Nicola Sturgeon: It cannot be business as usual now

Nicola Sturgeon celebrates during the Glasgow declarations on May 8, 2015 in Glasgow. Picture: Getty

THE UK’s new Conservative majority government is under pressure to make concessions to Scotland after an election result which saw the SNP take 56 of the 59 Scottish seats and forced the resignation of Labour leader Ed Miliband and Lib Dem boss Nick Clegg.

The two men quit after David Cameron won an unexpected overall majority with 331 seats to Labour’s 232 and the Lib Dems’ eight.

Shares surged after the surprise victory cheered the City and dispelled expectations of weeks of uncertainty.

Acknowledging the dramatic result in Scotland, Mr Cameron said: “My main aim is simply to govern on the basis of governing for everyone in our United Kingdom.”

And a tweet later announced: “The PM has spoken to [the] First Minister of Scotland & reiterated his commitment to governing with respect & implementing devolution.”

First Minister Nicola Sturgeon said Scotland had decisively voted against austerity and for an alternative approach.

Ms Sturgeon’s party won 50 per cent of the votes cast in Scotland, compared to just 20 per cent in 2010. In comparison Labour saw its share of the vote fall to 24 per cent, with the Conservatives on just under 15 per cent in Scotland and the Lib Dems on 7.5 per cent.

As the results came in Mr Salmond declared that the “Scottish lion has roared”.

Ms Sturgeon said: “The political firmament, the tectonic plates in Scottish politics have shifted. What we are seeing is a historic watershed.

“Scotland didn’t just vote in small numbers for a different party. Some of the swings we saw across Scotland were unprecedented in Westminster political history.

“I briefly spoke to the Prime Minister and made it clear that it cannot be business as usual, the democratic will of the Scottish people as expressed in that election has to be recognised.

“It was an opportunity for me to congratulate him. I didn’t want him to be Prime Minister again but he has won the election and I congratulated him. He was gracious to congratulate the SNP on our success.

“We will meet as soon as possible and discuss these issues in more detail but I made it clear, it can’t be business as usual.

“I wanted an anti-Tory majority and the polls suggested there would be an anti-Tory majority – I made clear if that had been the outcome I would have wanted to work with Ed Miliband to have him in Downing Street rather than David Cameron. Yesterday’s election was a vote to make Scotland’s voice heard at Westminster.”

Mr Cameron later said he would “stay true to my word” and implement plans for further devolution that have already been drawn up “as fast as I can”.

He added: “Governing with respect means recognising that the different nations of our United Kingdom have their own governments as well as the United Kingdom government.

“Both are important and indeed with our plans, the governments of these nations will become more powerful with wider responsibilities.

“In Scotland, our plans are to create the strongest devolved government anywhere in the world, with important powers over taxation.”

Scottish Justice Secretary Michael Matheson said it was clear Scotland wanted a different approach from the other parts of the UK.