To wonder why people keep voting SNP?

[Carla786]

I don't know a lot about Scottish politics and I may be missing important things they've done. However, I used to have a lot of respect for Nicola Sturgeon but her handling of gender critical issues has destroyed that. The SNP do not seem very effective at reducing drugs, poverty, or other serious issues.
My understanding was that quite a few people vote SNP not because they want independence (which most Scots appear to not want) but because they think the SNP are more committed to Scotland sorcifically than Tories and Labour. How accurate is this though..?

Since most Scots appear to not want independence, I thought the SNP was probably high achieving in other areas & Tories & Labour seen as poor by comparison. Or is it more often seen as the best of 3 bad options? Or is SNP much more positive than the impression I've got?

It is but I think it might affect both equally? I know that in my last year of working (2023), most of my days were spent doing FOIs for opposition parties and the media on violence in schools, so it could be that it isn’t as widely reported in other nations? That violence also included verbal incidents as we have a fairly robust system of recording any incident up here.

I'm a bit late to this thread, and haven't read all the posts but the main reason why SNP have been so popular in Scotland is a combination of support for Scottish independence (but that alone isn't enough) and the fact that they are seen as the main credible centre-left party following Labour's demise in the 2010 General Election and the turmoil that dogged the party in Scotland thereafter. Scotland has a history of supporting social democratic parties, with one party dominating, and before 2007 that was Labour. We used to joke that if you stuck a red rosette on a monkey it would get elected, but now that's true of yellow rosettes instead. Labour's enduring long-term popularity and lack of competition in Scotland for many decades also meant that they did not modernise in a way that they were forced to do in the rest of the UK which led to them struggling to seem like a credible opposition once the SNP had managed to form a government. The independence referendum was polarising too and further entrenched SNP's position because those who favoured independence (and that included some traditional labour voters) switched allegiance to SNP following the referendum bolstering their supporter base, whilst the unionist vote was split between the various unionist parties

There’s some big differences at the core of how English and Scottish school systems work.

One of the big ones when it comes to behaviour and exclusions is that English schools applications are parental choice. Parents by choosing the school opt in to the school rules and schools then have more powers. They still have to work within the equalities act, obviously, but they can and do exclude more pupils than Scottish schools. It’s also why they can exclude pupils for things like uniform violations.

Scottish schools don’t work like that, most children go to their catchment area school, there are some pretty big pros to that, but one of the cons is that it’s harder to exclude pupils… especially permanently.

I understand. Thank you, that explains quite a lot. It's clear we do have significant problems in England but Scottish schools do have a worse problem with this.

https://www.channel4.com/news/factcheck/factcheck-violent-injuries-against-school-staff-most-common-in-scotland#:~:text=Scotland%20has%20Britain's%20highest%20rate,schools%20trebling%20in%20a%20decade.

It's possible but it does seem that Scottish schools do have a worse problem.

https://www.channel4.com/news/factcheck/factcheck-violent-injuries-against-school-staff-most-common-in-scotland#:~:text=Scotland%20has%20Britain's%20highest%20rate,schools%20trebling%20in%20a%20decade.
This article points to 'restorative' punishment policies as partly being to blame : what do you think about that?

Very interesting, thank you. So Labour might possibly have chance of dislodging SNP maybe if they drastically reformed? And unionist/right wing parties less likely to be able to do that?

More reported doesn’t mean more occurred. It means more reported.

All of these lying teachers 🤣🤣.

I think Labour have blown it again unfortunately. At one point after Labour took power the polls showed them winning in Scotland too but Keir Starmer fucked that up.

If the Scots elect the SNP again there should be another referendum.

I used to get newsletters from my SNP MP, and when he sent one decrying the Westminster decision I wrote back and said why it was a relief to have Westminster protecting us from the anti-women agenda of the SNP, with a long list of examples, and a conclusion that I'd never vote SNP again!

Why? The Scottish public vote overwhelmingly for unionist parties. The SNP benefit from the fact that the unionist vote is split.

Good point.

Why - because there is only so much SNP whining the rest of the UK can take!

I think Labour would need to drastically reform in order to dislodge the SNP. They are a unionist party and that's been to their detriment in a period where people have been focused on the future of Scotland. They could help themselves by developing a clear, positive vision for Scotland rather than focusing on the pitfalls of independence. I don't think they've got a realistic prospect of doing so at the 2026 Scottish parliamentary election and will be further hindered by the lack of popularity of the current Westminster Labour Government. I think Scotland like the rest of the UK is seeing a rise in popularity of right wing politics as a result of decades of austerity, and I think that Reform will get a good showing at the 2026 election. My prediction is that SNP will continue to be the main party but will not have enough seats to form a majority, Labour will lose seats and Reform will gain perhaps to the extent that they become as big as Labour in Scotland. The Greens and/or the Liberal Democrats will hold the balance of power either by forming a coalition government with the SNP or by supporting them on a vote by vote basis to get legislation passed.

It always amuses me when people in the other parts of the UK seem to think that there will be zero impact on them if Scotland gains independence. The legal fees alone will run into the billions.

More than offset by the money the rest of the UK sends to Scotland each year.

Agree with this prediction, unfortunately.

As I've said, I know little...but this sounds very credible.

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=Vyx1xeZotk
Flower of Scotland. Performed by the man who wrote it.
Come on independence!

Do you like “Caledonia”? There’s a youtube video of Donny singing it on the concert steps in Buchanan Street during the run up to the referendum and the crowd was massive, all singing along.

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=JKgHtLz2TNk

My wee MIL was there 🥰

I love the song and that video. 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿❤️

I really love Stephen Flynn so I’d definitely vote for him if I lived in his constituency, SNP or not- he’s brilliant.

Me too 😊🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿

Oh that is brilliant!
I'd not seen that .
I did used to work for a time at the Sainsbury's just a minute a way from where this was recorded and we experienced some interesting things but I'd left not long before your clip was recorded

I do love to listening to Runrig at Balloch Singing Loch Lomond.
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=CHu0h9XaNcg&list=RDCHu0h9XaNcg&start_radio=1&pp=ygUYbG9jaCBsb21vbmQgZG9ubmllIG11bnJvoAcB
Hearing this at Hampden at a Scotland match sends shivers down my spine

What about this? https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=wQbUYvRYksU

Wee nod to English people in the last verse.

Just to show we want Indy, but not because we apparently “hate” them.

There are no accusations of that from the Welsh and people who live in NI.