Election Result

A good night for Scottish Labour. Biggest party, increased share of the vote and winning back the two by-election losses. The magnitude of the result was impressive and some very good new MPs to argue Scotland's case at UK level.

Not so good south of the border, although a year ago not many would have bet on the Labour vote holding up this well. We will need to await the outcome of the negotiations but this is not the disaster some in the media would have us believe. In Scotland the political parties have managed no one party having an overall majority perfectly well for years, with both coalitions and minority government. The sky hasn't fallen in and it won't at UK level either. The key issues remain steering us safely out of the economic recession and protecting our public services.

The one outstanding result that almost everyone can welcome is the trouncing of the BNP. Yet again they came nowhere in Scotland and to see Griffin's face as he was rejected, along with his rabble of council candidates, in Barking was one of the real highlights.