central - Stalybridge & Hyde - Stockport - Stretford & Urmston - Wallasey - Warrington North - Wigan - Wirral South - Wirral West - Workington - Worsley & Eccles South - Wythenshawe & Sale East

Liberal Democrats

Southport - Westmorland & Lonsdale

YORKSHIRE & HUMBER

Conservative

Beverley & Holderness - Brigg & Goole - Calder Valley - Cleethorpes - Colne Valley - Elmet & Rothwell - Haltemprice & Howden - Harrogate & Knaresborough - Keighley - Morley & Outwood - Pudsey - Richmond - Scarborough & Whitby - Selby & Ainsty - Shipley - Skipton & Ripon - Thirsk & Malton - York Outer - East Yorkshire

Labour

Barnsley Central - Barnsley East - Batley & Spen - Bradford East - Bradford South - Bradford West - Dewsbury - Don Valley - Doncaster Central - Doncaster North - Great Grimsby - Halifax - Hemsworth - Huddersfield - Kingston-upon-Hull East - Kingston-upon-Hull North - Kingston-upon-Hull West & Hessle - Leeds Central - Leeds East - Leeds North East - Leeds West - Normanton, Pontefract & Castleford - Penistone & Stocksbrige - Rother Valley - Rotherham - Scunthorpe - Sheffield Brightside & Hillsborough - Sheffield Central - Sheffield Heeley - Sheffield South East - Wakefield - Wentworth & Dearne - York Central

Liberal Democrats

Leeds North West - Sheffield Hallam

EAST MIDLANDS

Conservative

Amber Valley - Boston & Skegness - Bosworth - Broxtowe - Charnwood - Corby - Daventry - Derby North - Derbyshire Dales - Mid Derbyshire - South Derbyshire - Erewash - Gainsborough - Grantham & Stamford - Harborough - High Peak - Kettering - North West Leicestershire - South Leicestershire - Lincoln - Loughborough - Louth & Horncastle - Newark - Northampton North - Northampton South - South Northamptonshire - Rushcliffe - Rutland & Melton - Sherwood - Sleaford & North Hykeham - South Holland & The Deepings - Wellingborough

Labour

Ashfield - Bassetlaw - Bolsover - Chesterfield - Derby South - North East Derbyshire - Gedling - Leicester East - Leicester South - Leicester West - Mansfield - Nottingham East - Nottingham North - Nottingham South

WEST MIDLANDS

Conservative

Aldridge-Brownhills - Bromsgrove - Burton - Cannock Chase - Dudley South - Halesowen & Rowley Regis - Hereford & South Herefordshire - North Herefordshire - Kenilworth & Southam - Lichfield - Ludlow - Meriden - Nuneaton - Redditch - Rugby - Shrewsbury & Atcham - North Shropshire - Solihull - Stafford - Staffordshire Moorlands - South Staffordshire - Stone - Stourbridge - Stratford-on-Avon - Sutton Coldfield - Tamworth - Telford - Warwick & Leamington - North Warwickshire - Worcester - Mid Worcestershire 

Labour

Birmingham Edgbaston - Birmingham Erdington - Birmingham Hall Green - Birmingham Hodge Hill - Birmingham Ladywood - Birmingham Northfield - Birmingham Perry Barr - Birmingham Selly Oak - Birmingham Yardley - Coventry North East - Coventry North West - Coventry South - Dudley North - Newcastle-under-Lyme - Stoke-on-Trent Central - Stoke-on-Trent North - Stoke-on-Trent South - Walsall North - Walsall South - Warley - West Bromwich East - West Bromwich West - Wolverhampton North East - Wolverhampton South East - Wolverhampton South West

