Scottish National Party sees huge gains after UK election

The pro-independence Scottish National Party (SNP) took 48 seats out of 59 Scottish constituencies, emboldening the party's demands for a second independence referendum next year, and putting Scotland on a constitutional collision course with Johnson's Conservative administration.

Nicola Sturgeon, SNP leader and Scotland's first minister, who has now led her party to three consecutive UK general election victories in Scotland, as well as victory in the 2016 Scottish Parliament election, stood on a platform of opposing Britain's forthcoming withdrawal from the European Union - otherwise known as Brexit- and advocating a poll on Scotland's right to choose its own constitutional future by 2020.

Sturgeon's party gained 13 seats from the 2017 UK general election but was eight seats shy of the 56 it took in 2015. She said the result represented a "renewed, refreshed and strengthened" mandate for a second vote on Scottish statehood.
"It's the second-best performance they've ever had at a Westminster election - and second-biggest mandate," Gerry Hassan, a senior research fellow in contemporary Scottish history at Dundee University, told Al Jazeera. "It provides an opportunity for the SNP and a window to progress and advance towards an independence referendum."

The SNP had 1,242,372 votes and a 45 %. In 2017 it took 977,569 and 36,9 %. In the UK the turnout was 68,8 % in 2017 and 67,3 % in 2019.  In Scotland the turnout was 68,1 %. growing from 66,5 two years ago.

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Scottish indy activists display banners around iconic landmarks in London

Scottish activists today displayed banners around iconic landmarks in London today. The banner tour ended at the Tower Bridge. Aye Aberdeen explains the action this way:

After the success of an epic 500 mile tour of every Tory held constituency in Scotland, Aye Aberdeen is once again assisting Jack Elphinstone and friends to “go the extra 500 miles” and take our message direct to the heart of UK Government in London.
We bring you the #NC500, a tour of London landmarks with two giant banners on the final Sunday prior to #GE2019.
We hope to capture the attention of London and broadcast our message back to Scotland and across the UK.
Our aim is to stop people voting Conservative and motivate them to vote for other parties. We will only be content if no Conservatives are elected in Scotland next Thursday. The SNP are close to replacing them in every Tory held seat in Scotland although we will need the help of England and Wales to prevent a Conservative majority.
Aye Aberdeen along with Jack Elphinstone, a concerned Aberdeen South resident have the following key messages which should resonate with voters in Scotland and across the UK:
a) Boris Johnson is a proven liar, he should not be trusted to govern the UK for 5 more years.
b) The Scottish Tories have sold Scotland out by backing Brexit against the wishes of the majority of their constituents. If re-elected they will hand Boris a blank cheque for hard Brexit and a mandate to continue to implement cruel and damaging policies over the next 5 years.
c) We need to protect our health services by stopping the Tories leaving the world's largest trading block therefore handing the future of our healthcare to Donald Trump. The Scottish Health Service will be sacrificed as Boris begs for a trade deal to sustain exports. Westminster has already revoked procurement powers from the Scottish Parliament for 7 years.
d) Scotland hasn't voted Conservative in over 60 years, yet we have been subjected to 36 years of Tory government in that time. The Conservative government has no mandate to remove Scotland from the EU against our will.
e) Keep Scotland’s future in Scotland’s hands by making sure you vote SNP in the general election on December the 12th. Scotland already has a mandate for a second independence referendum, let's reinforce it with a resounding majority.
We call on like-minded people in England and Wales not to vote Conservative, please don’t hand the Tories control of all our futures for the next 5 years.

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Both SNP and Plaid win by-elections

Two of the eight council by-elections on Thursday, November 14th in the UK resulted in gains by both the Scottish National Party and Plaid Cymru. Scottish independentists clearly won in Dunfermline Central (Fife) By-Election, 1st Preferences;

SNP - 1526 (33.2%, +3.4)
Con - 1142 (24.8%,+0.7)
LD - 1050 (22.8%, +15.9)
Lab - 612 (13.5%, -13.1)
Green - 235 (5.1%, +1.9)
Libertarian - 28 (0.6%, +0.6)

Meanwhile in Rhos (Neath Port Talbot) the result was a Plaid Cymru gain from Labour:

Plaid: 53.9% (+23.1) 
Con: 24.3% (+0.8) 
Lab: 21.8% (-23.9)

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Huge Independence Rally in Glasgow

Thousands of independence supporters heard Nicola Sturgeon call for "Scotland's future to be put into Scotland's hands" on November 2nd. The first minister told a major rally in Glasgow the time would come to break away from the "chaos of Westminster" in a second independence poll next year.
Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn has said a new Scottish independence referendum was not "desirable or necessary".
The Conservatives and the Liberal Democrats also oppose a further vote. Ms Sturgeon was one of a number of SNP politicians and independence campaigners to speak at the #indyref2020 rally in George Square.It was the first time she had spoken at an independence rally since 2014.
The event prompted a counter demonstration by dozens of unionist supporters who waved flags and blew whistles as supporters of Scottish independence gathered.

The SNP leader focused on the UK-wide election on 12 December at the event, which was organised by The National newspaper.
She has made it clear that she wants to hold a poll on the issue next year and said the general election was a "crossroads moment" for Scotland.

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200,000 people took part in the Edinburgh Scottish Independence March

All Under One Banner organised the pro-independence event which saw huge crowds leave Holyrood Park on October 5th at 1pm. They then make their way through the city centre via Queens Drive, Horse Wynd, up towards the Royal Mile on Canongate and High Street, up to Lawnmarket, over George IV Bridge, on to Forrest Road and then into The Meadows using Middle Meadow Walk.

Edinburgh south west MP Joanna Cherry (Scottish National Party) was among those giving speeches at the event, which follows on from previous marches in Glasgow, Ayr, Aberdeen and elsewhere across Scotland. First Minister Nicola Sturgeon took to social media this morning to say that, while she couldn't be there in person, she wishes good luck to all attending the rally.

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12,000 Scottish Pro-independence campaigners take to Aberdeen streets

Thousands of people have taken to the streets of Aberdeen in a pro-independence march on August 17th. The All Under One Banner (AUOB) event went ahead on Saturday after a wrangle about the costs involved in policing the event.

On Wednesday, Aberdeen City Council said it would allow the march and rally to go ahead with conditions.

Organisers claimed 12,000 people took part, however, Police Scotland estimated 4,000 to 5,000 participants.


The march was billed by AUOB as "the biggest demonstration the north east has ever seen" and followed similar events in other Scottish towns in recent months including Glasgow, Edinburgh and Ayr.

Supporters travelled from across Scotland and gathered in Albyn Place before the march set off along Alford Place, going through Union Street and Castle Street before ending in Castlegate.

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