Heavyweight MPs swept away by SNP Tsunami

In a historic night SNP newcomers wiped the floor with Labour and Lib Dem heavy-weights in Scotland.

Labour's Scottish heartland was decimated, its Scottish leader Jim Murphy defeated and UK leader Ed Milliband resigned stating he was "truly sorry" he had not succeeded.

In Glasgow, the results were hammered home when the city's seven SNP candidates romped to victory over their opponents.

And the SNP snatched seats from heavyweight Labour and Lib Dem figures right across west central Scotland as well as the rest of the UK.

Neil McGarvey, politics lecturer at Strathclyde University, said the political landscape of the country has seen unprecedented changes not even the polls could predict.

He told the Evening Times: "The SNP Tsunami has been even greater than predicted.

"So we have 'safe' Labour seats - like Glasgow North East, for example, - which have been spectacularly lost.

"The swing that the SNP have created is completely unlike anything we have ever seen.

"And big name, long serving, politicians have been swept up by the tide."

He said a shift in voting behaviour saw Scottish people take to the polls in favour of a party, the SNP, over individual candidates.

So experienced parliamentarians have been replaced by newcomers.

Mr McGarvey added: "In a way these new SNP MPs are not schooled in the traditional practices of Westminster but in a way they don't want to be.

"The number of SNP MPs, at 56, is almost as big as the number of SNP MSPs - 64 - and this will create a very interesting dynamic."

The SNP's Glasgow clean sweep saw former interim Scottish party leader Anas Sarwar's Glasgow Central lost to SNP Alison Thewliss.

Glasgow East SNP Natalie McGarry beat Labour's Margaret Curran, former Shadow Secretary of State for Scotland.

In Glasgow South West, Iain Davidson lost his seat to the SNP's Christopher Stephens and in Glasgow North East a record swing of 39% saw Willie Bain lose to Anne McLaughlin.

Stuart McDonald took Glasgow South from Labour's Tom Harris and Carol Monaghan won the Glasgow North West constituency, with Labour's John Robertson losing his seat.

And in Glasgow North Patrick Grady beat Ann McKechin after securing 53% of the vote.

Scottish Labour leader Jim Murphy went down with his ship after captaining his party to a devastating defeat. He lost his East Renfrewshire seat to SNP candidate Kirsten Oswald after securing only 34% of the vote in comparison to her 41%.

In a sombre speech yesterday he praised his fellow defeated Labour colleagues calling them 'faithful servants'.

Another shocking defeat came when Labour heavyweight Douglas Alexander, who was first elected in a by-election in 1997, lost his Paisley and Renfrewshire South seat to the SNP's 20-year-old candidate Mhairi Black who secured 23,548 votes compared to his 17,864.

Labour MP for Kilmarnock and Loudon, Cathy Jamieson, lost her seat to SNP's Alan Brown who beat her 16, 362 votes and secured 30,000.

Mr McGarvey said the Scottish Labour party must now completely rethink its strategy if it is to compete with the SNP in the future.

He added: "I think the historic result is partly down to the 'referendum effect' - the government's reaction in posing the English question in tandem with the issue of extra powers for Scotland played into the nationalist's hands.

"The Conservative campaign during this election was to demonise Scotland and Labour went along with it.

"There has been a complete failure of the Labour strategy.

"They started off appealing to voters to return to Labour but completely lost their way."

Mr McGarvey said: "Labour will have to become much more autonomous as a Scottish Party is they are ever to compete with the SNP in the future.

"They must become independent from their UK structure."

But it wasn't just well-known Labour faces who fell victim to the uprising in SNP support, the Lib Dems also suffered drastic losses - reducing their national seat count from 57 to just 8 - which led to the resignation of UK leader and former deputy Prime Minister Nick Clegg.

Among the fallen is former Lib Dem leader Charles Kennedy who lost the seat he has held for the past 32 years to his SNP opponent Ian Blackford.

Mr Kennedy - who led the party from 1999 until 2006 - was elected in to the Ross, Skye and Lochaber seat in 1983.

He said that representing his constituency for the past 32 years had been "the greatest privilege".

Lib Dem Chief Secretary to the Treasury Danny Alexander was comprehensively beaten by over 10,000 votes in Inverness, Nairn, Badenoch and Strathspey by the SNP's Drew Hendry.

Locally, previously popular Lib Dem MP Jo Swinson lost her hard-fought East Dunbartonshire seat, which she held for 10 years, to SNP's John Nicholson.

Ms Swinson also held the job of Parliamentary Under Secretary of State for Employment relations, consumer and postal affairs.

There were also embarrassing defeats south of the border.

Shadow Chancellor Ed Balls narrowly lost his Morley and Outwood seat to the Tory candidate Andrea Jenkyns.

After the results were announced, Mr Balls spoke of his "sorrow" but said the party would emerge more determined.

Conservatives also won back Twickenham, Teddington and the Hamptons from Business Secretary Vince Cable and Lib Dem stalwart Simon Hughes was ousted from his seat in Bermondsey and Old Southwark after holding it for 32 years.

Respect leader George Galloway lost his seat in Bradford West to Labour's Naseem Shah who secured 50% of the vote compared to his 21% share.

The controversial politician has also been reported to police for tweeting about an exit poll before voting had closed.

And UKIP leader Nigel Farage resigned yesterday after he failed to gain the seat of Thanet South, losing out to Conservative candidate Craig Mackinlay.

UKIP won a 13% vote share in the election and has one MP, Douglas Carswell, who held his Clacton seat.