The Scottish nationalists are in a buoyant mood. At last weekend’s spring conference in Glasgow, the 3,000-odd SNPers had two main issues for the upcoming general election: fighting both the Westminster establishment and the coalition’s austerity programme. In the latest Mini Election video, watch above, I spoke to some SNP supporters to find out what’s on their minds.
When the conference opened on Saturday morning, the crowd were asked if they were new SNP members or first time attendees of an SNP conference. The majority of those represent in the hall raised their hands, showing just how much the party has grown since the referendum in September. Most of Nats I spoke to were either long-time SNP supporters, who have decided to get more involved after the referendum or converts from Scottish Labour.
The packed auditorium at this week’s SNP spring conference.
The latter category were mostly of Old Labour, the John Smith era of politicians. Thomas Addison, a self-employed businessman, who joined the SNP ten years ago, told me he would have supported Labour in the past but ‘when John Smith died, the Labour party died with him’. There is little in Jim Murphy’s Scottish Labour party that appeals to the SNPers. Scouring the conference centre, I was only able to find one SNPer who had voted Conservative.
There were few surprises in the issues raised. Trident and ensuring ‘The Vow’ is fulfilled were mentioned but I was surprised by the level vitriol expressed towards the Westminster establishment — something Nicola Sturgeon has also latched onto. Nearly every single SNP member I spoke to raised their contempt for the House of Commons. Denise Findley, a software engineer who joined the SNP after the referendum, said Westminster MPs are ‘corrupt, remote, self serving and not the people they are meant to represent.’ Usually those involved in political parties take a more reasoned view but the Nats appear to see Westminster as the real enemy, not the people of England (presumably, SNP MPs don’t count).
As for the upcoming election, some Nats are aware of the high expectations the recent opinion polls have put on the party. Some told me that ‘any goal is achievable’ while others reckon that seven SNP MPs would be a success. But as Douglas Young, a dry stone waller put it, ‘it might be five or ten years down the line’ but ‘it’s just a process’. Like him, the Nats are certain that independence is not merely a possibility in the near future, but inevitable.
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