Referendum stances causing SNP trouble

June 8th saw the SNP loose 400,000 votes and them lose 21 seats. Down to the 35 the SNP still lead in Scotland by a significant margin but for the first time in a long time, the Unionist forces have got their act together north of the border, the SNP might find themselves in trouble.

This is partly due to a rejuvenated Scottish Tory party, lead by charismatic Ruth Davidson, and also party due to the Corbyn surge being fully in affect in urban Scotland. But the biggest reason for the SNPs decline is their bet on anti Brexit backlash that never was.

Nicola Sturgeon was sure that Scottish voters would shiver in rage at the thought of having their EU membership taken away by the English, and come running to the SNP as a response, the party offering an unadulterated EU experience with independence on top. This simply didn't happen. Instead, those SNP voters who viewed Brexit favourably voted Tory (polls show a third of Yes voters voted for Brexit), and younger Scots were won over by an anti-establishment Corbyn, just like their peers south of the border.

The result was a loss of 21 seats, which would have been worse had the Greens not declined to stand in so many seats, and the majority of remaining MPs becoming wafer thin.

Some, like Ruth Davidson, have even went as far as to call Sturgeons desired second independence referendum "dead in the water".

This puts the SNP in a very awkward situation. Do they shift their pro-European stance to gain back their euroskeptic voters? Or do they stick with their antibrexit position and hope voters see the light?

The first option kicks their desired #indyref2 into oblivion, as they have no ground to hold another independence referendum on but Brexit. This option puts their dream of independence further in the distance. A dream that many have said is another generation away. Many see their loss of seats coming from their push towards Indyref2.

The second could lead to worse results next election, as in this hung parliament - a soft Brexit is possible, meaning no long term economic ramifications for the Nats to score political points with. The electoral pain would be exemplified if Labour manages to further increase its appeal in its former heartlands.

The SNP is in a though position, and as calls for it to "stick to the day job" increase, it will soon be forced to make one of these two decisions.

#2017GeneralElection #Brexit