Eleanor Service |
The results of the 2016 elections have been released across Scotland, with the SNP gaining a massive lead:
- SNP: 63 seats – down by 6
- Conservatives: 31 seats – up by 16
- Labour: 24 seats – down by 13
- Green Party: 6 seats – up by 4
- Liberal Democrats: 5 seats – no loss or gain
- Independent Party: 0 seats – loss of 1 seat
Despite Nicola Sturgeon claiming a “historic victory”, the SNPs have only procured 63 seats. This is 2 shy of the 65 needed for the SNPs to secure a majority government, and is 6 seats less than the impressive 69 they managed to achieve in 2011, despite the voting system being designed to prevent a majority government. Considering her party’s defeat of Labour in Glasgow, where Labour has traditionally triumphed, Ms Sturgeon said:
“If you had told me when I was a teenager, starting out in politics, that one day the SNP would win every constituency in the city of Glasgow, not just in one election but in two elections, I would scarcely have been able to believe it.”
She added:
“What is now beyond doubt is that the SNP has won a third consecutive Scottish Parliament election.
“That has never been done before in the history of the Scottish Parliament. We have tonight made history.”
Ms. Sturgeon will be requesting that her fellow MSPs re-elect as First Minister. Without an overall majority she will need the support of other parties to secure the position of First Minister and to pass legislation.
Due to the minority government, the Green Party, with six seats, and the Liberal Democrats, with five seats, could be highly important in assisting Ms. Sturgeon with passing her legislative programme.
The Scottish Greens have said they mean to push the SNP “beyond its comfort zone”.
The Liberal Democrats have said that the “arrogant” SNPs now needs “a change of attitude”, and the Scottish Conservative Party leader Ruth Davidson pledged to “work constructively where required” but “provide challenge where they do not listen”.
One big issue that the Conservatives and the Liberal Democrats have spoken out about is another independences referendum, saying that it is one thing they will not compromise over.
Nicola Sturgeon has responded to this by saying she will continue “to persuade, not to divide” on independence and urged other parties to “respect the opinion of the people”.
Despite her need to work with other parties, Sturgeon has ruled out a coalition government after an “emphatic” win for the SNP. She did however also say that she would lead an “inclusive” government and “reach out and seek to work with others across the parliament to find common ground and build consensus”.
One common ground she has already found is in education. Sturgeon has previously stated that education is one of her top priorities and that she should be judged on the merit of her efforts in that area. Other parties agree with her desire to work hard on education, and this may be the beginning of agreement amongst all the parties in the government. It may however, also be one point of agreement amongst a sea of confrontation and disagreement.
There was a dramatic switch in position for the parties as the Conservatives took second place from Labour. Labour won 24 seats, losing 13 seats, a massive loss, especially as they lost second place position. The Conservatives however, won 31 seats, a gain of 16 seats. Gaining second place is massive victory for the Conservatives, but a tragic loss for the Labour Party.
A member of the Shadow Cabinet, Ian Murray, has spoken out and said that voters do not see Labour under Jeremy Corbyn as a “credible party of future government”. Jeremy Corbyn has shaken off any misgivings about his leadership though, and has said that he will not resign.
Labour’s leader in Scotland, Kezia Dugdale, said:
“[I’m] heartbroken, without question. You can see from the reaction of the Tories that they are indeed surprised about how well they’ve done tonight.
There’s no doubt that our defeat for the Labour Party is painful, but it is not the end of our campaign. We will continue to argue for Labour values, Labour ideas and Labour principles.”
Ruth Davidson, leader of the Conservatives, said that she was “very, very proud that the Conservatives had achieved their best ever result in Holyrood, with 23 seats, beating their previous best of 18. She used her post-election address to call for the SNP to rule out another independence referendum. Whilst speaking in Edinburgh she said:
“As I said during the election campaign, the SNP manifesto does not give Nicola Sturgeon a mandate for a second independence referendum.
“Now that she has failed to win a majority, whatever claims the SNP were pursuing with regard to constitutional brinkmanship over the next five years have now been utterly shredded.
“No mandate, no majority, no cause – the SNP must now let Scotland move on.”
So with SNP achieving a major victory, and the Conservatives beating Labour for second place this year’s Scottish elections were very eventful, but already the parties seem to be dividing on the issue of another independence referendum. If this disagreement splits the government, how will that affect the people of Scotland? Turmoil in the government may make our MSPs lose sight of what is important to the people. If the parties cannot agree on the issues, how can they govern effectively? Only time will tell the fate of the new government, but the most crucial thing to a successful one is of course, keeping Scotland’s best interests at heart.