 
EAST ENGLAND

Conservative

Basildon & Billericay - South Basildon & East Thurrock - Bedford - Mid Bedfordshire - North East Bedfordshire - South West Bedfordshire - Braintree - Brentwood & Ongar - Broadland - Broxbourne - Bury St Edmunds - North East Cambridgeshire - North West Cambridgeshire - South Cambridgeshire - South East Cambridgeshire - Castle Point - Chelmsford - Colchester - Epping Forest - Great Yarmouth - Harlow - Harwich & North Essex - Hemel Hempstead - Hertford & Stortford - North East Hertfordshire - South West Hertfordshire - Hertsmere - Hitchin & Harpenden - Huntingdon - Ipswich - Maldon - Mid Norfolk - North West Norfolk - South Norfolk - South West Norfolk - Norwich North - Peterborough - Rayleigh & Wickford - Rochford & Southend East - Saffron Walden - St Albans - Southend West - Stevenage - Central Suffolk & Ipswich North - Suffolk Coastal - South Suffolk - West Suffolk - Thurrock - Watford - Waveney - Welwyn Hatfield - Witham

Labour

Cambridge - Luton North - Luton South - Norwich South

Liberal Democrats 
North Norfolk

UKIP

Clacton

SOUTH EAST ENGLAND

Conservative

Aldershot - Arundel & South Downs - Ashford - Aylesbury - Banbury - Basingstoke - Beaconsfield - Bexhill & Battle - Bognor Regis & Littlehampton - Bracknell - Brighton Kemptown - Canterbury - Chatham & Aylesford - Chesham & Amersham - Chichester - Crawley - Dartford - Dover - Eastbourne - Eastleigh - Epsom & Ewell - Esher & Walton - Fareham - Faversham & Mid Kent - Folkestone & Hythe - Gillingham & Rainham - Gosport - Gravesham - Guildford - East Hampshire - North East Hampshire - North West Hampshire - Hastings & Rye - Havant - Henley - Horsham - Isle of Wight - Lewes - Maidenhead - Maidstone & The Weald - Meon Valley - Milton Keynes North - Milton Keynes South - Mole Valley - New Forest East - New Forest West - Newbury - Oxford West & Abingdon - Portsmouth North - Portsmouth South - Reading East - Reading West - Reigate - Rochester & Strood - Romsey & Southampton North - Runnymede & Weybridge - Sevenoaks - Sittingbourne & Sheppey - Southampton Itchen - Spelthorne - East Surrey - Surrey Heath - South West Surrey - Mid Sussex - North Thanet - South Thanet - Tonbridge & Malling - Tunbridge Wells - Wantage - Wealden - Winchester - Windsor - Witney - Woking - Wokingham - Worthing East & Shoreham - Worthing West - Wycombe

Labour

Hove - Oxford East - Slough - Southampton Test

Green

Brighton Pavilion

Other (speaker)

Buckinghamshire

LONDON

Conservative

Battersea - Beckenham - Bexleyheath & Crayford - Bromley & Chislehurst - Chelsea & Fulham - Chingford & Woodford Green - Chipping Barnet - Cities of London & Westminster - Croydon Central - Croydon South - Enfield Southgate - Finchley & Golders Green - Harrow East - Hendon - Hornchurch & Upminster - Kensington - Kingston & Surbiton - Old Bexley & Sidcup - Orpington - Putney - Richmond Park - Romford - Ruislip, Northwood & Pinner - Sutton & Cheam - Twickenham - Uxbridge & Ruislip South - Wimbledon

Labour

Barking - Bermondsey & Old Southwark - Bethnal Green & Bow - Brentford & Isleworth - Brent Central - Brent North - Camberwell & Peckham - Croydon North - Dagenham & Rainham - Dulwich & West Norwood - Ealing Central & Acton - Ealing North - Ealing Southall - East Ham - Edmonton - Eltham - Enfield North - Erith & Thamesmead - Feltham & Heston - Greenwich & Woolwich - Hackney North & Stoke Newington - Hackney South & Shoreditch - Hammersmith - Hampstead & Kilburn - Harrow West - Hayes & Harlington - Holborn & St Pancras - Hornsey & Wood Green - Ilford North - Ilford South - Islington North - Islington South & Finsbury - Lewisham Deptford - Lewisham East - Lewisham West & Penge - Leyton & Wantstead - Mitcham & Morden - Poplar & Limehouse - Streatham - Tooting - Tottenham - Vauxhall - Walthamstow - West Ham - Westminster North 

