Nationalists on course for victory at Holyrood parliament

LABOUR’S hopes of a resounding victory in council elections in England looked unlikely to be repeated north of the border, the Scottish National Party (SNP) seemingly on course for victory in the Scottish Parliament.

The nationalists overturned a Labour lead in the opinion polls in the last month and secured a string of high-profile endorsements, including that of the Scottish Sun newspaper, as Alex Salmond attempted to win a second term as First Minister.

But last night Labour insisted it was still “game on”, leader Iain Gray embarking on a whistle-stop tour to try to convince undecided voters to back him for the next five-year Holyrood session.

Both leaders paid visits to polling stations yesterday, Mr Salmond in Inverurie in the Aberdeenshire East constituency he is contesting. He said: “The key aspect of the campaign is optimism against pessimism, negativity against positivity, and I hope people vote positively for a better future for Scotland.

“I think that would be a tremendous thing, if hope wins over fear. I’m going to leave it up to the people, let them determine the result.”

Mr Gray was in Haddington in the East Lothian constituency where he is standing.

He said: “In this election I think the key thing is so many voters making up their mind at the last minute, so it’s all to play for.

“We’ve spent the last 48 hours travelling Scotland, banging out Labour’s message, that what Scotland needs now is a Labour government fighting for the things which really matter creating jobs, getting the economy going again.”

Tory leader Annabel Goldie, Liberal Democrat chief Tavish Scott and the co-leader of the Green Party, Patrick Harvie, also cast their votes.

Scots have two votes – one for a first-past-the-post constituency MSP and one to elect members from a regional list through a form of proportional representation (PR).

Opinion polls published throughout the campaign have shown a close race between Labour and the SNP, with the Nationalists edging ahead in the most recent surveys of voting intentions.

Labour, which ran Scotland with the Liberal Democrats between 1999 and 2007, had been the front runner until a reversal of fortunes over the past month. The party opposes a referendum on independence.