Left to right: David Cameron, Ed Miliband, Nick Clegg and Nigel Farage
LONDON:
Scottish nationalists could win all Scotland's seats at a general election next week and wipe out the once-dominant Labour Party there, according to projections based on an opinion poll published on Wednesday.
The Scottish National Party (SNP) has surged in popularity north of the border since its headline-grabbing campaign in last September's independence referendum and now looks set to emerge from the UK-wide election as a key player in Westminster.
The Ipsos MORI poll for broadcaster STV put support for the SNP at 54 percent, up two points since January.
It put Labour down four percentage points to 20 percent, with Prime Minister David Cameron's Conservatives just three points behind in a remarkable change of fortunes for Labour.
According to a projection by the Electoral Calculus website, that would see the SNP win all 59 Scottish seats, denting Labour's chances of overall victory in the May 7 election.
In 2010, Labour won 41 Scottish seats while the Conservatives, who have long been resented in parts of the more left-leaning Scotland, won just one.
SNP leader Nicola Sturgeon played down the significance of the latest poll however, urging her supporters not to be complacent.
"Forget polls - only votes win elections. The more seats the SNP win, the stronger Scotland will be. Let's keep working hard," she said on Twitter.
With Labour and the Conservatives neck and neck in most national polls, neither is expected to win an outright majority, meaning the SNP could hold the balance of power.
Labour leader Ed Miliband has repeatedly ruled out a formal deal with the SNP, and on Sunday extended that to say he was also not interested in a looser arrangement with the Scottish nationalists.
That has not stopped Cameron pursuing a strategy of warning voters of the "nightmare" situation of a minority Labour government propped up by Scottish nationalists who would use their influence to seek another independence referendum.
The Scottish National Party (SNP) has surged in popularity north of the border since its headline-grabbing campaign in last September's independence referendum and now looks set to emerge from the UK-wide election as a key player in Westminster.
The Ipsos MORI poll for broadcaster STV put support for the SNP at 54 percent, up two points since January.
It put Labour down four percentage points to 20 percent, with Prime Minister David Cameron's Conservatives just three points behind in a remarkable change of fortunes for Labour.
According to a projection by the Electoral Calculus website, that would see the SNP win all 59 Scottish seats, denting Labour's chances of overall victory in the May 7 election.
In 2010, Labour won 41 Scottish seats while the Conservatives, who have long been resented in parts of the more left-leaning Scotland, won just one.
SNP leader Nicola Sturgeon played down the significance of the latest poll however, urging her supporters not to be complacent.
"Forget polls - only votes win elections. The more seats the SNP win, the stronger Scotland will be. Let's keep working hard," she said on Twitter.
With Labour and the Conservatives neck and neck in most national polls, neither is expected to win an outright majority, meaning the SNP could hold the balance of power.
Labour leader Ed Miliband has repeatedly ruled out a formal deal with the SNP, and on Sunday extended that to say he was also not interested in a looser arrangement with the Scottish nationalists.
That has not stopped Cameron pursuing a strategy of warning voters of the "nightmare" situation of a minority Labour government propped up by Scottish nationalists who would use their influence to seek another independence referendum.
© Thomson Reuters 2015
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