by Puzzled Pundit

In 2015, the Scottish electorate returned an astonishing 56 SNP MPs to Westminster. This was mostly down to the freakish nature of the First Past The Post voting system, but it terrified the Westminster Establishment.

Predictably, all the pleas for Scotland to lead the UK and not leave it which we heard during the IndyRef were soon shown to be hollow words. For all their hard work, the SNP MPs achieved very little in practical terms.

Is it possible that some Scottish voters realised this, and that this contributed to the fall in votes cast for the SNP in the 2017 GE? Voter turnout in Scotland was down by around 180,000 from the 2015 General Election, and the SNP seem to have suffered most from this. Have people realised that there is a genuine democratic deficit at Westminster, and Scotland’s voice will never be listened to? Is that why they didn’t bother voting this time? Maybe it was the terrible weather which put them off, but maybe that was just the final straw in convincing them it would be a waste of time.

It’s just a thought. Maybe people are more concerned with leaving the UK than leading it, so didn’t bother to cast their votes to back the SNP because they knew it would achieve nothing.

It’s hard to blame people for having that view when you look at how the SNP have been ignored and sneered at in Westminster, a place which has demonstrated that it will never change unless forced to. There is no way any number of SNP MPs can force them to do anything.

As ever, though, people need to realise that any perceived drop in support will be pounced upon by the Unionist media. Let this be a lesson. Next time, get out and vote!