Introduction
The Scottish National Party, abbreviated SNP, is a Scottish nationalist party working for Scottish independence from UK and re-membership in the EU. This party has a social democratic political orientation and dates back to 1934. The Scottish National Party is now Scotland’s largest party, dominating the national government and its delegation at Westminster Palace. As of 2016, the party had more than 120,000 members. The party’s current leader is Nicola Sturgeon, Scotland’s first minister.
Ideology
The party did not have a clear political orientation until the 1970s and sought to establish itself as a party striving for Scottish independence and having nothing to do with the right and left. In fact, the party sought to establish itself as a Scottish national movement in order to attract people with different political leanings. Ideological tensions inside the SNP are further complicated by arguments between the so-called SNP gradualists and SNP fundamentalists. In essence, gradualists seek to advance Scotland’s independence through further devolution, in a “step-by-step” strategy. They tend to be in the moderate left grouping, though much of the 79 Group was gradualist in approach.
Taking Part in Elections
In the 2009 European Parliament elections, the party beat the Scottish Labour Party and the Liberal Democrats, winning two of Scotland’s six seats in the European Parliament. The party is accused of being anti-UK. In 2000, the Labour Party announced that two members of the party had in fact adopted anti-UK policies in support of Germany’s bid to host the 2006 FIFA World Cup.
In the 2015 election, the party won 56 seats in the House of Commons, making it the third largest House of Commons party in terms of the number of seats, a historic victory for the party. Throughout UK history, no Scottish party had won such a share of the UK House of Commons.
In the Scottish Parliamentary elections in 2016, the party won the highest number of votes for the third consecutive term. With more than one million votes, the party won 63 of the 129 seats in Scottish Parliament.
The 2014 Referendum Elections
Scotland’s first referendum on independence was held in 2014 and 55% of those polled voted to stay in the UK, but now Scots say the situation has changed since the UK left the EU. Boris Johnson government’s move has dealt a severe blow to the Scottish economy and jobs. In the view of Scottish First Minister Nicola Sturgeon, there is no better deal than the benefits of staying in the EU.
Although the SNP failed to persuade the people of the region on independence from the UK during a referendum in 2014, its politicians have been at the helm of all of Scotland’s elected institutions for the past seven years. They have gained more popularity. Scottish First Minister and SNP Leader Nicola Sturgeon has become one of the region’s most popular politicians in recent years.
Independence Referendum
Following UK’s formal withdrawal from the EU, Scottish residents and local leaders have called for an independence referendum in the region and secession from the UK. Johnson and his entourage are trying to prevent a referendum in Scotland at all costs, but the Scots’ anger at the final reali is so great that it seems difficult to control! Scotland’s local leaders are now pushing for another referendum on whether or not Scotland should secede from the UK, given UK’s formal withdrawal from the EU.
