Comment
Why couldn’t we have cross-party Unionist unity at the start of the campaign, instead of the very end?
A combination of the SNP, the Greens, and possibly Alex Salmond himself running Scotland is a truly appalling prospect
5 May 2021 • 7:04pm
Alba Party leader Alex Salmond during a visit to the Scotsman Lounge in Edinburgh, on the eve of the Scottish Parliamentary Election on May 6
Credit: Jane Barlow/PA Wire
There’s not a great deal of mystery about Thursday s Scottish election. All the voters need to do if they don’t want a second independence referendum is stop Nicola Sturgeon getting a decent majority by voting for one of the Unionist parties.
SNP could lose out on majority, poll predicts
Updated: May 5, 2021, 9:16 am
A new poll predicts the SNP could lose out on a majority (Jane Barlow/PA)
The SNP could miss out on a majority by six seats in the Holyrood election, a new poll has suggested.
The survey, conducted by Savanta ComRes for The Scotsman, projects the SNP will secure 42% of the constituency vote and 34% of the list vote.
This would see it return 59 MSPs, four below the 2016 result, with 65 needed for a majority.
However, there would still be a pro-independence majority in the Scottish Parliament as the Scottish Greens are projected to return nine MSPs, three more than in 2016, with 9% of the list vote.
BBC News
Published
1. Parties reinforce messages on eve of poll
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In the final day of campaigning for the Holyrood election, the main parties all made last-ditch efforts to drive home their key messages. SNP leader Nicola Sturgeon argued she could provide strong, experienced leadership to keep Scotland safe at this critical time for the country . Anas Sarwar, leader of Scottish Labour, said Scotland faces a stark choice between the country s recovery from Covid and an independence referendum, while Douglas Ross said voting for the Scottish Conservatives in the regional list was the tried and tested way to stop an SNP majority . Scottish Greens co-leaders Patrick Harvie and Lorna Slater urged voters to take matters into our own hands if they want Scotland to lead Europe in tackling the climate emergency , while Willie Rennie insisted the Scottish Liberal Democrats campaign was reaching new heights as he took to the skies in a microlight.
SNP set for knife-edge majority but support has declined, new poll finds THE SNP is on course for a knife-edge majority at the Holyrood election on Thursday, a new poll has found. But Opinium’s latest polling for Sky News reveals support for the SNP has slightly declined, while the independence question is split 50/50 once undecideds are removed. Nicola Sturgeon s favourability ratings have also fallen but she remains the most popular leader with a net approval rating of +17, down from +23 in Opinium s poll last month. If the SNP win an overall majority, 42 per cent of Scots want a second referendum within five years, down seven points since last month.
BBC News
By James Cook
Published
Sweet sounds are tripping down a potholed lane in Glasgow s wealthy west end.
It is the music of the clarsach, the old Gaelic harp, which ripples over the air and down the ages.
From Viking raids and Wars of Independence, to Union and Enlightenment, Empire and oil, Scotland has sung many songs.
Now, says Sophie Rocks, leader of clarsach group The Willow Trio who are rehearsing in a garage studio, it s time for a new tune.
She reckons the divide between Scotland and England, is more prominent now than when she, and a majority of her fellow Scots, opposed independence in 2014.