SNP beats Labour in Scottish poll

In the Scottish elections, which have been marred by huge problems with the voting system, the SNP surged to take over as the biggest party.

SNP leader Alex Salmond said: "Never again will the Labour Party think it has a divine right to government."

In Wales Labour lost three seats but remains the largest party.

BBC projections based on the English council results put the Conservative share of the vote at 40%, the same as last year, with Labour on 27%, one point up, and the Lib Dems on 26% - down a point.

Lib Dem leader Sir Menzies Campbell said he had always known the elections would be "tough" and called the results a "mixed bag".

The Tories, who have gained over 830 new councillors in England, say they are now on course to win the next general election.

'Take a hit'

But Mr Blair, who is due to announce a date for standing down next week, told the BBC: "People thought it was going to be a rout and it's not turned out like that.

"You always take a hit mid-term, but these results provide a perfectly good springboard to win in the general election."

In Scotland the counting process was complicated by an unprecedented number of spoilt ballot papers - predicted to be as many as 100,000 - with voters and counting machines struggling to come to terms with complex ballot papers.

The Electoral Commission has launched "a full independent review of the elections" into the chaos.

When all the results are in the Scottish Parliament will end with the SNP having 47 seats to Labour's 46. So far the Lib Dems have 16, the Tories 15 and the Greens two.

'No divine right'

SNP leader Alex Salmond said Labour had lost its "moral authority" to govern and promised a "full judicial inquiry" into the vote-counting "debacle" if he becomes first minister.

He added: "Scotland has changed for good and forever. There may be Labour governments and first ministers in decades still to come, never again will the Labour Party think it has a divine right to government."

Labour's Jack McConnell, who was hoping to remain as first minister, had said the SNP's predicted major gains were "a little bit presumptuous" and told his supporters it had been the "toughest and most hotly contested election in Scottish history".

Lib Dem leader Sir Menzies Campbell, asked if he would consider forming a coalition with the SNP if they insisted on holding a referendum on independence, said: "Absolutely not ... We are against independence, that's our position and it ain't going to change."

RESULTS SO FAR

• Projected share of national vote: Tories 40%, Labour 27%, Lib Dems 26%
• Scottish Parliament seats: SNP 45, Labour 43, Lib Dems 16, Tories 15, Greens 2
• Welsh assembly seats: Labour 26, Plaid 13, Tories 11, Lib Dems 5, others 1
• Tories make net gain of 37 councils
• Labour makes net loss of 8 councils
• Lib Dems make net loss of 5 councils

Scots poll hit by problems

Send us your comments

In Wales, with all the results in Labour remains the largest party in the assembly but it has fallen short of the 30 seats needed for a majority, with both the Tories and Plaid making gains.

Labour has 26 seats, down three, Plaid has 15, up three, while the Tories remain with 12, the Lib Dems six and other parties one.

First Minister Rhodri Morgan said: "I feel very upbeat about the situation of Welsh Labour and our relationship with the people."

But Plaid leader Ieuan Wyn Jones said the electorate had "voted for change".

In England, the Tories increased their tally of local authorities - including Birmingham, Plymouth, Chester and Blackpool - and claimed the scene had been set for general election victory.

Robinson's verdict

Tory leader David Cameron said his party, which has gained more than 830 more councillors, had secured a "stunning" set of results, especially in the north of England.

"We're the one national party speaking up for all of Britain... I think we can really build from this point, really go forward... the Conservative Party is really where it should be at the moment and I'm very pleased about that," he said.

"A bad night for Labour - an even worse one for democracy"
BBC political editor Nick Robinson

Home Secretary John Reid said of the Tories: "They are in a much stronger position under David Cameron than they were under Michael Howard, Iain Duncan Smith or William Hague.

"But that doesn't make them league leaders."

BBC political editor Nick Robinson, assessing the picture across Britain, said: "By any conventional measure, if we look at Labour and don't think about their opponents, this is pretty dire."

He added that politics was a "comparative business", with Labour supporters maintaining the hope that the Tories "aren't far enough ahead to guarantee their victory" at a general election.