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   Ian Betteridge (ianbetteridge@writing.exchange)'s status on Monday, 29-Apr-2024 21:57:15 JST Ian Betteridge

   I don’t know much about Scottish politics, but it sounds like the SNP is finally facing the question all nationalist parties eventually face: apart from independence, who are you? Are you really an economically and socially progressive party. Or is independence your only thing and every other policy is up for change depending on how many votes you can muster from it?

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     Hen Gymro Heb Wlad (hengymrohebwlad@mstdn.social)'s status on Tuesday, 30-Apr-2024 00:18:31 JST Hen Gymro Heb Wlad

     in reply to

     @ianbetteridge Scottish voters have so far managed to find reasons to vote for the SNP to run the devolved Scottish government. Why not just look at the manifestos that people voted for? In any case, the time to ask what the SNP is for, apart from independence, is surely after independence has been achieved.

     As for what nationalist parties do next, Sinn Fein seems to be doing well at securing people's votes in the Irish Republic and NI these days. You could just look at their manifesto too?

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     Hen Gymro Heb Wlad (hengymrohebwlad@mstdn.social)'s status on Tuesday, 30-Apr-2024 00:18:36 JST Hen Gymro Heb Wlad

     in reply to

     @ianbetteridge Yes but in Ireland they were a nationalist party before independence but still attract Irish voters for their current platform.

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     Ian Betteridge (ianbetteridge@writing.exchange)'s status on Tuesday, 30-Apr-2024 00:18:37 JST Ian Betteridge

     in reply to

     • Hen Gymro Heb Wlad

     @hengymrohebwlad Interesting pointr re: Sinn Fein, but I think they're in a different position in that they are campaigning not for independence for NI, but to join a different country – and one where they are established as a party in their own right.

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     Ian Betteridge (ianbetteridge@writing.exchange)'s status on Tuesday, 30-Apr-2024 00:18:40 JST Ian Betteridge

     in reply to

     • Ian Volante

     @SometimeHippy I'm not sure that Alba has helped the SNP to siphon off the right that much (Alba seems to be mostly cranks and people who love a conspiracy theory tbh). 48% of the SNP members voted for Kate Forbes last time, even with her record as a social conservative (saying she would not have voted for gay marriage, and that she believed having children outside marriage was wrong, etc)

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     Ian Volante (sometimehippy@mastodon.online)'s status on Tuesday, 30-Apr-2024 00:18:41 JST Ian Volante

     in reply to

     @ianbetteridge True indeed. I think over the last twenty with strong leadership, they've managed to hold the coalition of varying political views together under the banner of independence. But now in a time when the aspiration of independence is being strongly challenged, all those other views are starting to ferment, and this rainbow coalition under one flag doesn't seem so happy any more. As may be clear, the rightmost wing mostly fell off to form Alba, the others need to sort themselves out.

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     Ian Betteridge (ianbetteridge@writing.exchange)'s status on Tuesday, 30-Apr-2024 00:18:45 JST Ian Betteridge

     • clacke

     @clacke There are/were definitely socially conservative SNP members and MSPs – Kate Forbes, who narrowly lost the leadership election last time, is undoubtedly socially conservative (see https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-scotland-64747672 for details).