Scottish First Minister John Swinney speaks to the media at The Port of Leith Distillery, following the landslide General Election victory for the Labour Party, in Edinburgh, Scotland, Friday, July 5, 2024.
| Photo Credit: AP

The pro-separatist Scottish National Party was virtually obliterated at the U.K. General Election on July 5, suffering a devastating blow to its withering independence movement.

Keir Starmer’s Labour party overturned more than a decade of SNP domination by storming to a majority of Scotland’s 57 seats, as it rode to power in Westminster.

The SNP lost dozens of lawmakers as it recorded its worst result in a British general election since 2010, with leader John Swinney lamenting a “very, very difficult and damaging” night for his party.

Mr. Swinney had targeted winning 29 seats as a mandate for reopening negotiations with the British government for another independence referendum, but it returned only nine MPs, with one result still to declare.

That was down from the 48 it won at the last election in 2019.

Labour returned just one Scottish Labour MP last time round but sealed its comeback in its former heartland by sweeping every Glasgow seat as well as numerous others in Scotland’s central belt.

Also Read | U.K. General Election 2024 highlights

The crushing loss for the SNP means it relinquished its position as Britain’s third-biggest party, which brings a high-profile slot during the weekly Prime Minister’s Questions session in parliament.

It will also lose out on public funding and key positions on parliamentary select committees.

“There will have to be a lot of soul-searching as a party as a consequence of these results that have come in tonight,” SNP leader John Swinney admitted to the BBC.

Finance scandal

The SNP has dominated in Scotland in the last three UK elections, peaking with the 2015 vote when it won 56 seats out of 59 seats. In 2010, it got only six seats.

But the party has been under pressure from the resurgence of Labour in its former fiefdom north of the English border, as it rides a wave of displeasure against the Tories nationwide.

The SNP has been in turmoil for months as voters tire of its 17 years in charge of the devolved Scottish parliament in Edinburgh.

Critics have also accused it of focusing on independence at the expense of key issues such as the cost-of-living crisis, education and health.

Support for the SNP has also slumped amid a finances scandal that saw former SNPleaser Nicola Sturgeon’s husband, Peter Murrell, charged with embezzlement. Murrell is the party’s former chief executive.

Ms. Sturgeon herself was arrested, but released without charge.

Mr. Swinney only took charge in May following the resignation of Humza Yousaf after the collapse of the SNP’s power-sharing deal with the Scottish Greens in Edinburgh.

Mr. Yousaf was in power for just over a year.

The result leaves the SNP with a massive fight on its hands to remain in control of the devolved government in Edinburgh when voters elect a new Scottish parliament in 2026.

“The Scottish National Party needs to be healed and it needs to heal its relationship with the people of Scotland, and I am absolutely committed to doing that,” said Swinney.

Labour and the Conservatives insist independence was dealt with at the 2014 referendum when 55 percent of voters in Scotland opted to remain part of the UK.

Despite the SNP’s slump, the number of Scots favouring independence has held at around 40 percent, according to surveys, providing the SNP with some solace.

Scotland’s First Minister Humza Yousaf pauses as he speaks during a press conference at Bute House, his official residence in Edinburgh, on April 29, 2024.
| Photo Credit: AP

Scotland’s First Minister, Hamza Yousaf, said he will resign as First Minister and from the leadership of the Scottish National Party (SNP) following days of political drama that unfolded after he ended the ‘Bute House’ power-sharing agreement with the Scottish Greens. Mr Yousaf said he would continue in the role of First Minister until a replacement was found.

Policy differences between the Greens and the SNP reached breaking point with the SNP backtracking on climate-related commitments earlier in April. Mr Yousaf decided to be the first to pull the plug on the relationship on April 25, as the Greens proposed an internal party vote on whether to stay in the power-sharing agreement. The outgoing First Minister had hoped to have a more informal set up with the Greens, built on issue-based support while leading a minority government (the SNP has 63 of 129 seats in the Scottish Parliament). However, the Greens did not appear ready to participate in this watered-down set up.

