Link:

British voters punished the Liberal Democrats for their role in a deficit-cutting government on Friday, rejecting the party's efforts to reform the electoral system and deserting it in local elections.

The outcome points to a rockier future for Britain's Conservative-led coalition government, with analysts predicting a more combative stance from the Lib Dems, the junior partners.

The article doesn't say how it knows that the Lib Dems are being punished for the austerity program, as opposed to just being opposed to election reforms. While one might enjoy the idea of Lib Dems getting their just desserts, it's really a net negative as the voting reforms would have been a good thing.

Meanwhile...

The Scottish National Party (SNP) scored a bumper haul, winning an outright majority in Scotland's assembly -- which has limited powers devolved from London -- and opening the door for a referendum on secession from the rest of Britain.

A fully independent Scotland could change the handling of profits from North Sea oil fields, a crucial source of tax revenue for cash-strapped Britain.

It might also have implications for the Royal Bank of Scotland, bailed out during the global financial crisis and now 83-percent owned by the state.

It's been the Irish who fought for their independence for so long while the Scotts sat around like loyal wankers, so this is an interesting twist.