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The Scottish independence movement is probably “dead for a generation”, the SNP has been warned after losing dozens of seats to Labour.
The result sparked an immediate blame game within the SNP, with leader John Swinney admitting the party was “not winning the debate on independence”.
Scottish Labour leader Anas Sarwar said he was “delighted” that his party had gone from two seats to 37 in Scotland.
In the last election, nationalist MPs were reduced to just 10 after winning 56 of Scotland’s 59 seats, and Labour ended a decade of SNP dominance in Westminster constituencies.
Joanna Cherry, a senior SNP leader whose party lost Edinburgh South West to Labour, was quick to accuse former leader Nicola Sturgeon of “squandering” an opportunity to solidify support for independence.
One SNP source said: I After a series of controversies including the arrest of Ms Sturgeon’s husband in a Police Scotland investigation into party finances, he said the outcome was “terrible” but criticised Mr Swinney’s predecessors.
“The rot started under Sturgeon and has worsened under Humza Yousaf. We have lost sight of the people’s priorities and Sturgeon has become a toxic presence in the police investigation.”
“We need to come together,” the source added. “We need to refocus on competent governance. [at Holyrood]It focuses on housing, health and education.
“We have no independence strategy. We can only hope that there will be some momentum towards independence in 2026.” [for the Scottish Parliament election].”
Another SNP source said: I Mr Swinney said he could not be held responsible for the worse outcomes than feared, claiming the “seeds were sown” under Ms Sturgeon and Mr Yousaf.
But they said the result should show Mr Swinney that the SNP has “completely changed” since the Sturgeon years and needs to focus on the day-to-day issues of running the Scottish Government.
The Labour peer George Foulkes, a former Scottish Secretary of State, I“Independence is off the agenda. This means independence is off the agenda for Congress and probably for a generation.”
Lord Foulkes also said it would be “difficult” for Mr Swinney to remain leader until 2026. “There will be bloodshed within the SNP and fierce criticism from MPs who have lost their seats.”
Mr Swinney included a renewed commitment to independence on “line one, page one” of the SNP’s manifesto, telling voters that a majority in Scotland would give them the power to negotiate another referendum with the Scottish First Minister.
“We clearly can’t win. [independence] “At this point we need to have a discussion with the public and make it a priority so we have to think long and hard about how we tackle that,” he told the BBC.
Mr Swinney then said he would remain leader in a speech in Edinburgh on Friday. He acknowledged the party had “failed to convince the public of the urgency of independence” and argued it needed more time to “consider how we deliver on our promises”.
Mr Cherry criticised Ms Sturgeon’s decision to seek Supreme Court permission to hold another independence referendum after judges ruled in 2022 that the Scottish Government did not have the power to hold a referendum.
“It was under her watch that we failed to advance the cause of independence and we lost sight of the priorities of our people, so she must share the blame,” Mr Cherry told the BBC.
Ms Cherry told reporters that some pro-independence voters had left the SNP or did not vote because they felt the party “did not try hard enough to advance independence”, adding that “the chances of winning a majority under Sturgeon were squandered”.
Ms Sturgeon told ITV it had been “not a good night” for the SNP, and when asked whether party leaders would hold her to account she said: “Of course, there’s no doubt about that.”
But the former leader said Scottish independence was “not at the front and centre” of the campaign and argued Mr Swinney and his team also shared some of the blame.
“It wasn’t played out in the day-to-day running of the campaign. We didn’t hear SNP spokesmen making the case day after day for why independence was the answer to the big questions.”
Former Labour cabinet minister Douglas Alexander, who is returning to Westminster after winning Lothian East, I Many SNP voters who switched to Labour said they were “totally fed up with the SNP”.
Speaking before the results were announced, Mr Alexander said the SNP’s parliamentary performance was “catching up with them” and that voters who had abandoned the nationalists “just don’t see independence as a priority right now”.
SNP Deputy First Minister Kate Forbes told reporters the party needed to “listen” to voters, but insisted the result should not be interpreted as a categorical rejection of independence.
But Mr Forbes suggested the SNP needed to focus on the day-to-day issues in the short term, telling reporters the party would try to “stand by people’s side”.
Stephen Flynn, the SNP’s Westminster leader, who managed to hold on to his Aberdeen South seat, said the party “must listen to what the people of Scotland are saying”.
Alba leader Alex Salmond said the SNP had not pressed hard enough on the issue of independence in recent years and said the “massacre” of his party was not due to the issue: “Support for independence is actually strong. It is the SNP that is weak.”Alba failed to win any seats.
Labour won 35.8% of the vote in Scotland, well above its 33.7% across the UK.
Mr Sarwar said Scottish Labour MPs would “go to Westminster, sit in government, sit around the table making decisions and helping to deliver action for the people of Scotland. That’s the change that people voted for.”
The Scottish leader also said he would “redouble” efforts to bring his party to power in Holyrood in the 2026 Scottish elections.
Alan Foulds, founder of vote-tracking website BallotBoxScotland, said: I“Labour has made great strides in Scotland compared to 2019, but not in England. Prime Minister Keir Starmer will be well aware that there are big forces in Scotland that he needs to win over.”
The polling expert also pointed out that the SNP’s 30 percent vote share in Scotland was in line with the party’s average polling figures over the election period. “Nothing has actually changed and John Swinney will be entitled to say, ‘We just haven’t had time to turn things around’.”
Meanwhile, Scottish Conservative leader Douglas Ross failed in his bid to return to Westminster, losing North Aberdeenshire and East Moray to the SNP.
Mr Ross was heavily criticised for standing in place of former MP David Duguid, who was barred from running by party officials for health reasons.
Mr Ross has already pledged to step down as Scottish Conservative leader but the defeat leaves him with only the alternative of remaining as a Scottish MSP in the Scottish Parliament.
Mr Ross said he had “no regrets” about his ill-fated attempt to return to Westminster and claimed a surge in support for the reform parties had allowed the SNP to get in “through the back door”.
“But I also bear my share of responsibility,” he told STV News. “I’ve decided to stand here and I intend to carry that burden.”
The Scottish Conservatives won five seats in the North East and the Scottish Borders, while the Scottish Liberal Democrats gained five seats from the SNP, winning Mid Dunbartonshire, North East Fife, Caithness, Sutherland and Easter Ross.
Recounts will take place in Inverness, Skye and West Ross-shire on Saturday to determine whether the Liberal Democrats win any seats from the Scottish National Party.