 “I clearly underestimated the level of hearts and upset that caused,” Mr Yousaf said, as he announced his resignation on Monday, from Bute House, his official residence in Edinburgh.

Within hours of the drama unfolding last week, unionist parties (the SNP is pro-Scottish independence) mounted an attack on Mr Yousaf and the SNP. The Scottish Conservatives tabled a no-confidence motion against Mr Yousaf and Scottish Labour tabled a motion against the SNP government. On Monday, Mr Yousaf said that while it was “absolutely possible” to have faced this week’s motions, he did not want to make deals that would compromise his values.

Mr Yousaf, 39, a first generation Briton and child of Pakistani immigrants said he could not imagine , as a child, that someone who looked like him could be First Minister.

“But we now live in a UK that has a British Hindu Prime Minister, a Muslim Mayor of London at Black Welsh First Minister,: he said, adding that this was evidence that multiculturalism in the U.K. had not failed.

He talked about a needing a fairer tax system and the descent into “a toxic culture war”.

“Each and every one of us must resist the temptation of populism at the expense of minorities, particularly in a general election year,” he said. He made references to Gaza, where some of his wife’s relatives were stranded, following the hostilities between Israel and Hamas.

Scottish independence felt “frustratingly close” Mr Yousaf said.

Co-leader of the Greens, Patrick Harvie said Mr Yousaf was “right to resign” and that his party was willing to work with anyone who wanted a “stable, progressive and pro-independence” government.

The SNP has 28 days to choose a new leader, failing which Scotland will have to go to the polls.

Scotland’s First Minister Humza Yousaf visits Hillcrest Homes housing development in Dundee, Scotland on April 26, 2024.
| Photo Credit: Reuters

Scotland’s First MinisterHumza Yousaf, on April 26, said he would not resign following the end of a power-sharing agreement with the Scottish Greens that led to the Opposition backing a no confidence motion against him.

Speaking at an event in Dundee, Mr. Yousaf said he would not resign and was confident of winning the vote. The Scottish politician said he would lead the party into the U.K.’s upcoming general elections as well as Scottish elections in 2026.

Mr. Yousuf had ended a power sharing agreement (the Bute House agreement) with the Scottish Greens on April 25 as cracks appeared in an already fragile agreement, following the SNP’s decision last week to scrap climate targets. The Scottish Tories tabled a motion of no confidence against Mr. Yousaf and Scottish Labour has tabled a motion against the entire government.

“The people of Scotland deserve a fresh start — this can only come with a Scottish election,” Scottish Labour leader Anas Sarwar said, pointing to the National Health Service (NHS) appointment waiting lists and public finances.

Co-leader of the Scottish Greens , Patrick Harvie, said Mr Yousaf did not have the confidence of the Scottish parliament and needed to face the outcome of ending the power sharing agreement.

“He needs to bear the consequences of that reckless and damaging decision,” Mr. Harvie told news agency PA Media.

To stay in power , Mr. Yousaf will need the support of his 63 SNP colleagues as well as backing of 65 other Members of the Scottish Parliament (MSPs). If he does not survive the vote, the SNP will have to find a new leader within 28 days, failing which there will be fresh elections . If the SNP as a whole loses the vote, fresh elections will have to be called within 28 days.

On April 26, Mr. Yousaf said he hoped to work with the Greens on an issue-by-issue basis.

Eyes were also on how Ash Regan, one-time contender for the SNP leader position and now a member of former First Minister Alex Salmond’s Alba Party, would vote. The Alba Party said it would not back Labour’s no confidence motion, and said those supporting independence for Scotland could rely on the Alba Party.

“As much as Humza Yousaf and the SNP find themselves in a tricky predicament, independence supporters will not turn back to the yoke of Tory and Labour mediocrity,” an Alba Party spokesperson said.

The votes of no confidence could be held as early as next week.