SNP hold North Ayrshire as election ends in hung parliament

The biggest Conservative victor from last night was undoubtedly Ruth Davidson.

Ms Davidson said yesterday that only her party was "serious" about keeping Scotland in the UK.

"There is clearly uncertainty around Brexit and independence which clearly will be factor in tonight's results - you know a lot of thinking for the SNP to do", she said.

Scottish Conservative leader Ruth Davidson said that the prospect of a second referendum was "dead" after a "historic" night in which party recorded its best general election performance since 1983.

The SNP also lost out in East Renfrewshire, this time to the Tories.

The calls came in the wake of 2015's Brexit referendum, which Scottish voters overwhelmingly rejected, but will be forced to accept as long as they remain part of the UK.

Generally speaking, this group of people voted Yes in the 2014 independence referendum because they saw it as a left-wing option.

Deputy First Minister John Swinney has already said plans for a second referendum were a "significant motivator" which lost the SNP support, adding the party would "have to be attentive to that".

But the picture is less positive for the Conservatives across the United Kingdom, with the party losing its majority at Westminster and the prime minister facing calls for her resignation.

The party had banked on widespread Scottish anger with the result of the 2016 Brexit referendum, which was opposed by 62% of Scots, to force through another attempt to leave the Union with the idea of re-joining Europe as an independent nation. Her stance, a far cry from that of Sturgeon, was based on understanding "the street." .

The night saw damaging losses for the SNP, which saw the Tories make gains north of the border despite the disastrous result for Theresa May.

It started with an innocent embrace between Jeremy Corbyn and Emily Thornberry

Sturgeon said she was appealing for MPs from all parties to work together to keep Britain in the European single market.

"The election result was a monumental event with the loss of colossal figures on the Scottish political scene", the Scottish Lib Dem leader said.

Asked if there was a role for the SNP in a future government, Ms Sturgeon said: "There may well be, but it is perhaps too early to say that". We have to wait and see how things shake out.

I get that, but I also think this presents an opportunity for the SNP, and the wider independence movement, to take stock, reflect and move forward.

The Conservatives, by contrast, doubled their vote in Scotland, to 28 per cent; and in a odd paradox, it seems that this profoundly Unionist party did so by nearly entirely ignoring the UK-wide general election debate, and focussing exclusively on the Scottish issue of the second independence referendum.

A clean sweep of three MPs from Portpatrick to Eyemouth, with successful Holyrood by-election thrown in, is simply a great result for the Tories.

"This, they said, was the issue raised on the doorsteps of Scotland more often than all other issues combined".

The Tory, who is also a football referee, won 22,637 votes, easily beating Mr Robertson who polled 18,478.

Angus Robertson, who was SNP leader in the House of Commons, lost his seat to Tory MP Douglas Ross in a surprise coup for the Tories.

"I can only put that down to how he felt in the run up to the election, what he was hearing on the doorsteps wasn't so pleasing to the ears".

The statement has prompted speculation the First Minister could look to put a new vote on Scottish independence on the backburner despite previously claiming voters "must have a choice" on separation following Brexit negotiations.