EU elections: Collapse in Tory and Labour support in Scotland – Socialist alternative must be built
Matt Dobson reports
The European elections in Scotland showed a similar polarisation to the rest of the UK on Brexit. Many working-class voters showed their discontent and disillusionment by staying away from the polls, turnout was up slightly from 2014, but still only 35%.
The SNP, campaigning on the slogan “Scotland’s for Europe”, was the largest party in 30 of the 32 local authority areas and had three MEPs elected for the first time, winning 38% of the vote. The pro remain Liberal Democrats regained the seat they lost in 2014. With big increases for the SNP and Lib Dem’s, Change UK made no impact.
The Brexit Party won a seat and came second but actually only won 15% of the vote (UKIP won a seat in 2014 with 10%). The Scottish Tories were a casualty of the polarisation and the crisis following May’s resignation coming below the Lib Dem’s with 11.6%.
Scottish Labour suffered its worst national election result in Scotland since 1910, losing 200,00 votes polling at 9.3%, in fifth place. For the first time Labour has no MEPs. They came behind the Brexit Party in Dundee and former heartlands like South Lanarkshire. In Glasgow they only achieved 15%, despite winning there in 2014.
As well as their failure to offer a clear socialist Brexit, Labour are still being punished for their wrong position on the national question opposing the right to a second independence referendum and self determination. in power at local authority level they are carrying out cuts so they are not seen as genuine fighters against austerity, despite the Leonard leadership putting forward some radical left policies. Leonard is coming under pressure for failing to make any impact since elected, with Labour also struggling in Westminster polls.
Westminster MP Paul Sweeney, who regained the Glasgow North East for Labour in 2017, attacked the Euro election campaign after the result demanding the party commit to backing a second referendum and come out clearly for remain. John McDonnall has also responded to the loss of 10 or Labour’s 20 MEPs across Britain by calling for a new referendum on Brexit, to stop a “no deal” rupture from the EU.
The pro-remain Scottish Greens won an 8.3% share and did not experience any surge. This was an identical share of the vote to 2014. This can partly be explained by the Greens increasingly being seen as “SNP-lite”, backing SNP austerity budgets in Holyrood and in Glasgow.
SNP leader Nicola Sturgeon claimed after the result that this was an endorsement of the SNP’s twelve years in power. But that is not the reality on the ground with rising working-class anger towards the SNP, witness the council-wide strike ballot against their administrations attacks on terms and conditions in Dundee.
The SNP utilised independence in the campaign, calling on voters to send a message to Westminster that Scotland doesn’t want Brexit. They are facing louder pressure from a section of their base to demand a second independence referendum from Westminster, likely to be refused by a new Tory leadership.
Following the result, Sturgeon announced that legislation for indyref2 would be tabled in the Scottish parliament this week and said that the “second half of 2020” would be their preferred timetable for the vote.
Labour’s dire result shows the need for the Corbyn left to remove the Blairite right wing, change their position on the national question and put forward a fighting strategy of no cuts budgets in councils. Overall the European elections showed the massive vacuum for a force to fight for the working class in Scotland with socialist policies.
