The Latest: Scottish National Party plans minority gov’t

LONDON – The Latest on elections across Britain (all times local):

2:50 p.m.

Scottish National Party leader Nicola Sturgeon says she will lead a minority government after her party fell short of winning an outright majority in the Scottish Parliament.

The popular Sturgeon told supporters she plans to ask parliament to formally choose her as First Minister of Scotland. She said she does not intend to seek any formal coalition arrangement with any other parties.

She said Friday the pro-independence SNP had won a “clear and unequivocal mandate” in the elections.

The SNP won 63 seats, two short of a majority. The Conservative Party came in second, pushing Labour into third place.

The failure to win a firm majority means Sturgeon will have to seek votes outside her own party to enact its legislative program.

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11:30 a.m.

British Labour Party leader Jeremy Corbyn says his party had a good result in local and regional elections, despite being beaten into third place in its former heartland of Scotland.

Labour once dominated Scottish politics, but gained only 24 of the 129 Scottish Parliament seats in Thursday’s poll, behind the Scottish National Party’s 63 and the Conservatives’ 31.

Corbyn acknowledged Friday that the party had “a lot of building to do” in Scotland. But he said the result in English local elections had been better than expected: “We hung on and we grew support in a lot of places.”

The results will do little to quell restive Labour lawmakers who think Corbyn’s left-wing policies are a turn-off for many voters.

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