Liberal Democrats

Carshalton & Wallington

SOUTH WEST ENGLAND

Conservative

Bath - Bournemouth East - Bournemouth West - Bridgwater & Somerset West - Bristol North West - Camborne & Redruth - Cheltenham - Chippenham - Christchurch - North Cornwall - South East Cornwall - The Cotswolds - Devizes - Central Devon - East Devon - North Devon - South West Devon - West Devon and Torridge - Mid Dorset and North Poole - North Dorset - South Dorset - West Dorset - Filton & Bradley Stoke - Forest of Dean - Gloucester - Kingswood - Newton Abbot - Plymouth Moor View - Plymouth Sutton & Devonport - Poole - St Austell & Newquay - St Ives - Salisbury - North Somerset - North East Somerset - Somerton & Frome - Stroud - North Swindon - South Swindon - Taunton Deane - Tewkesbury - Thornbury & Yate - Tiverton & Honiton - Torbay - Totnes - Truro & Falmouth - Wells - Weston-Super-Mare - North Wiltshire - South West Wiltshire - Yeovil  

Labour

Bristol East - Bristol South - Bristol West - Exeter

SCOTLAND

Conservative

Dumfriesshire, Clydesdale & Tweeddale

Labour
Edinburgh South

Scottish National Party

Aberdeen North - Aberdeen South - Aberdeenshire West & Kincardine - Airdree & Shotts - Angus - Argyll & Bute - Ayr, Carrick & Cumnock - Ayrshire Central - Ayrshire North & Arran - Banff & Buchan - Berwickshire, Roxburgh & Selkirk - Caithness, Sutherland & Easter Ross - Coatbridge, Chryston & Bellshill - Cumbernauld, Kilsyth & Kirkintilloch East - Dumfries & Galloway - East Dunbartonshire - West Dunbartonshire - Dundee East - Dundee West - Dunfermline & West Fife - East Kilbride, Strathaven & Lesmahagow - East Lothian - Edinburgh East - Edinburgh North & Leith - Edinburgh South West - Edinburgh West - Falkirk - North East Fife - Glasgow Central - Glasgow East - Glasgow North - Glasgow North East - Glasgow North West - Glasgow South - Glasgow South West - Glenrothes - Gordon - Inverclyde - Inverness, Nairn, Badenoch & Strathspey - Kilmarnock & Loudoun - Kirkcaldy & Cowdenbeath - Lanark & Hamilton East - Linlithgow & Falkirk East - Livingston - Midlothian - Moray - Motherwell & Wishaw - Na h-Eileanan an lar - Ochil & South Perthshire - Paisley & Renfrewshire North - Paisley & Renfrewshire South - Perth & North Perthshire - East Renfewshire - Ross, Sky & Lochaber - Rutherglen & Hamilton West - Stirling 

Liberal Democrats

Orkney & Shetland

WALES

Conservative

Aberconwy - Brecon & Radnorshire - Cardiff North - Carmarthen West & South Pembrokeshire - Clwyd West - Gower - Monmouth - Montgomeryshire - Preseli Pembrokeshire - Vale of Clwyd - Vale of Glamorgan

Labour

Aberavon - Alyn & Deeside - Blaenau Gwent - Bridgend - Caerphilly - Cardiff Central - Cardiff South & Penarth - Cardiff West - Clwyd South - Cynon Valley - Delyn - Islwyn - Llanelli - Merthyr Tydfil & Rhymney - Neath - Newport East - Newport West - Ogmore - Pontypridd - Rhondda - Swansea East - Swansea West - Torfaen - Wrexham - Ynys Mon

Liberal Democrats

Ceredigion

Plaid Cymru

Arfon - Carmarthen East & Dinefwr - Dwyfor Meirionnydd  

NORTHERN IRELAND

Democratic Unionist

Belfast East - Belfast North - East Antrim - East Londonderry - Lagan Valley - North Antrim - Strangford - Upper Bann

Ulster Unionist
Fermanagh & South Tyrone - South Antrim
Sinn Fein

Belfast West - Mid Ulster - Newry & Armagh - West Tyrone

Social Democratic and Labour Party

Belfast South - Foyle - South Down

Independent

North Down

Seats in bold changed hands

Salmond steps down as Scotland says Naw - for now

Should Scotland be an independent country?

