Scotland's pro-independence party scores big gains in vote

[Judi Lynn]

Source: Associated Press

Scotland's pro-independence party scores big gains in vote

Updated 1:19 am, Friday, May 6, 2016

GLASGOW, Scotland (AP) — The pro-independence Scottish National Party Friday secured a third term in government with an historic third consecutive victory in the county's parliamentary elections.

With 92 out of 129 seats declared, the SNP had secured 58 compared to the Conservatives with 15, Labour with 11, Liberal-Democrats with four, and four for the Green Party.

However, despite their extraordinary performance the SNP could still fail to win enough seats to form an outright majority and may have to enter into a coalition government with the pro-independence Green Party.

SNP Party Leader Nicola Sturgeon called the results "historic."


Read more: http://www.chron.com/news/world/article/Scotland-s-pro-independence-party-scores-big-7396958.php

[muriel_volestrangler]

1. They have lost their majority

65 out of 129 needed - they've got 63.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/live/uk-scotland-scotland-politics-36198068

Overall, SNP 63, Tory 31, Lab 24, Green 6, Lib Dem 5.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/election/2016/scotland/results

Their constituency vote share was up 1.1%, but their regional vote share was down 2.3%. So they won 59 constituencies, but only 4 regional MSPs beyond that (electoral system is called 'AMS', for those who want to understand it).

[merrily]

2. Please excuse this very ignorant question, but, if the independence party had a majority, why

is Scotland still not formally moving toward independence? I know there was a democratic vote on the matter not long ago, in which independence supposedly lost--but then those same voters handed the independence party a majority? None of that seems to make sense to me.

Don't feel as though you need to answer. If I really want to know, I should do some research of my own.

[T_i_B]

3. They lost the independence referendum

They would need to hold and win a 2nd referendum to separate from the rest of Britain.

The voters who sided with the SNP in the referendum have stuck with them over Labour, who are in alarming decline in Scotland. It also looks like pro-Union voters are now gravitating towards the Tories.

[merrily]

4. Or gravitating away from the Party currently in control.

I think that is what voters do when the Party in control failed to deliver what it stood for. Voters are just desperate for change, IMO, but maybe I am projecting my view of US voting patterns on another country, which is admittedly a dumb thing to do.

[T_i_B]

5. The reason why the SNP failed to deliver is clear

They lost the referendum vote.

But they kept voters disillusioned with Labour, who were very dominant in Scotland for many years but alienated a lot of voters with their conduct during the referendum.

[merrily]

6. Nothing else they failed to deliver? Did people see their lives improve in significant ways?

[T_i_B]

7. Best person to ask is Denzil_DC in the UK forum

They certainly come across as more competent than Labour at present. They also come across to a lot of people as being less evil than the Tories.

[merrily]

8. Thank you. It's a little like the US, though. People on message boards may reflect the

thinking of the average voter, or they may not.

But I've really asked enough questions. As I said, I'm probably trying to superimpose my own views and experience on Scotland, which is very silly of me. I will do my own research before I pester anyone else. After I've done that, I may ask Denzil. Thank you for your input and suggestion.

[muriel_volestrangler]

9. As T_i_B has said, not every SNP voter is pro-independence

I know some people there who have voted for them on the grounds of competency and their policies other than independence (eg free university tuition), but voted to stay in the UK. Also, the system isn't perfectly proportional - in 2012, they got 44% in the regional vote, but that still worked out at 69 out of 129 seats.