SNP's Joanna Cherry wins big majority in Edinburgh South West

'Scotland must decide whether it is time for us to embark on a different journey'
Joanna Cherry increased her majorityJoanna Cherry increased her majority
Joanna Cherry increased her majority

THE SNP's Joanna Cherry increased her majority in Edinburgh South West from from 1097 to almost 12,000 on a night of Nationalist success in the Capital.

Afterwards she thanked the voters for a "resounding mandate for who I am and what I stand for".

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And she said her result and others throughout the country were a clear message for the Conservatives.

She said: "Across Scotland tonight constituency after constituency has rejected Boris Johnson's Tory party and they ahve rejected their message of Get Brexit Done and they have rejected their message of No to Indyref2.

"Instead they have put their trust iun the Scottish National Party to defend people living in Scotland from the disastrous social and economic consequences of Brexit.

"The biggest cheers any of us received at the hustings during this campaign was when we called out Boris Johnson for what he is - a stranger to the truth, an avoider of scrutiny and a huckster who would sell our NHS to the highest bidder.

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"I'm very proud people living in Scotland have rejected the policies of Trump and the politics of Boris Johnson and will continue to embrace immigrants and desire to be at the heart of Europe.

"Sadly it seems the result south of the border is rather different and what this means is Scotland now has to decide whether it is time for us to embark on a different journey from the rest of the United Kingdom.

"In the last parliament I was at the forefront of the fight to defend British democracy from Boris Johnson.

"Now it's time for me to switch my energy to defend Scottish democracy from Boris Johnson. Please rest assured I will do that and nothing and nobody will deter me.

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"My message to Westminster is this: Scotland didn't vote for Boris Johnson, Scotland didn't vote for Brexit, it's time for Scotland to choose its own future and it's time for a second independence referendum."

Tory candidate Callum Laidlaw, who came second, said it was clear people who had voted in large numbers to remain in the EU still felt strongly about it.

But he was reluctant to blame the Tory leader's unpopularity for the SNP's success.

He said: "We fought this campaign around the constitutional issue of independence. Boris Johnson was in Scotland only briefly, the campaign in Scotland was not about Boris Johnson so I wouldn't want to speculate on whether it became a case of personalities. I think in the end it was more about Brexit here."