Sturgeon's leadership as SNP leader was first tested by the 2015 UK general election, to which she led her party to a historic landslide victory. The SNP won all, but three, of the fifty-nine seats in Scotland, the best result of the SNP since the 1974 general election. She then led her party through the 2016 Scottish Parliament election. Although the SNP lost their overall majority, Sturgeon still secured her position as first minister through as minority government. The following month a referendum on the UK's membership in the EU was put to the people. The result concluded with England and Wales voting a majority to leave, with Scotland and Northern Ireland voting overwhelmingly to remain. She commented, stating is was "democratically unacceptable" that Scotland could be taken out of the EU "against its will". Sturgeon, ever since, has been pushing for a second independence referendum. In the 2017 UK general election, the SNP saw a fall in seats but in the 2019 election, regained many winning 48 seats. In 2020, Sturgeon intended to hold a second referendum, but those plans came to a stop amid the COVID-19 pandemic.