AYE		NAW
44.7%		55.3%

National turnout: 84.6%

ALEC SALMOND resigned as First Minister after Scotland rejected independence and voted to remain part of the United Kingdom in a historic referendum last night.

National turnout was almost 85% as the Better Together campaign topped two million votes, and eventually finished ahead of Yes Scotland by 383,937 ballots.

The pattern of the night's results from the 32 council areas became quickly established with reports of disappointed Yes campaigners knowing they had not done as well as the final polls suggested.

In fact, the first seven local authorities - including the islands of Orkney and Shetland - all voted in favour of Naw to varying extents with the tightest race of the whole poll coming in Inverclyde.

There, Better Together beat Yes Scotland by just 86 votes and it would have been quite amazing if the overall race had been so close.

Dundee became the first area to vote Aye, swiftly followed by West Dunbartonshire - and, for a brief few moments, the overall running totals tightened up.

However, a whole slew of results - in Midlothian, East Lothian, Stirling, Falkirk, Angus, Dumfries, East Renfewshire, East Dunbartonshire, and Aberdeen - then came in for Naw. 

It meant that, even with Scotland's biggest city Glasgow voting 53-47 to leave the Union, the Yes campaign was still behind.

Then, Scotland's former and present capitals both swung behind Better Together. Perth and Kinross went Naw by a 60-40 margin while Edinburgh was just as decisive with its 61-39 breakdown. 

By the time of the Edinburgh result, the BBC had already called the election in favour of Better Together, doing so at 5.14am with six councils left to report. 

Fife officially took Naw over the winning line shortly afterwards with the penultimate result in Moray and the last result from Highland also both voting to reject independence. 

Ultimately, only four local authority areas - Glasgow, Dundee, West Dunbartonshire and North Lanarkshire - voted Aye in deep contrast to the state of the political map in 2011. 

Back then, just over three years ago, Mr Salmond's Scottish National Party swept the Central Belt and gained an unexpected majority in the devolved Scottish Parliament in Holyrood. 

Indeed, it was this overwhelming mandate which rather forced Mr Salmond's hand. 

His party, set up in 1934 with the stated aim of breaking away from the Union, had a majority in a system which was not even supposed to produce such results. 

And so, if Mr Salmond had not offered a referendum after his 2011 result, he would have been accused by his opponents of running scared. 

The caution at holding a vote came from the fact that, while his Scottish Nationalists were a popular alternative to the Conservatives, Labour and the Liberal Democrats in elections, actual support for independence hung at around just over a third. 

Nevertheless, this campaign soon changed that. Sometimes feisty and always passionate, the last few weeks have seen an independence movement growing in confidence, belief and numbers on the ground. 

Aye supporters even gained a whole load of concessions from the three Westminster leaders in the closing days before the ballot. 

In truth, the Westminster establishment was running scared after a single, probably rogue, opinion poll put Yes Scotland ahead for the first time with less than two weeks to go. 

Business as usual in the House of Commons was postponed as Prime Minister David Cameron, Deputy Prime Minister Nick Clegg and Leader of the Opposition Ed Miliband all hastily hopped on a train. 

Former Prime Minister and Labour leader Gordon Brown also became influential in the process, setting out a tight timetable for further devolution which Mr Cameron is now almost obliged to follow. 

It means that, while Mr Cameron may not have overseen the break-up of the Union, the coming constitutional changes will cause him a major headache ahead of a general election less than eight months away.

What also became clear is that the cry of an overhaul of British politics was not just coming from Scotland. 

The long-standing West Lothian question - where Scottish MPs in Westminster can vote on English-only matters - must surely now be properly addressed. 

Similarly, the Barnett formula - devised in the 1970s with the aim of sharing public spending fairly - has become massively outdated with Wales and some English regions now badly losing out to Scotland. 

