Snp

All political parties have their cultish moments but some are more cultish than others. That doesn’t mean all their supporters are kool-aid drinkers, just that, on balance, they’re more likely to be so. This is not, I should have thought, a particularly novel or controversial observation. But, for some reason, suggesting that the SNP’s followers are especially likely to be animated by what one might dub a quasi-religious fervour seems to annoy them. And yet, at other moments, they are keen to point out how the SNP is different from all the other parties. Which is kind of my point too. And, yes, the SNP’s supporters really do behave in

Imagine, for a moment, the following scenario. In 2016 Britain votes narrowly to remain within the European Union, despite the Prime Minister having achieved little in attempting to renegotiate the terms of our membership. The ‘out’ campaign — which was no longer led by a marginal party, Ukip, but by the majority of the parliamentary Labour party, under its new leader Jeremy Corbyn — came mightily close to securing our withdrawal, and thus, as it is put by proponents, our independence. Subsequently, Labour receives the same sort of bounce in the opinion polls as the SNP enjoyed following the equally close independence referendum in Scotland — helped by a continuing crisis in the

So here we go again. Alex Salmond, popping up on the Andrew Marr show while Nicola Sturgeon is in China, makes news without saying anything new about the circumstances in which the SNP might – or might not! – press for a second referendum on Scottish independence. David Cameron, also overseas, responds saying there’s no need for any such plebiscite at any point in this parliament. Calm down, Jock. This will, I am sure, be well-received. All of which should surprise precisely no-one. Seventy percent of SNP supporters want another referendum before the end of this parliament; 90 percent want one within ten years. In such circumstances, you can understand why Salmond thinks another

He once said that the independence referendum was a ‘once in a lifetime’ opportunity but Alex Salmond has brushed aside any illusions that the SNP are not desperately hoping, and planning, for a second vote. On the Andrew Marr Show, Salmond said that another referendum is ‘inevitable’ and the only question is of timing — something he said is ‘very much in the hands of Nicola Sturgeon’. Salmond went on to explain three criteria that could be used to show ‘material change in circumstances’ for Scotland and thus trigger another referendum: ‘I can see three issues which are moving things towards a second referendum on a timescale yet to be determined. One is

No one can deny that the SNP has made Westminster pay more attention to Scotland. Five years ago, it was surprising—and, in many ways, shocking—how uninformed most MPs were of what was happening in Scottish politics. That is one of the reasons why the independence referendum was treated as a second-order issue – until people realised quite how close it was going to be. But that has all changed now with the 56 SNP MPs making their presence felt in the Chamber. This is particularly true of Downing Street because with Angus Robertson having two questions at PMQs each week, David Cameron—who prepares assiduously for these sessions—needs to know what is

Last week the SNP MP Mhairi Black gave her maiden speech to Parliament. The young politician inspired the nation with her story of a man in her constituency who came to her crying after a trip to the job centre went wrong: ‘I said to him “how did you get on?” And without saying a word he burst into tears. That grown man standing in front of a 20-year-old crying his eyes out.’ The clip went viral, amassing millions of views worldwide, with Black’s words highly commended by both SNP and Labour politicians alike. So much so that their were whispers of concern at Labour HQ that it could trigger certain members of the party to lurch

In 2008 Alex Salmond told Total Politics that: ‘As you know, by choice, SNP MPs have abstained from every vote on English legislation that does not have an immediate Scottish consequence. If you’re asking me should people in England be able to run their own health service or education system, my answer is yes. They should be able to do it without the bossy interference of Scots Labour MPs. We had this in reverse through the 1980s.’ A year earlier, Angus Robertson, MP for Moray, had asked the Prime Minister if he agreed it was ‘completely iniquitous’ that English MPs ‘are not able to decide on matters in Scotland but Scottish MPs from

After the newly elected SNP MP Phil Boswell gave his first speech in Parliament yesterday, he won praise from Henry Bellingham for a ‘superb maiden speech’. Still, Mr S suspects there is room for improvement. With rumours abound that an SNP MP made a faux pas in their maiden speech yesterday, Mr S thought Boswell’s effort merited further examination: Apparently a new SNP MP has described his constituency as having areas of grave "depravity" in maiden speech today… — Jim Pickard (@PickardJE) July 8, 2015 Speaking about the need for greater powers and fewer cuts in Scotland following the Budget announcement, the MP for Coatbridge, Chryston and Bellshill spoke of the ‘darkness of

Only last month, Alex Salmond found himself at the centre of a sexism row after he told Anna Soubry to ‘behave yourself woman‘ during a Commons debate. The chippy Cabinet minister went on to criticise the former SNP leader for his comments, claiming he had a 19th century attitude to women, by which they ‘should be seen, and not heard’. Happily, the pair now appear to have put their differences behind them during a trip to Aberdeen. Soubry reports that Salmond provided great entertainment on their flight from Aberdeen back to London. The feeling is mutual, with Salmond boasting that Soubry behaved ‘impeccably’ this time around. She even gave him