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FROM outside Scotland, the SNP getting a fourth term in office looks impressive. All the more so given their record. The SNP have failed to deliver on education, health inequality, care homes, ferries, renewable energy and have slashed local government while boasting of tax freezes for business.
But expecting matters such as these to be of significance is to mistake the nature of contemporary Scotland. We have moved beyond issues of delivery in government, or even accountability. In today’s Scotland, flags beat facts.
To give just one example: Scotland has an appalling track record in tackling drug abuse. Deaths in Scotland are more than three times the UK level. Scotland has a fatality rate worse than any EU country. The scandal reached such a level that Nicola Sturgeon had to sack the relevant minister Joe Fitzpatrick.
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Nicola Sturgeon claimed an SNP majority was “always a long shot” despite a winning start and a major election gain in key Holyrood constituencies.
The First Minister is heading for a fourth electoral victory, easily winning her Glasgow Southside seat, but the final make-up of the Scottish Parliament is still a long way from becoming clear.
Among the first declarations was a tight contest in Banffshire and Buchan Coast where an 11-point jump for the Tories was not enough to cause a major upset for the SNP.