It has been ten years since the Scottish National Party managed to form a minority government in the Scottish Parliament.They went on to become a formidable force in British politics. Yet a decade later, the SNP, rather like New Labour, has reached the peak of its popularity and is starting to stagnate. Nicola Sturgeon's position has been hindered by two significant factors: the substantial loss of Nationalist MPs last June and her announcement the Scottish Government will not legislate for a second independence referendum until the final Brexit deal has been clarified, which may not be until April 2019.
'The SNP's position has been weakened.'
Yet in the midst of the Brexit negotiations, do the EU fundamentally care what the leader of a regional assembly thinks? Realistically, they do not. As mentioned earlier, the SNP's position has been weakened, which was the only positive outcome of this year's general election. The Scottish Government will have no impact on the outcome of the UK-EU discussions overall.
With opinion polls suggesting the majority of Scots do not desire a second independence referendum dictated by Brexit, there is no mandate for legislation on this issue. The SNP would do well to pay greater attention to burgeoning domestic issues, such as the growing crises in the health and education sectors.
It will not be long before Scots see through the SNP for what they really are, and jetting off to Europe at the courtesy of British taxpayers will not be the anecdote to the First Minister's abysmal record governing scotland.
