Scottish National Party Slump Could Hit Independence Aims

Scottish National Party leader John Swinney is expected to see a slump in his party's fortunes in the UK election (Credit: AFP)

The Scottish National Party was forecast to suffer its worst result in a British general election since 2010 on Thursday, dealing a blow to Scotland's flagging independence movement.

An exit poll released after voting stopped at 10:00 pm (2100 GMT) predicted that the SNP would lose dozens of seats and be overtaken by Labour as Scotland's largest party in the UK parliament.