It certainly looks like the separatists have an uphill climb, which is probably a good thing.The bid by Scottish nationalists to make Scotland an independent nation has taken a blow with just 11 months to the referendum.
The pro-independence Scottish National Party (SNP), which is the largest party in the devolved Scottish Parliament and therefore the party in power in Scotland (the Scottish parliament has just a limited range of powers), suffered a humiliating defeat in the Dunfermline by-election last night.
Labour's Cara Hilton won the contest by 2,873 votes fierce battle that saw an unexpectedly high turnout of 42.75 per cent.
Scotland's First Minister Alex Salmond, the leader of the SNP, was left personally humiliated after he made a last-minute appearance on doorsteps yesterday evening in a bid to pick up votes.
But Labour won 42.5 per cent of the vote, with the Scottish National Party on 30.6 per cent - a swing to Labour of 6.9 per cent.
Winning candidate Cara Hilton was even heckled and booed by SNP activists as she made her victory speech. She claimed the result sends a clear message to Mr Salmond ahead of next year’s referendum on Scottish independence.
The result leaves the SNP with just a wafer-thin majority in the Scottish Parliament.
The result also casts further doubt on Mr Salmond’s chances of winning next year’s independence referendum, with polls suggesting fewer than 30 per cent of Scots want to leave the United Kingdom.
The LibDems came third with 11.8 per cent, followed by the Tories on 8.3 per cent, UKIP on 3.8 per cent and the Greens on 2.5 per cent.
The by-election in Dunfermline was called after independent MSP Bill Walker was convicted of domestic abuse against three ex-wives and a stepdaughter. Walker had won the seat for the SNP in 2011 but was expelled from the party after the allegations against him surfaced.
Alex Salmond suffers crushing by-election defeat leaving SNP with a wafer-thin majority in Scottish Parliament
Labour wins Dunfermline by-election with majority of 2,873 over SNP
Salmond personally humiliated after making appearance on doorsteps
Defeat comes ahead of Scottish independence referendum next year
By Alan Roden
October 2013
Daily Mailhttp://forums.canadiancontent.net/n...er-majority-Scottish-Parliament.html#comments
Defeat: SNP leader and Scotland's First Minister Alex Salmond has seen his majority in the Scottish Parliament cut to just two, dealing a blow to his hopes of Scottish independence. Polls are also suggesting fewer than 30 per cent of Scots want to leave the United Kingdom.
Scotland's First Minister Alex Salmond has suffered a crushing by-election defeat that leaves the SNP with a wafer-thin majority in the Scottish Parliament.
Labour won the contest in Dunfermline, Fife, by 2,873 votes after a fierce battle that saw an unexpectedly high turnout of 42.75 per cent.
Mr Salmond was left personally humiliated after he made a last-minute appearance on doorsteps yesterday evening in a bid to pick up votes.
But Labour won 42.5 per cent of the vote, with the Scottish National Party on 30.6 per cent - a swing to Labour of 6.9 per cent.
Winning candidate Cara Hilton was heckled and booed by SNP activists as she made her victory speech. She claimed the result sends a clear message to Mr Salmond ahead of next year’s referendum on Scottish independence.
The LibDems came third with 11.8 per cent, followed by the Tories on 8.3 per cent, UKIP on 3.8 per cent and the Greens on 2.5 per cent.
Dunfermline was a former LibDem stronghold, but fell to Mr Salmond’s SNP in his 2011 Scottish Parliament election landslide.
Labour’s victory is a significant boost for the party’s Scottish leader, Johann Lamont, and throws the next Holyrood elections in 2016 wide open.
It is the first time a seat has changed hands in a Scottish Parliament by-election for 13 years.
It comes just months after the SNP’s majority in a by-election in Aberdeen Donside was slashed and only weeks after Labour trounced their main opponents north of the Border in a council by-election in Glasgow’s Govan ward.
The result also casts further doubt on Mr Salmond’s chances of winning next year’s independence referendum, with polls suggesting fewer than 30 per cent of Scots want to leave the United Kingdom.
Winner: Labour's Cara Hilton, pictured with Shadow Chancellor Ed Balls, secured a majority of 2,873 in the Dunfermline by-election
The by-election was held following the resignation of disgraced wife-beater Bill Walker, who had been kicked out of the SNP. Earlier this year he was found guilty of 23 counts of domestic abuse against three former wives and a stepdaughter.
Labour’s victory leaves Mr Salmond with a slender parliamentary majority of just two. He now has 65 MSPs - down from 69 in 2011 - with the combined opposition forces on 63.
Miss Hilton said: 'The people of Dunfermline have rejected Scotland being put on pause for another year.
'The government of Scotland has been suspended so that a referendum campaign can be won.
'We need a Scottish Government that will address the needs of Scots, not one that will simply make promises about what will happen after [independence].
'Dunfermline has sent a message to Alex Salmond: it's time for you to focus on the real priorities of Scots, not your constitutional obsession.
'Use the powers you have now to make a difference, not just argue for more in the future.'
Count: The contest in Dunfermline was dominated by a local row over Labour-run Fife Council's plan to close primary schools
Surprise: Labour's victory throws the next Holyrood elections in 2016 wide open
But I guess there will always be a relatively strong minority who want independence, just like we have in Quebec (to a more serious degree, I think), and the idea will always float around out there.