Despite the Westminster leaders' vow to keep it, this is an imbalance which needs a review, even to the admission of the creator of the original formula, Joel Barnett. 

And this is especially the case with the Scottish Parliament effectively getting Home Rule with further powers over tax, spending and welfare arrangements. 

Some of the more embittered Aye campaigners have considered last night's result to be the very definition of fear triumphing over hope - but this is far too simplistic a view. 

Concerns over currency and the economy in general still remained as legitimate as ever, no matter how many times Mr Salmond blindly and falsely accused his opponents of scaremongering. 

With his dream of an independent Scotland over, Mr Salmond said this afternoon he would quit as First Minister in November.

But, despite his decision, his dream of an independent Scotland is not over altogether. Opinion polls showed the younger generation to be much more enthusiastic about independence than older folk. 

Aye led in every age-group except for the over-60s and it looks as if the overwhelming 'small-c' conservatism of the 'grey vote' was the decisive factor in keeping Scotland in the Union. 

The direction of travel is undeniable - and, while Mr Salmond will now not be the leader to achieve it, he made a point in his concession speech of stating Scotland had rejected independence "at this stage".

Should auld acquaintance be forgot? Not until the next time at least.

FULL RESULTS

SCOTLAND	AYE		NAW
Local authority area (turnout)	44.7%		55.3%
Aberdeen city (82%)	59,390 (41.4%)		84,094 (58.6%)
Aberdeenshire (87%)	71,337 (39.6%)		108,606 (60.4%)
Angus (86%)	35,044 (43.7%)		45,192 (56.3%)
Argyll and Bute (88%)	26,324 (41.5%)		37,143 (58.5%)
Clackmannanshire (89%)	16,350 (46.2%)		19,036 (53.8%)
Dumfries and Galloway (88%)	36,614 (34.3%)		70,039 (65.7%)
Dundee city (79%)	53,620 (57.4%)		39,880 (42.6%)
East Ayrshire (85%)	39,762 (47.2%)		44,442 (52.8%)
East Dunbartonshire (91%)	30,624 (38.8%)		48,314 (61.2%)
East Lothian (88%)	27,467 (38.3%)		44,283 (61.7%)
East Renfrewshire (90%)	24,287 (36.8%)		41,690 (63.2%)
City of Edinburgh (84%)	123,927 (38.9%)		194,638 (61.1%)
Falkirk (89%)	50,489 (46.5%)		58,030 (53.5%)
Fife (84%)	114,148 (45.0%)		139,788 (55.0%)
Glasgow City (75%)	194,739 (53.5%)		169,347 (46.5%)
Highland (4am)	78,069 (47.1%)		87,739 (52.9%)
Inverclyde (87%)	27,243 (49.9%)		27,329 (50.1%)
Midlothian (87%)	26,370 (43.7%)		33,972 (56.3%)
Moray (85%)	27,232 (42.5%)		36,935 (57.5%)
North Ayrshire (84%)	47,072 (49.0%)		49,016 (51.0%)
North Lanarkshire (84%)	115,783 (51.1%)		110,922 (48.9%)
Perth and Kinross (87%)	41,475 (39.8%)		62,714 (60.2%)
Renfrewshire (87%)	55,466 (47.2%)		62,067 (52.8%)
Scottish Borders (87%)	27,906 (33.4%)		55,553 (66.6%)
South Ayrshire (86%)	34,402 (42.1%)		47,247 (57.9%)
South Lanarkshire (85%)	100,990 (45.3%)		121,800 (54.7%)
Stirling (90%)	25,010 (40.2%)		37,153 (59.8%)
West Dunbartonshire (88%)	33,720 (54.0%)		28,776 (46.0%)
West Lothian (86%)	53,342 (44.8%)		65,682 (55.2%)
Na h-Eileanan Siar (86%)	9,195 (46.6%)		10,544 (53.4%)
Orkney Islands (84%)	4,883 (32.8%)		10,004 (67.2%)
Shetland Islands (84%)	5,669 (36.3%)		9,951 (63.7%)
Totals (popular vote):	1,617,989		2,001,926