Voters punish Lib Dems,poll reform agenda in jeopardy

The outcome of the voting with the Liberal Democrats losing over 500 local seats till last results and threatened with a much broader rejection of their plans for electoral reform raised questions among party members about the future of their leader and Deputy PM Nick Clegg. In my view he should resign immediately, said Gary Long,a party official in Nottingham.

But senior party figures seemed to shy from embarking on a damaging leadership battle,while the Conservative PM,David Cameron,said he was committed to make this coalition government work for the full five years of this term. The Liberal Democrats had blamed the Conservatives for a campaign over their poll reform proposal.

The results of the referendum were expected late Friday.

By midafternoon,according to the BBC,the Scottish National Party had won 65 of the 129 seats in Scotlands regional Parliament. The result gave the SNP a majority there a triumph that resounded loudly some 77 years after the party was founded promising to reverse the three-centuries-old Act of Union between England and Scotland.

Alex Salmond,the party leader,said he would introduce a referendum on independence to increase the powers of our Parliament.ALAN COWELL