SNP victory in European Elections: what you need to know

by the SNP
Posted on
6 years ago
3 min read

The SNP has emphatically won the European Elections, sending a clear message that Scotland’s for Europe.

Scotland has rejected Brexit for the second time, and has demonstrated a clear desire to take a different political path to the rest of the UK.

How did the SNP do?

  • The SNP has achieved its best ever result in an EU election at 38%. This is the highest percentage of the vote of any UK party.
  • The SNP has won the highest vote share of any party in Western Europe.
  • Scotland has made clear its future lies in the European Union.
  • Both the Tory and Labour vote has collapsed, unable to stand up for Scotland’s overwhelming Remain vote.
  • The SNP has won in every area except Orkney and Shetland, and was only 846 votes away from winning in every local authority.
  • The SNP’s lowest result (24% in Orkney) was higher than the Tories’ highest result (21% in Dumfries & Galloway).
  • The SNP is up +9% since 2014, and has surpassed its previous best European result of 32.6% in 1994.

What does it mean for Scotland’s place in Europe?

  • Scotland is clearly refusing to be taken out of Europe against its will.
  • The increase in the vote share for parties wanting to stop Brexit reflects the fact that Scotland voted overwhelmingly to Remain.
  • The SNP clearly leads the anti-Brexit surge in Scotland, 24% ahead of the Lib Dems.
  • Voices in Europe have been calling for an independent Scotland to be fast-tracked into the EU.

What does it mean for independence?

  • Scottish Conservatives tried to make this an election on a second independence referendum, standing on a “No to IndyRef2” ticket. They’ve just polled one of their worst ever results with 11% of the vote.
  • A solid mandate for an independence referendum already exists. In this European Election, the SNP stood yet again for giving Scotland a choice over its future and won a resounding victory.
  • Of the nearly 100 polls since the first independence referendum, the overwhelming majority have shown support for independence higher than in 2014.
  • Not that long ago, Ruth Davidson was saying Westminster shouldn’t block a second independence referendum. The Tories have changed their tune, but are now in a much weaker position.
  • Faced with a hard Brexiteer becoming Prime Minister, it is more important than ever that Scotland is given the choice of an independent future.

What happened to the opposition?

  • Despite the Brexit Party making gains elsewhere in the UK, it only got 15% of the Scottish vote, 23% behind the SNP.
  • Scotland was the only nation in Britain where the Brexit Party lost the election.
  • Ruth Davidson has presided over the worst result in the Scottish Tories’ history, coming 4th place.
  • It was also the worst ever result for Scottish Labour, failing to reach double-digits at 9.3%.

 

Who are we sending to Europe?

  • The SNP is sending 3 fantastic representatives to Europe: Alyn Smith, Christian Allard and Aileen McLeod.