RETURNING after two years away, what struck me during this election was a complete lack of enthusiasm in Glasgow for the contest and for the SNP in particular. Not so long ago, SNP and Yes signs, increasingly faded, decorated the windows of tenements. Now these are hard to find. Instead, as the city slumped in a grey midsummer, there was a pervasive sense of apathy. The most appropriate term would be alienation. What has happened?
Firstly, the SNP have failed to put forward an inspiring vision of how the lives of their voters can be improved. To have been in power for well over a decade and to have made grand claims for improving the country, only to deliver more of the same, is not likely to generate enthusiasm.
READ MORE: SNP to conduct post-mortem on General Election campaign
One area in which the SNP have failed to deliver is housing. It is not unreasonable for people to aspire to having a secure and appropriate place to live, but for many this is difficult to obtain and even more challenging to sustain. Rents have continued to rise exponentially, while rent caps have been temporary. The power inequalities in the housing market are grotesque. Rental arrangements commonly allow the removal of a tenant on grounds of sale (real or supposed) of the property even if no fault has been committed, while landlords are able to impose unreasonable demands including stipulation over whether pets can be owned. A failure to tackle these and a host of other housing issues means that many younger voters, trapped in the rental market by insecure employment and high housing prices, will hesitate to support a party which apparently does nothing to help them.
Secondly, the instability of the last two years has left independence supporters unsure of whether the SNP really are a progressive, left-wing party. The backdrop to this has been cultural conflicts and economic stasis, with consensus over a range of issues increasingly hard to come by. It is certain that conflict over trans people has been promoted by right-wing actors, notably within the media, and is part of a wider trend of reactionary conspiracies across the Western world. Younger voters are likely to be appalled by the social conservatism of some well-known SNP politicians, while the promotion of a rural fundamentalist to high office has seemed incomprehensible.
READ MORE: Alex Salmond shocks with admission he voted SNP at election
Perhaps underlying this is the increased difficulty of a party appealing to very disparate groups of people in an ever more polarised climate. The chief beneficiaries of left-wing disillusionment with the SNP have been the Scottish Greens, whose more economically radical and socially liberal message will resonate with increasing numbers, particularly if SNP decline continues. Friends in Glasgow who voted muttered about the SNP and announced they were voting Green.
Thirdly, the SNP’s campaign was dismal. There was little sign of it until the final week. Its messaging was “more of the same”, and this was unlikely to inspire. The message of “get the Tories out” was pointless when the main challenge was from the grey suitcases of Scottish Labour. The electorate knew that the Tories were going to lose anyway, as this had dominated the news for weeks.
Fourthly, the independence movement has visibly declined. Once a genuinely popular mass movement, it has been exhausted by the failure to advance in the face of Unionist opposition and has been tarnished by the activities of groups like the Alba Party. Although electorally irrelevant, they have supplied plenty of material for anyone who believes that independence is a fringe movement of reactionaries. There are, of course, many additional reasons for the recent result, and I am sure plenty of them will be heard within these pages over the coming days.
Dr Charlie Lynch
Glasgow
Why are you making commenting on The National only available to subscribers?
We know there are thousands of National readers who want to debate, argue and go back and forth in the comments section of our stories. We’ve got the most informed readers in Scotland, asking each other the big questions about the future of our country.
Unfortunately, though, these important debates are being spoiled by a vocal minority of trolls who aren’t really interested in the issues, try to derail the conversations, register under fake names, and post vile abuse.
So that’s why we’ve decided to make the ability to comment only available to our paying subscribers. That way, all the trolls who post abuse on our website will have to pay if they want to join the debate – and risk a permanent ban from the account that they subscribe with.
The conversation will go back to what it should be about – people who care passionately about the issues, but disagree constructively on what we should do about them. Let’s get that debate started!
Callum Baird, Editor of The National
Comments: Our rules
We want our comments to be a lively and valuable part of our community - a place where readers can debate and engage with the most important local issues. The ability to comment on our stories is a privilege, not a right, however, and that privilege may be withdrawn if it is abused or misused.
Please report any comments that break our rules.
Read the rules hereLast Updated:
Report this comment Cancel