Scottish Independence at Crossroads in SNP Leadership Race

LONDON (AP) – The Scottish National Party finds Nicola Sturgeon a difficult role model to follow.

Scotland’s ruling party is fighting a bitter fight to replace Sturgeon, the leader who came to dominate Scottish politics but stalled in his fight for independence from the United Kingdom and divided the party with a law on transgender rights.

Sturgeon, 52, announced her resignation in February after eight years as party leader and first minister in the semi-autonomous Scottish government. Three members of the Scottish Parliament are running to replace her: Chancellor Keith Forbes, 32; Health Minister Humza Yousaf, 37; and 49-year-old MP Ash Regan. The winner of the SNP vote will be announced on March 27th.

The campaign exposed internal party divisions over political strategy, social issues, and Sturgeon’s legacy.

Critics say the cabal around the former first minister has too much power in the SNP. Those rivals emerged victorious when party chief Peter Murrell – Sturgeon’s 58-year-old husband – resigned on Saturday over a fight over a cut in party membership.

The SNP publicly denied the newspaper’s report that its membership had dropped from over 100,000 to just over 70,000 over the past year, before admitting it was true. Murrell took charge and left, stating that “while there was no intention to mislead, I accept that it was the result.”

Regan welcomed Murrell’s departure, stating that “it’s not acceptable for a party leader’s husband to be CEO.” Forbes reported that the rank and file of the party felt helpless because “decisions within the SNP were made by too few people.”

Sturgeon’s resignation has unleashed a leadership battle for the SNP, which currently holds 64 of 129 seats in the Scottish Parliament and rules in coalition with a much smaller number of Greens.

In a vicious televised debate, Regan and Forbes attacked Yusuf – a Sturgeon ally widely seen as the leader – as a candidate to keep a party in dire need of change.

The story goes on

“We are now at a crossroads,” Forbes told the BBC on Sunday, arguing that the Scottish government needs to do more to support an economy weakened by Russia’s war in Ukraine, COVID-19 and Brexit. “We need to take seriously what worked and what didn’t work.”

The Forbes report is liked by some party members who believe that the Sturgeon-led SNP has devoted too much time to divisive social issues rather than the economy and independence. Sturgeon’s departure was hastened by backlash against legislation she championed to make it easier for people in Scotland to legally change their gender.

Transgender rights activists hailed the gender recognition bill as landmark legislation but faced opposition from some SNP members who said it ignored the need to protect places for women of the same sex, such as domestic violence shelters and rape crisis centers. .

Forbes and Regan oppose the law, which was passed by the Scottish Parliament but blocked by the UK government. Yusaf supports him and warns that the party could turn to the right if it is led by Forbes, a socially conservative Christian who is seen as his main rival.

Forbes, which belongs to the evangelical Free Church of Scotland, has come under fire because its faith would prevent it from voting to allow same-sex couples to marry. She was not yet an MP when the Scottish Parliament legalized same-sex marriage in 2014.

The leadership struggle has sent the SNP’s ratings plummeting, much to the delight of the Labor Party and the Conservatives, who are hoping to secure seats in Scotland in the next UK-wide election due by the end of 2024.

The hot-tempered race also reflects frustration within the party, which, after 16 years in power in Edinburgh, has yet to achieve its main goal: independence.

The Scots voted to remain in the UK in a 2014 referendum that was declared a once-a-generation decision. The SNP wants a new vote, but the central government has refused to authorize it, and the UK Supreme Court has ruled that Scotland cannot hold it without London’s consent.

Reagan wants to brush aside these impediments by viewing the next Scottish election as a “trigger” for independence, effectively encouraging the British government not to recognize Scotland’s democratic choice to secede.

Forbes and Yusuf are more cautious. Forbes has urged more effort to win over voters who support the preservation of the UK, while Yousaf says he wants to create a “settled, enduring” majority for independence. Polls now show Scottish voters are evenly divided on the issue.

Leading Scottish historian Tom Devine said that as independence recedes in the near future, many voters have more immediate concerns and this poses a risk to the SNP.

“It is believed that the main part of Scottish public opinion is mainly concerned with issues (health systems), educational standards, transport infrastructure and the economy in general,” he told Scotland’s Herald newspaper. “Is part of the electorate starting to feel left out and conclude that the SNP government has failed to address these vital issues?”

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