2nd LD, Writethru: Former Scottish National Party leader wins seat in British general election

Former Scottish National Party (SNP) leader Alex Salmond on Friday won the seat of Gordon in the British general election in northeast Scotland's Aberdeenshire.

"The Scottish lion has roared this morning across the country," Salmond, also a former Scottish first minister, said in his victory acceptance speech.

He hailed the success of the SNP's election campaign and the unity of the Scottish people.

Salmond, who announced his resignation after the Scottish independence referendum on Sept. 18, 2014 when the majority opted to stay in Britain, is returning to the Westminster as an SNP member of the parliament.

From 1987 to 2010, he served as a member of parliament for Banff and Buchan in the House of Commons.

Meanwhile, Scottish Labor leader Jim Murphy lost his seat to SNP candidate Kirsten Oswald.

In Renfrewshire East, south to the largest Scottish city of Glasgow, Murphy congratulated Oswald on her success and the SNP results so far, saying the party has more "responsibility" with its greater representation in the British parliament.

Earlier, Labor shadow Foreign Secretary Douglas Alexander also lost his parliamentary seat for Paisley and Renfrewshire South to 20-year-old SNP candidate Mhairi Black.

The number of SNP seats surpassed 50 while the votes counting continued, much more than the six seats out of Scotland's total 59 in the last parliament at Westminster. Endi