Labour's expected landslide victory in the UK general election appears to have extended north of the border, with the Scottish National Party (SNP) predicted to have heavy losses.
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Former leader Nicola Sturgeon conceded it was "not a good night for the SNP", as exit polls suggests the party could drop to as few as 10 seats.
The BBC/ITV/Sky survey was published as polls closed, predicting a 170-seat majority for Labour across the UK.
The SNP was forecast to lose 38 seats compared with the 2019 election.
Speaking on ITV, the ex-SNP leader said if the exit poll is right, the result was 'at the grimmer end of expectations'.
"This is seismic for Labour. There's no getting away from that, it's a massive achievement for Keir Starmer."
The SNP's campaign centred around calls for talks on another independence referendum if the party won a majority of seats at the election.
Despite the exit poll result, Deputy First Minister Kate Forbes told the BBC: "I would strongly caution anybody against dismissing the robust, resilient and significant number of people in this country that support independence".
"The next Labour government will have to contend with that, we'll have to listen to Scottish voters because even over the last few months - which have been difficult - that support for independence has remained strong."
But she added the party would need to "listen to the voices of voters" and "set out our agenda to regain and rebuild the trust of the voters across Scotland", she said.
Former first minister and Alba Party leader Alex Salmond said the SNP's potential collapse was "not because of independence".
"In reality, the support for independence is strong. It is the SNP who are weak. The independence case must now find new vehicles to move forward."
Conservative MSP Murdo Fraser told journalists at the election count for Perth and Kinross-shire that despite the dire predictions for the Tories across the UK, in Scotland the party could make gains.
The exit poll predictions signal voters had a "desperate need for change", a Scottish Labour MSP has said. Glasgow MSP Pam Duncan-Glancy said the exit poll predicted a "strong" result for Labour.
Scottish Greens co-leader Patrick Harvie said the exit poll was a "hopeful" sign for his party at a UK level where it predicted two Green MPs.
Australian Associated Press
