Six things we’ve learned from the Scottish results

THEY were the biggest party in Scotland by quite some considerable distance. Their message was simple, it was effective and it clearly worked.

The SNP’s winning share of the vote in Scotland was larger than the share achieved by the Brexit Party in England.

Pollster John Curtice said the SNP, who have been in power for 12 years, were “clearly dominant in Scotland today”, and, he added, the polls suggested the party would win a similar share of the vote in a General Election or early Scottish Parliament election. “It looks as though 40% or so in Scotland, for the time being at least, is firmly in the SNP’s grasp,” he said.

Party insiders had hoped for three MEPs but were stunned when they topped the poll in all but two of the council areas. Asked what it means for independence, an MP told The National: “We already had a mandate – we had no need to seek another one.

“It’s good to see the Tories so roundly rejected though, given the platform they stood on – ‘send a message to the SNP, we don’t want another indyref’.

“Their message just didn’t resonate.”

2. Indyref2? People’s Vote? General Election?

IT seems likely that voters in Scotland will be asked to do their democratic duty again this year, but it’s not entirely clear what for.

Labour seemed to move closer to being more overtly supportive of a People’s Vote, though with Jeremy Corbyn’s party it’s not always entirely clear. “A public vote has always been our position,” our Labour source said, “but only if we can’t get a General Election. We need an election first.”

Our SNP insider said we could even end up with a General Election and a People’s Vote. “We’ll keep calling for an EU referendum. I’d say, though, that a lot rests on who ends up leading the Tories and also the Labour Party,” they said.

3. Richard Leonard failed his first real test as leader. Will he get a second?

IT was a bad night for Labour across the UK, but it was particularly brutal in Scotland. Under his leadership, Scottish Labour lost its two MEPs and dropped to fifth place. They came sixth in Edinburgh.

READ MORE: Kirsty Strickland: Cowardly Scottish Labour haven’t yet hit rock bottom

One of the most telling exchanges of the night was when a source close to Leonard, bristling at criticism of the veteran trade unionist, told a Herald journalist that the party should “take no lessons from those whose decisions and policies took the party to 3rd place in Scotland".

Kezia Dugdale tweeted back: “You’re 5th mate #justsaying.”

4. Sunday night was bad for the Scottish Greens and the fallout could be messy

IT was a historic election for the Green parties of Europe. Die Grunen in Germany finished second with 21% of the vote, nearly doubling their result in 2014.

In Finland they came second with 16% of the vote. And in Portugal the Green party won its first European parliamentary seat. But in Scotland, the Green surge didn’t really happen, with the vote up just 0.2%. One insider was critical of the lead candidate, the party’s co-convenor Maggie Chapman.

The Green source said the party were squeezed by the SNP and LibDems for Remain votes and that a “focus on climate didn’t convince voters who are generally quite happy with SNP rhetoric on the issue".

The source added: “Our candidate couldn’t even galvanise our own activists to get out and campaign. We contrived to lose votes in Edinburgh ffs! We were endorsed by one of the biggest Sunday papers and didn’t get any votes beyond our base.”

5. The Scottish Tories think yesterday’s result is proof that their 'No to indyref2' strategy is working

IT wasn’t a great night for the Tories. Their vote fell nearly six points, putting them into fourth place, their lowest ever share.

Ruth Davidson saw the Scottish Tory vote plummet

But they held on to their MEP, which is more than can be said for Scottish Labour. Speaking on the BBC on Sunday night, John Curtice said the Scottish Tory campaign strategy was dead.

He explained: “The Scottish Conservative Party campaigned in this referendum north of the Border essentially on whether or not there should be an independence referendum. It’s not done them a great deal of obvious good.

“The idea that the Conservatives can continue to present themselves as the single dominant, upcoming voice of unionism that can be clearly said to have momentum that the SNP lacks ... I think that narrative has died."

“Not to wish to disagree with Sir John,” our Tory source said, “but in terms of polling and responses from doorsteps, the indyref2 thing still comes out on top by an absolute mile.”

The source said the Brexit Party benefited from a protest vote, “but when the next elections come around, these people – who probably come from all parties but definitely lots of Tories – will need a home, assuming the Brexit Party isn’t in existence any longer.”

6. Not enough data to know whether milkshaking the far right works, but the Brexit Party could be here to stay

WHO’D have thought that Brexit would have turned milkshake into a verb? It all started when somebody threw a McDonald’s strawberry shake at Tommy Robinson, the far-right thug, when he was campaigning in Bury. He was milkshaked again the following day.

It escalated from there.

READ MORE: Tommy Robinson demands a second EU Parliament vote in bizarre topless rant

Carl Benjamin, the odious Ukip candidate who made “jokes” about raping a Labour MP, was milkshaked four times during the campaign. Nigel Farage was splattered with a £5.25 salted caramel and banana shake during a visit to Newcastle, though that didn’t stop his party winning big.

But Robinson, Benjamin and the other far-right candidates saw their political ambitions killed off. Maybe it’s because they were milkshaked repeatedly, maybe it’s because they’re simply unlikeable fuds. There's one thing we can be sure about: throwing “lactose at the intolerant” seems here to stay as a form of political protest.