Joanna Cherry loses Edinburgh seat to Labour as SNP vote collapses across Scotland

A high-profile SNP figure has lost her seat in Labour's general election landslide.

Joanna Cherry, an MP since 2015, was defeated by Labour's Scott Arthur in Edinburgh South West.

Cherry has been a controversial figure in the SNP group and was sacked from the front bench by Ian Blackford when he was Westminster leader.

She is a staunch defender of women's sex-based rights and had a poor relationship with former First Minister Nicola Sturgeon.

Arthur, a Labour councillor in Edinburgh, came from a distant third place to win the seat.

Arthur overhauled Cherry to win 18,663 votes to the SNP politician's 12,466, a majority of 6197.

The result comes as the BBC/ITV/Sky exit poll predicted a 170-seat majority for Labour across the UK, with the SNP dropping to just 10 seats.

Labour routed the SNP in the central belt, west of Scotland and Edinburgh.

Speaking on ITV after the exit poll was published at 10pm, Sturgeon said: “This is not a good night for the SNP on these numbers.

“I think there will be a question about whether there was enough in the campaign to give out, effectively, a USP to the SNP in an election that was about getting the Tories out and replacing them with Labour.”

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