Scottish National Party leader vows independence vote after election success

KEY POINTS

• Scottish National Party leader Nicola Sturgeon said she would push ahead with plans for a new independence referendum after results showed her party would win an election to Scotland's parliament, albeit without a majority.
• The results of the election mean the SNP together with the Scottish Greens will hold a significant pro-independence majority in the parliament.

First Minister Nicola Sturgeon poses for a photograph outside Glasgow counting centre in the Emirates Arena in Glasgow, Scotland.

Jeff J Mitchell | Getty Images News | Getty Images

Scottish National Party leader Nicola Sturgeon said she would push ahead with plans for a new independence referendum after results showed her party would win an election to Scotland's parliament, albeit without a majority.

Results on Saturday showed Scottish National Party and the Scottish Greens had won 65 of the 87 seats so far declared for the 129-seat parliament. The results of the election mean the SNP together with the Scottish Greens will hold a significant pro-independence majority in the parliament.

"In normal democratic debate, parties that promise something in an election and get elected are made to deliver on those commitments," Sturgeon told BBC TV. "It is an absurdity that in Scotland we seem to have other parties determined to block the party or parties that have won the mandate."