Nicola Sturgeon at the Glasgow count today. NICOLA Sturgeon has said getting a majority at Holyrood is always a long shot as a top pollster said the party was not on course for such an outcome. The SNP leader - who has retaken her Glasgow southside seat - made the remarks as she arrived at the Glasgow count at the Emirates Area this afternoon. Earlier, the UK leading pollster Sir John Curtice said the SNP was not currently on course to win a majority in the election.
Sir John Curtice has today forecast the SNP are not on course ton win a majority
Nicola Sturgeon said it was “not impossible” that the SNP could win a majority in the Scottish Parliament election, as the party made gains from its rivals in key seats.
Ms Sturgeon’s party captured the seats of Ayr and Edinburgh Central from the Tories, with former SNP Westminster leader Angus Robertson gaining the seat in the capital which had previously been held by the Conservative Holyrood leader Ruth Davidson.
The SNP also gained East Lothian from Labour, while Jackie Baillie, Scottish Labour’s deputy leader who is fighting to retain her Dumbarton seat, said it was “too close to call” there.
SNP leader Nicola Sturgeon has said she wants to hold a referendum on Scottish independence “when the time is right”, as she retained her Glasgow seat.
Giving an acceptance speech in Glasgow after she defeated Scottish Labour leader Anas Sarwar by 19,735 votes to 10,279, the First Minister said her party is set for a fourth term in power.
Earlier, she had played down the likelihood of an overall SNP majority at Holyrood, saying it has “always been a very, very long shot”.
After being re-elected to her seat, Ms Sturgeon said: “If that is indeed the outcome of this election, I pledge today to get back to work immediately to continue to steer the country through the crisis of Covid, to continue to lead this country into recovery from Covid.
Gone were election rallies, in-person hustings, street stalls and similar events.
Coronavirus has also shaped policies, with parties proposing different routes out of lockdown and towards economic recovery.
The SNP’s Parliamentary business minister Graeme Dey set out the agreed rules on political campaigning in the coronavirus era to MSPs on March 2.
These included rules around leafleting and doorstep campaigning.
Deputy First Minister John Swinney was said to be ‘mortified’ by a Covid rule error while campaigning (Jane Barlow/PA)
However Mr Dey and Deputy First Minister John Swinney later had to apologise for breaking the rules after they were pictured campaigning with groups of activists later in March – Nicola Sturgeon said they were both “mortified” at the mistakes.
Final countdown begins to bumper elections May 3, 2021, 12:05 am
Labour Party leader Sir Keir Starmer, deputy leader Angela Rayner, and Labour’s candidate for Hartlepool Paul Williams on a walkabout at the Seaton Carew seafront on Saturday (Ian Forsyth/PA)
Campaigning across Britain is entering the final days of an electoral race that could have major ramifications for politics in the UK, and perhaps the Union itself.
About 48 million people are eligible to vote on what has been dubbed “super Thursday” and which is taking place against the backdrop of the coronavirus pandemic.
Mayors and councils will be selected in England, while parliaments will be chosen in Wales and Scotland, where a majority for nationalists would provoke a fresh drive for independence.