Scottish National Party wins historic Parliament majority

Scottish National Party wins historic Parliament majority

2011-05-07 04:38:27 GMT+7 (ICT)

EDINBURGH, SCOTLAND (BNO NEWS) -- The Scottish National Party (SNP) on Friday secured an historic Parliament majority after totaling 69 seats after all results were in, BBC reported.

"We feel honored to have earned the trust and support of people across Scotland and to have secured an overall majority in the Scottish Parliament," the SNP said in a statement.

After Thursday's elections, SNP has a clear majority of four in the 129-seat Parliament. The Labor party won 37 spots, the Tories 15, the Liberal Democrats five, and other parties totaled three.

"I'll govern for all of the ambitions for Scotland and all the people who imagine that we can live in a better land," said Scottish First Minister Alex Salmond, who was also re-elected.

Minister Salmond promised to keep the Council Tax frozen for five years, protect the National Health Service (NHS) budget and maintain the 1,000 extra police on Scotland's streets.

"We will re-engineer Scotland through the development of green energy. We will push for the economic powers to help Scotland’s businesses and therefore create more jobs. We will develop the talents of our people by keeping education free," said Salmond.

United Kingdom Prime Minister David Cameron congratulated Salmond for what he called an "emphatic win." However, he vowed to keep the UK united as due to the majority won, the SNP will be able to hold an independence referendum.

"I will do everything obviously as British Prime Minister to work with the first minister of Scotland and treat the Scottish people with the respect they deserve," said Cameron. "But, if they want to hold a referendum, I will campaign to keep our United Kingdom together, with every single fiber that I have."

However, Salmond on Thursday said that the people of Scotland are not happy about being in the UK coalition but he said that this issue is something that needs to be looked at before reaching a decision.

Meanwhile, the members of the Scottish Parliament (MSPs) are schedule to meet again next Wednesday afternoon in order to elect the new Presiding Officer (PO) and Deputy Pos.

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