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Holyrood to call for UK election MSPs vote to support UK election
(about 17 hours later)
The Scottish Parliament is likely to vote in support of a UK general election later. The Scottish Parliament has voted in support of calling a UK General Election, amid concerns over the current Wstminster government.
The move is part of a Tory motion to debate Prime Minister Gordon Brown's record in government. The SNP and Liberal Democrats combined to back a Tory motion at Holyrood, after the party said the move was needed to restore faith in democracy.
Labour accused the Tories of wasting their debating time, saying the party should instead be concentrating on holding the SNP to account. But Scottish Labour leader Iain Gray dismissed the call as having nothing to do with Scotland.
The move will come after MPs rejected a motion on Wednesday by the SNP and Plaid Cymru to dissolve parliament. The vote was symbolic, with the prime minister free to ignore it.
At Holyrood, the Conservatives will say Mr Brown is "time worn and exhausted" and should allow the people to decide his future in a UK election. During a debate in parliament, Scottish Tory leader Annabel Goldie said the Westminster expenses scandal had tainted all parties, adding: "Until there is a General Election, a cloud will hang over politics.
The Tory motion is expected to pass, with backing from the SNP and Liberal Democrats. The only thing which has saved any Tories in Scotland is this parliament Iain GrayScottish Labour leader
But the vote will be symbolic and the prime minister is free to ignore it. "What we have at present is such a weak and pitiful excuse for a government that it is not worthy of the name."
Bruce Crawford, minister for parliament, said the UK Labour Government had lost the trust and confidence of the public, adding: "It is a government that has run out of ideas, run out of time, and is fast running out of supporters.
"It is presiding over the worst economic downturn in generations - and we are living with the consequences of decisions taken by this UK Government during their age of irresponsibility."
'Smoking ruins'
The Liberal Democrats' Ross Finnie questioned the UK Government's track record on the economy, adding: "We need an election to ensure that financial structures are rebuilt on sustainable lines, not pumping up the existing failed model."
But Mr Gray dismissed the Tory motion - passed by 78 votes to 42 - as "florid, melodramatic guff".
"This debate has nothing to do with the interests of Scotland - and everything to do with the perceived interests of the Tories," he said.
"The Tories dare to talk of broken Britain and smoking ruins, when they scarred Scotland, tore its heart out and set it against itself.
"The only thing which has saved any Tories in Scotland is this parliament."
On Wednesday, an SNP and Plaid Cymru motion to dissolve the UK Parliament, paving the way for an immediate general election, was rejected by MPs.