Alex Salmond becomes Scotland's First Minister

Alex Salmond becomes Scotland's First Minister
STEWART KIRKPATRICK

The Scottish National Party leader, Alex Salmond, has become Scotland's First Minister after a close vote in the Scottish Parliament.
In the first round of voting, Mr Salmond received 49 votes. Jack McConnell, the Scottish Labour leader, received 46 votes. Annabel Goldie of the Scottish Conservatives and Nicol Stephen, the Scottish Liberal Democrats leader, were eliminated from the contest after getting 16 votes each.
In the second round of voting Mr Salmond received 49 votes and Mr McConnell 46, making the SNP leader First Minister. The Lib Dems and the Tories abstained.
In a speech to the parliament before the vote, Mr Salmond said: "The Parliament will be one on which the Scottish government will rely on the merits of its legislation, not on the might of the parliament's majority.
"The parliament will be about compromise and concession, about intelligent debate and mature discussion."
He added: "What I ask for today is the support of this Parliament to begin a new chapter in Scottish democracy, in Scotland's story."
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Scottish National Partyhttp://news.scotsman.com/topics.cfm?tid=324