Does anyone still think Scotland has moved on from the independence referendum?
For all this election was supposed to be about for Holyrood’s new powers, it simply did not work out that way.
Tax and spend? More like divide and conquer.
For four parties in Scotland anyway.
Labour was the only outfit not to get the message. They did not give voters what they wanted and they were brutally punished for that.
Did Kezia Dugdale shape the terms of the debate around how we pay for the services we want? Absolutely.
But, despite Nicola Sturgeon proclaiming education is her number one priority, it was the constitution which defined this election.
Yes voters, in the main, backed the SNP. That was a given. Those who did not, perhaps those who do not think the Nats are radical enough in their policies, mainly voted Green.
A good night for both, it would seem, mainly based on the referendum. If anyone doubts that’s why Patrick Harvie and Maggie Chapman’s crew did well then they should rewind 20 months and remember when their membership surged.
What if you voted No? It seems a great many flocked to the Tories.
Ruth Davidson unashamedly positioned those standing for her party as the anti-independence candidates.
She sold herself on her ability to be the leader of a “strong opposition”.
Arguing against another constitutional battle whilst making much of your political capital out of that very issue may seem depressingly counter intuitive but it was incredibly effective.
There was always a good chance of the Tories doing well on the regional list but sweeping to victory in constituencies like Aberdeenshire West, Eastwood and of course Davidson’s own Edinburgh Central show this was more than a protest vote.
It was tactical too.
A very similar strategies worked for the Lib Dems. Willie Rennie ran a great local campaign in North East Fife but what got him over the line? Ironically, he squeezed the Conservative vote by pitching himself as the man who could beat the SNP.
Scotland’s political colours have shifted but in many ways the country remains the same.
