Scottish Nationalists claim victory in Parliament elections

The Scottish National Party has claimed a third victory in Scottish Parliament elections - but may not have enough seats to form a majority government, international media reports show.

Counting is currently underway in 40 English local council polls, with results expected throughout the day. Results for the London mayoral result are expected later today.

In Scotland, Labour look set to be pushed into third place by a resurgent Scottish Tory Party - and the Lib Dems also seem to have staged a revival, the BBC reports.

Terming the victory a “historic” one, SNP leader Nicola Sturgeon may however still have to do a deal with another party to form a minority administration. The Guardian adds that the SNP currently has 58 seats in parliament, but it is missing 7 seats to hold a majority.

The BBC adds that Labour party leader Jeremy Corbyn avoided the defeat some had predicted in the local elections, as the party held key councils in England. However, Labour lost its Rhondda Welsh Assembly seat, in its south Wales heartlands, to Plaid Cymru leader Leanne Wood and the SNP had a clean sweep of seats in Glasgow, once a Labour stronghold.

UKIP on the other hand, looks set for their first Welsh Assembly seats.