Scotland to seek second independence referendum

Re:Scotland to seek second independence referendum by JamesMcMinn on Monday March 13, 2017 @10:43AM (#13858171)

There are almost continual attacks on Sturgeon from Unionists in Scotland (and from England) - read any of the comment sections on the BBC (it doesn't even have to be about Scotland...) and you'll see a lot of hate for her - everything from claims that she's making a power grab for herself, to calling her one of the krankies. It's a sad state of affairs. Having said that, I think most people would agree she's one of the few British politicians delivering clear leadership at the moment, and for whatever reason, people don't seem to like that coming from her.

I've not heard much, if anything positive about May, but Davidson is generally highly regarded, even if very few actually vote for the Tories in Scotland.

[ Parent | on HN ]

Re:Scotland to seek second independence referendum by cstross on Monday March 13, 2017 @10:52AM (#13858252)

Please note that the BBC is a UK-wide broadcaster, and takes comments from everyone — anecdotally, a lot of the anti-Sturgeon comments on twitter, reddit, etcetera[1] come from English nationalists. Scotland-bashing has never really gone out of fashion in England and there's been a marked upswing in its acceptability since the Brexit referendum[2].

[1] I avoid the BBC comments like the plague, for the same reason I avoid the Daily Mail.

[2] I was born and grew up in England; I've lived in Scotland for the past 22 years.

[ Parent | on HN ]

Re:Scotland to seek second independence referendum by ZanyProgrammer on Monday March 13, 2017 @10:57AM (#13858303)

I believe the Tories size as opposition party was from an election before Brexit (and Trump obviously, this is also a referendum on him and his administration whether or not its explicit). Just how popular are Ruth Davidson and her party now?

[ Parent | on HN ]

Re:Scotland to seek second independence referendum by JamesMcMinn on Monday March 13, 2017 @11:08AM (#13858403)

They're doing better now as a party than before Brexit, but not for the reasons you might think.

The Labour party have traditionally been very strong in Scotland - the Labour party was a party for life, and many people only every voted Labour. However, this has all changed over the past year, as they have effectively self-imploded to the point of uselessness. I cannot overstate how much of a breakdown there has been within the Labour party, and people who had previously only ever voted Labour are now voting differently.

I'd argue that much of the Conservative party's gains have come from people who will simply no longer vote for Labour, rather than a move towards the Conservatives themselves.

[ Parent | on HN ]