Neither Nicola Sturgeon nor the SNP will be easy to dislodge
But the prospect of another referendum on independence is remote
AFTER 14 YEARS in government, seven as Scotland’s first minister, Nicola Sturgeon seems unstoppable. In May she led the Scottish National Party (SNP) to its fourth consecutive victory in elections to the devolved administration. A poll in June showed that 47% of Scots support the party under her leadership, despite a series of scandals and crises that most governments would struggle to survive. As she prepares for her party’s annual conference, a virtual event between September 10th and 13th, she is gearing up for another shot at Scottish independence. She has promised Scottish voters “IndyRef2”, a re-run of the referendum in 2014 that saw them decide to stay in the United Kingdom by 55% to 45%.
This article appeared in the Britain section of the print edition under the headline “Going nowhere”
Britain September 4th 2021
- Britain’s economic recovery from the pandemic is far from smooth
- For Northern Ireland, Brexit means red tape and subsidies
- The coming Brexit row over data
- School closures have caused damage that extra lessons cannot fix
- Neither Nicola Sturgeon nor the SNP will be easy to dislodge
- The extraordinary power of the NHS brand
- Britain’s foreign secretary isn’t up to the job
From the September 4th 2021 edition
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