Labour have bucked the trend south of the border with a string of impressive election results in Scotland.
Labour bucked the trend south of the border with a string of impressive election results in Scotland.
Prime Minister Gordon Brown led the charge, storming home with a colossal 23,000 majority in Kirkcaldy and Cowdenbeath.
The biggest shock of the night came in Dunfermline and West Fife when Labour won back the seat they lost to Lib Dem Willie Rennie in a by-election in 2006.
Late in the election campaign there were signs that the Lib Dems were in trouble, and Labour poured resources into the constituency including several visits by Sarah Brown.
Labour Scottish Secretary Jim Murphy said, “This is a terrible seat for the Lib Dems to lose.
“Willie Rennie was the Lib Dems’ UK General Election co-ordinator so this is a major coup for Labour.”
There was more joy for Labour in Dundee when Jim McGovern comfortably held Dundee West with a 7000 majority.
The SNP had made Dundee West a seat they hold at Holyrood a key target and had believed it was in the bag.
But Labour’s good fortune did not stretch across the city to Dundee East where the SNP candidate Stewart Hosie was defending a wafer-thin 380 majority.
He comfortably saw off the Labour challenge, increasing his majority five-fold in the process.
Elsewhere in Fife there was better news for the Lib Dems when Sir Menzies Campbell held North East Fife with a majority of more than 9000.Turned to ashesHopes of a Tory breakthrough in Tayside turned to ashes when two of their top target seats Perth and North Perthshire and Angus were held by the SNP with increased majorities.
In Perth and North Perthshire Pete Wishart increased his majority to 4379.
Meanwhile in Angus, Mike Weir saw his majority increase to 3282.
First Minister Alex Salmond said, “Early results suggest the SNP are on course for our best result since the 1970s in a Westminster election.
“This is a strong performance from the SNP with our vote increasing in key seats across the country.
“The Lib Dems have failed in Scotland and are being pushed into third or even fourth place.
“The picture across the UK may be unclear, but it is clear the Tories have had a disastrous night as they have once again been decisively rejected across Scotland.”
In Glasgow the Labour good news just kept on coming when Labour MSP Margaret Curran won back Glasgow East which they lost to the SNP in a by-election in 2008.
In Edinburgh South West, Chancellor Alistair Darling easily beat off a challenge from the Tories with a majority of 8000.
Scottish Tory leader Annabel Goldie tried to put a brave face on what was another dismal performance in Scotland saying they had fought a “vibrant, positive campaign.”
With the bulk of the Scottish seats declared the picture in Scotland was clear.
The SNP target of 20 seats failed miserably, the Tories continued to flatline despite hopes of winning as many as 11 seats and the Liberal Democrats were pushed into reverse.
In Scotland there was only one winner in the 2010 general election Labour.