The Scottish National Party

Well, this is the third post in the line of talking about political parties. So I guess I don’t need to tell you that the Scottish National Party is funnily enough a party in the UK. More specifically it is a party that exclusively stands in Scotland, be that for the Scottish government or the UK-wide Westminister Government. 

This Scottish National Party is a nationalist and social democratic party, it is considered to be the third-largest political party in terms of membership in the United Kingdom after the Labor Party and the Conservative Party. But its membership has been falling over the last year or so. 

It has to be said that membership of other political parties has been falling also, so this could be a show of falling faith in politics as a whole rather than falling faith in the SNP individually. 

Now, if you're wondering what are the main aims and purpose of this party, then you should know that it campaigns and fights for Scottish independence from the UK and membership in the European Union. Nicola Sturgeon is the current leader of the party and she has served as the First Minister of Scotland since 20th November 2014.

The SNP was founded back in 1934 in a union with the National Party of Scotland and the Scottish Party. The SNP was the second-largest party and the opposition for two terms after the devolved Scottish Parliament was established in 1999. Before winning the 2011 Parliament election and becoming Holyrood's first majority government, the SNP won the 2007 Scottish Parliament election under Alex Salmond, constituting a minority government.

The win of 2011 was an incredible outcome for the Scottish National Party in an “ordinary” election. According to a number of sources, Scottish voters did not increase their support for separation and independence.

So the question is, when did this major push towards independence and nationalist thoughts in Scotland start? Well, in my opinion, there has been an amount of people who had always dreamed of an independent Scotland. There is a massive number of reasons for this, ranging from purely nationalistic pride to political ideology. There are some who simply want to see a “Free Scotland” regardless of the costs, and there are others who truly believe that Scotland would be better off on its own. 

Now, I have never been a nationalistic person, I was a proud European, and voted remain. I am not racist, or xenophobic and I generally welcome immigration that improved the country and our culture. In general, we are an ageing country, and an influx of young, healthy people, no matter their colour, I think is a needed boost for our economy. I believe that having higher levels of immigration leads to higher economic growth when those newcomers are welcomed and given the opportunities to not only become part of our society but to enhance our society with their own values. 

With that said, I do think there should be some basic expectations. I think they should be required to learn English, and become part of our society as a whole. If someone is seeking refuge in our country, and they are taking money from the state they should give back. Volunteer activities, some form of work to better society, make parks more accessible, litter picking, choir groups, charity shops or maybe they could teach classes about their food and culture. Anyway, this isn’t the post for that. 

What has really solidified the independence movement in Scotland, in my opinion, is the tory government. Time and time again they have proved that their values do not align with those of the common folk. They have taken moves that hurt us as a society. And the Scots, whether they are right or wrong is irrelevant, believe that they can make a fairer society, a more free society, a better society. The Scots believe that the Westminster government is oppressive, not because it is inherently oppressive, but because the people that have been in power for the last 12 years are oppressive. 

It could be said that the success of SNP is driven in no small part by its inclusive and open form of nationalism. While some people accuse SNP's politics to be narrow and angry nationalism that is similar to the extremist movements in Europe, the SNP claims to advocate a type of civic nationalism, or, to put it another way, nationalism for the people rather than the few. This nationalism, which is founded on residency and open citizenship, is said to be inclusive and liberal.

I think it is important for me to make a little note here. It is widely known that Scotland spends more than it takes in taxes. This is why we have the barnet formula, to provide Scotland, and other devolved governments with the money they need to function. Now it could be said that as much of the day-to-day taxes are taken by the central HMRC. As such, we can’t say for certain how it works out in regard to taxes and expenditures. 

What can be known for sure is that Scotland has more economic activity “Trade” with the UK than it has with the rest of the world. This is actually increasing, most probably due to Brexit, almost 60% of Scottish trade is within the Union itself, rather than international trade. If they did become an independent state, it could cause issues such as trade tariffs and customs delays. Not unlike what we have seen with the EU since Brexit, but it would be on a much larger scale. 

However, when you examine voter attitudes and choices more closely, this election seems much more average. Using information from the 2011 Scottish Election Study, which was funded by the ESRC, we can demonstrate that the SNP won the majority for the simplest of political reasons: most voters believed that Alex Salmond and his party would perform better in office than their rivals, including their main rival and longtime opposition, the Labor Party.

If you're not an avid reader of Scottish politics, you should know a couple of things about the parliamentary elections of Scotland. According to the Scot voters, winning at Holyrood matters a lot. While local and previously European elections are frequently perceived as low-stakes opportunities to send out a message about Westminster politics, a resounding majority of voters in Scotland hold the Scottish government instead of the UK government accountable for both policies and results in important areas like education, health, law, and order.

Voting in the Scottish Parliament doesn’t really refer to a person’s expression of national identity or their constitutional preferences. It is evident that the support for SNP has seemingly doubled between 2003 and 2011 whereas the support for the Scottish Independence had decreased before Brexit. 

In 2014 the party was reeling from its close loss of the independence vote of the same year. Alex Salmond stepped down as the leader of the party and the then deputy leader took over power. The party has rebounded well from the loss of the independence referendum. But unfortunately, the party is not done beating the drum of independence. Or should we say, Nicola Sturgeon is not done beating that drum. 

As we talked about in the post about the Conservative party, you can find a link to here. There are some people who get into politics because they are attracted to power and wealth. They enjoy the idea of being able to make choices on behalf of others. And to that end, they will do whatever they think is needed to continue getting results and thus staying in power. 

It could be said that the party is trying to push a populist agenda of independence not because they truly believe in it, but because it has proven to be the biggest rallying call for voters in the country. For the time being, voters appear to be smart enough to separate choosing the Government of Scotland and the constitutional future of Scotland.

Regardless of the reasonings behind any of their actions, it has generally been shown to work, the party has overall performed better than any other party in Scotland. Although their support and performance has varied over the years, they have generally faired better in recent times. I think it is important to note that this increase in support has not happened in a vacuum. The conservative party has proven not to be the party of unity but the party of political and social divide. 

One can not help but question if the actions of the conservatives has done more to strengthen the support of the SNP, than any of the actions of the SNP themselves. It is under Tory rule that we have seen time and time again that they care not to help people, other than the wealthy and higher classes of British society. It is these actions that have consolidated the idea that the Westminister government is imposing its oppressive will on them. It is this idea that continues to push people towards the more extreme ideals of nationalistic pride. 

It has also been providing amazing services to the citizens and making their daily lives easier such as by providing baby boxes to newborn babies, period assistance for girls’ menstrual period, free tuition for university students, free NHS dental care for people under 26 and so much more. Receiving praises from the UN for all these efforts and being progressive is nothing ordinary. Thus, it is a huge accomplishment for SNP. 

But, once again, this high standard of living is afforded to the Scottish people thanks in no small part to the gifts of the Barnett formula. The average expenditure per capita in Scotland is higher than in any other part of the United Kingdom apart from Northern Ireland. Now, the quality of life is higher in Scotland than it is in NI and that is one thing that has to be said in favour of the SNP. 

This is obviously an Englishman's perspective on the issue and in some ways, I feel it is not my place to comment. But, I think seeing as it would have such a dramatic impact on the country as a whole it needs to be said. We do not want Scotland gone, we share a crown, a government, an identity. I don’t think it is fair to throw all that away because of a few bad years.

- Spec