Glasgow, United Kingdom – When the pro-independence Scottish National Party (SNP) defeated its Labor rivals by a single seat in the 2007 Scottish Parliament election, it brought about more than just a change of government.
Previous votes had cemented Scotland’s status as a Labor Party stronghold, and this trend continued when a devolved government was established in Edinburgh in 1999; The first two Scottish Parliament elections saw the return of two successive Labour-led governments.
But when the SNP secured 47 legislators to Labor’s 46 in the Scottish Parliament’s third vote, the preferred party of Scotland’s working and middle classes was hurt, overwhelmed by fervor for Scottish independence.
The SNP has dominated Edinburgh for 17 years. The party has had the highest number of Scottish MPs at Westminster since 2015.
But the Labor Party appears to be on track to make significant gains or even retake its former Scottish heartland in next month’s UK general election, as many voters are determined to oust the right-wing Conservatives from power at Westminster.
“Scotland remains important to Labour, even if Labor does not [necessarily] we need Scottish seats to form a government in the UK,” said James Mitchell, professor at the School of Social and Political Science at the University of Edinburgh. “Winning back seats in Scotland is symbolically important for the Labor Party and in being able to claim representation for all parts of Britain.”
The SNP, which currently holds 63 of 129 seats in Edinburgh and 43 of 59 Scottish seats in the House of Commons at Westminster, has long towered above its pro-UK rivals in Scotland.
Once a fringe political movement that harbored unrealistic dreams of Scottish sovereignty, the SNP, in its role as a devolved administration, secured Westminster’s right to hold a historic independence referendum 10 years ago in the hope of breaking up Scotland’s three-century-old union. with Scotland. England.
But despite Scots rejecting statehood by 55-45 percent in the 2014 plebiscite, the party managed to push Scottish independence into the political mainstream. Polls today indicate that around half of Scotland’s electorate would vote in favor of going it alone.
However, although it has successfully introduced many social democratic policies over the years, such as free university tuition for Scottish students, the legalization of same-sex marriage and increasing access to IVF for struggling couples To conceive, the SNP has been buffeted by its nearly two decades in government.
Setbacks such as former SNP Scottish First Minister Nicola Sturgeon’s failed attempt at gender reform last year, and scandals such as the arrest of Sturgeon’s husband Peter Murrell for allegedly embezzling SNP funds as her ex -chief executive, coincided with the turnaround of the Labor Party. fortunes.
As it stands, the Labor Party looks set to win a majority of over 100 seats in the House of Commons on July 4th.
Despite polls showing continued support for Scottish sovereignty, the pro-independence SNP looks likely to lose ground in Scotland as many Britons rally behind UK Labor leader Keir Starmer.
“Support for Scottish independence includes many people who primarily want a change of government at Westminster and do not see any prospect of independence any time soon,” Mitchell told Al Jazeera. “These are [Scottish] voters who may abandon support for independence or become more assertive in supporting independence depending on what the Starmer government does.”
A recent YouGov poll suggests that the Labor Party will win around 34 per cent of the vote in Scotland, followed by the SNP on 30 per cent. The Conservatives are predicted to secure just 13 percent.
‘We need a change’
Whether they support independence or not, many voters in Scotland see the Labor Party as the best bet to unseat British Conservative Prime Minister Rishi Sunak.
“We need change for change’s sake, and Labor is the party that can fill that position,” said Grahame Allison, a hotelier from Islay, a windswept island off the west coast of Scotland.
“They will try to improve the lives of those who are literally in poverty and give meaning to the idea of supporting our working classes.”
But not everyone in Scotland is convinced of the Labor Party’s left-wing credentials, with some accusing Starmer’s party of pursuing a right-wing agenda.
Lyndsey McLean, who works in creative arts in Edinburgh, told Al Jazeera that although she wants to see the Conservatives in the shadows, she will not vote for the Labor Party.
“The Labor Party is attractive because it opposes the Conservatives. But to what extent are they really in opposition? To what extent would it be a new ideology [if they won power]?” she asked.
For many members of the Scottish electorate who remain committed to Scottish independence, there is only one obvious choice next month.
“I will continue to vote SNP,” said Alan Robertson, a Glasgow secondary school teacher. “It’s not because I’m a big fan of the SNP. I agree with his policies in some areas and disagree in others.”
Robertson, who voted for independence in 2014, grew up in a family that traditionally supported Labour.
“There have also been many problems with the SNP and the way the party has been run, but they offer, at the very least, the best opportunity for greater decentralization – or independence,” he said.
Mitchell, of the University of Edinburgh, noted that even if the SNP suffers major losses, “there will always be the potential for a recovery and it could become a threat” once again.
“Labour would make a potentially fatal mistake by assuming that big losses for the SNP would mean it could forget about Scotland,” he said.
This story originally appeared on Aljazeera.com read the full story
