Scotland on a knife edge

Swinney hopes voters will come out to back his party | Labour urges those who want Tories out to support them

- CHRIS MCCALL

SCOTLAND'S political future is on a "knife-edge" today as Labour and the SNP battle it out in seats across the country.

First Minister John Swinney said results in key Labour/SNP contests were too close to call after a poll by Survation suggested his party had inched ahead of Labour in terms of voting intentions after other polls put his party five points behind.

But insiders from both parties believe the races in many seats in the central belt are too close to call and won't be decided until polling stations close at 10pm.

Labour is set to win a clear majority across the UK but the race in Scotland is expected to be tighter.

The SNP won 48 Scottish constituencies at the last general election but is braced for heavy losses once votes are counted if Labour's UK comeback is matched here.

Labour won just a single seat in 2019 north of the Border - Ian Murray in Edinburgh South - but is expected to make significant gains tonight, and Labour insiders are hoping the party will emerge as the biggest in Scotland once more.

Speaking at an event in the SNP/ Labour marginal seat of Leith, Swinney said: "We all know that the result of the General Election in England is a foregone conclusion. Labour will win and Keir Starmer will be prime minister.

"The only story left in this election is here in Scotland, where seats across the country are on a knife-edge.