Labour hails gains from SNP as 'final nail in Independence coffin'

Scottish Labour leader Kezia Dugdale has said plans for a second independence referendum must disappear'' after her party fought back to take six seats from the SNP.

Labour were all but wiped out in Scotland in 2015, retaining just one MP in Edinburgh South Ian Murray, but they defied critics to return seven MPs in the snap election.

Ms Dugdale said: I'm hugely encouraged by these results for Scottish Labour.

I think everybody had written us off and what we've got is six fantastic Labour MPs joining Ian Murray in the House of Commons, all focused on opposing a second independence referendum but also on ending austerity, delivering a real living wage of #10 an hour. Those types of issues cut through on the doorstep and I'm just thrilled with the result.

I think it's very clear that any plan Nicola Sturgeon had for a second independence referendum has to disappear as a result of this election.

What we've got is a crushing result for the SNP, they've lost 20 seats if not more and further than that they've watched their majorities crumble.

There were so many SNP MPs who had 10,000 or larger majorities who now find they are sitting on perhaps a dozen or just under 100. That's a crushing result for the SNP. We've hit peak SNP and we've certainly hit peak Nicola Sturgeon.''

Mr Murray boosted his majority by more than 15,000 to secure his seat, beating the SNP's Jim Eadie by 26,269 votes to 10,755.

He said the election result shows Labour is back'' and hadhammered the final nail in that coffin'' of a second independence referendum.

The first result announced in Scotland, Rutherglen and Hamilton West, was a Labour gain.

The party also picked up a seat in its one-time heartland of Glasgow, where it suffered humiliating defeat two years ago.

Former prime minister Gordon Brown's old seat of Kirkcaldy and Cowdenbeath also returned to his party, as did the Coatbridge, Chryston and Bellshill constituency.

The key target seat of East Lothian and neighbouring Midlothian completed Labour's gains.