Glasgow - Boasting Britain's youngest MP for centuries and the scalp of the Labour party's leader north of the border in the country's election, Scotland's nationalists romped towards a historic leap forward on Friday.
The Scottish National Party (SNP) is forecast to win 58 out of 59 parliamentary seats in Scotland in a result which could increase pressure for a fresh referendum on independence.
"There's a lion roaring in Scotland tonight, a Scottish lion, and I don't think any government of any political complexion is going to be able to ignore it," former SNP leader Alex Salmond told Sky News.
BBC broadcaster Jeremy Vine noted that the extent of the voter swing to the SNP was so unprecedented it "almost broke the swingometer" -- the broadcaster's gauge of voting trends.
The extent of the victory was embodied by the success of SNP candidate Mhairi Black, a 20-year-old student who unseated Labour's campaign chief to become Britain's youngest MP since 1667.
Labour's leader in Scotland, Jim Murphy, was also defeated by the SNP in a deeply embarrassing lost for the main opposition party in what was once one of its heartlands.
Under new leader Nicola Sturgeon, the SNP enjoyed a surge of support that saw its membership quadruple after it lost September's referendum on Scottish independence, in which 55 percent of Scots voted against breaking off from the rest of the United Kingdom.
The referendum paradoxically had the effect of invigorating the nationalist campaign, which has accused Prime Minister David Cameron's government of breaking promises on granting Scotland more autonomy.
"The SNP has done almost a complete wipeout," said Patrick Dunleavy, a professor of political science at the London School of Economics.
AFP
