Tetra Analytics
Nicola Sturgeon and the 56 new SNP MPs are riding on a wave of electoral success, taking all but three seats in Scotland by a landslide. The dynamic in Westminster has fundamentally changed which raises a number of important questions. Practically, the parliamentary privileges the SNP receive with third party status have risen after replacing the Liberal Democrats. They are entitled to more ‘short money’, equating to just over £1 million a year, and have taken over the third party’s whips’ office that have been occupied by the Lib Dems for nearly a century. They will be given two Chairmanships of Select Committees (one of which is expected to be Scottish Affairs) with the aim to win at least one member on every committee. SNP MPs are also hoping for two regular questions at PMQs. The Party will be called upon third in every debate and will be given the opportunity to respond to Ministerial Statements. Nicola Sturgeon was insistent about her own leadership throughout the campaign, indirectly dispelling questions surrounding the role former First Minister Alex Salmond will play in this Parliament. Sturgeon visited her 56 MPs in London, highlighting that although not sitting in Westminster herself, she is still very much in charge of the new intake. Angus Robertson remains Westminster Leader, and Salmond is expected to play a significant role in his new position of Foreign Affairs Spokesperson for the Party (particularly in the run up to the EU referendum).
enough and has prioritised certain powers which include full control over business taxes, employment, welfare and the minimum wage. Sturgeon is sensibly proceeding with caution rather than demanding full fiscal autonomy immediately, which is considered unfeasible. But independence is at the core of SNP policy and never far away from Sturgeon’s mind. As the 2016 Scottish election draws ever nearer, don’t be surprised to find a new pledge for independence in the next Holyrood manifesto. The in/out referendum on Europe will also prove to be a bone of contention for the Scottish Nationalists. Nicola Sturgeon’s team have hinted they will fight tooth and nail to ensure that all four United Kingdom nations have their own independent outcome, which could prompt yet further questions about Scottish independence as a whole. Sturgeon and the SNP will undoubtedly be a problem for Cameron, stepping in to the effective thorn-in-the-side role vacated while the Labour party conducts its internal post-mortem and elects a new Leader. Together with other left-of-centre parties they will look to challenge the Conservatives’ precarious majority at every turn, with devolution and the EU inevitably set to dominate this Parliament. The SNP are set to be vocal on both.
The question of a second independence referendum will not suddenly evaporate now Parliament has returned. Fiscal autonomy, not independence, will be the main issue over the next few years at Westminster though. Nicola Sturgeon has stated that David Cameron’s proposals to implement the Smith Commission do not go far
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