Nicola Sturgeon’s nationalists retain power in Scotland
The nationalists won, but not as convincingly as they had hoped to.Stalemate beckons
IN A PHONE call on May 9th, Boris Johnson congratulated Nicola Sturgeon, leader of the Scottish Nationalist Party, and said how much he was looking forward to Glasgow hosting the UN climate conference later this year. There is much to congratulate her on. The SNP is once again the largest party in the Scottish Parliament, and is embarking on its fourth term in power. Ms Sturgeon, who has had high office since the days of Tony Blair, Mr Johnson’s predecessor bar three, is once again first minister.
Ms Sturgeon’s response was blunter. A second referendum on Scotland’s independence, she told the prime minister, is now a matter “of when, not if”. In fact, a long and gruelling stalemate awaits.
This article appeared in the Britain section of the print edition under the headline “Let attrition commence”
Britain May 15th 2021
- Why Boris Johnson is recreating Tony Blair’s “delivery unit”
- American-style voter ID laws are coming to Britain
- The Brexit realignment continues
- The ten people killed in Ballymurphy in 1971 were entirely innocent
- Nicola Sturgeon’s nationalists retain power in Scotland
- Second homes are coming under increasing attack in Wales
- A post-covid staff shortage afflicts Britain’s hospitality industry
- The Labour Party is being pulled apart by its two main constituencies
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