Starmer’s embrace of Brexit may be the SNP’s best hope at keeping Labour at bay

Neil Mackay

Fri, 5 May 2023 at 4:15 pm BST

A ROBUST thrashing for the Tory Party in England doesn’t really tell us much about the future of Scottish politics. So how do we read the guts of the local elections down south, like one of those Roman augurs picking through the eviscerated innards of dead doves for signs and omens of imperial power?

And picking through the innards is a rather fitting metaphor, given Conservatives had their stuffing well and truly kicked out, despite the clumsy attempts to use voter suppression tactics intended to favour themselves.

What happens in England in no way transposes onto Scotland. Despite the catastrophic mess it is in, the SNP has successfully used the tactics of divide and conquer in this country to keep itself shored up in power. With almost half the electorate broadly pro-Yes, the SNP can let Labour, the Tories and LibDems fight for the other 50%+ between them. But will that ruse last?

It seems pretty damn likely that Keir Starmer – regardless of his personality bypass and his ditching of left-wing pledges at unholy speed – is now firmly on course to form the next UK government.

However, one of the most interesting facets of the local elections in England is the way Brexit has played into the results, and it may signal some ill tidings to come for Starmer in Scotland…