Scottish nationalists may win 53 of 59 Scottish seats in UK election

LONDON - The Scottish National Party may win 53 out of 59 Scottish seats in the British parliament, according to calculations made by The Times newspaper based on a YouGov poll showing an increase in support for the nationalists ahead of the May 7 election.

Though Scots voted to stay part of the United Kingdom in a Sept 18 referendum, the Scottish National Party (SNP) is hoping to harness a surge in support to win more powers from the government in London, possibly from a kingmaker position.

If there was a uniform swing in accordance with a poll showing a rise in support for the SNP, Labour would only win 4 of the seats in Scotland and the Liberal Democrats one, according to The Times.

Such a strong result for the SNP could place them in a kingmaker position if both Labour and the Conservative parties failed to win an overall majority in the 650-seat parliament.