How to make the SNP a right wing political party?

Either works,I think no Iraq period as I think that might be easier to work out. For that maybe be less Neo-Con's in the Bush administration, or maybe Blair convinces him to try use sanctions and UN and at most another Operation Desert Fox. Blair could have also been more demanding on the intelligence services to get so better proof, Blair OTL was in my opinion like gambler as he had alot of success with military intervention and this blinded with as well is ideological belief in removing Saddam

Alright, very interesting. No Iraq, does also have a knock on effect, that might prevent Bush's popularity from falling so drastically, as it did otl. Though, the housing bubble and its burst, combined with decreasing work for people in Scotland, could see the SNP remain right wing, if my thinking there is right.
 
Of course their nickname after they refused to support Labour in 1979 in a no confidence vote was the "Tartan Tories" and they were nearly wiped out electorally because of it.

"Tartan Tories" came from the then Scottish Secretary Willie Ross shortly after Winnie Ewing won the Hamilton by-election in 1967, it didn't have much more nuance than "Not Labour = THE TORIES!". The SNP subsequently lost most of their seats to the Tories in 1979.
 
I'm not sure I would call 1997-2003 SNP right wing. It was less left wing than it is now simply as it was trying to oppose a Labour administration. Salmond, Cunningham and even Swinney were all left leaning. I think you would need to go all the way back to 1979 and have Winine and later Fergus Ewing as possible leaders taking a socially conservative position.
 
I'm not sure I would call 1997-2003 SNP right wing. It was less left wing than it is now simply as it was trying to oppose a Labour administration. Salmond, Cunningham and even Swinney were all left leaning. I think you would need to go all the way back to 1979 and have Winine and later Fergus Ewing as possible leaders taking a socially conservative position.

Hmm, and economically?
 
"Tartan Tories" came from the then Scottish Secretary Willie Ross shortly after Winnie Ewing won the Hamilton by-election in 1967, it didn't have much more nuance than "Not Labour = THE TORIES!". The SNP subsequently lost most of their seats to the Tories in 1979.

I seem to recall that in the past the SNP were more right wing in rural areas. Hence the jibe from Ross, plus it is also alliterative.
 
Hmm, and economically?
Economics didn't really matter that much to the Ewings! Scottish interests yes but the complicated bit about how an independent Scotland would pay its way in the world is a blind spot for many SNP politicians (excepting the "oil will pay for it" / England will pay us back for the oil it stole).

The SNP voters up here in Banff and Buchan are much moire likely to flip to Conservative than Labour - alot of land owners and farmers.
 
Economics didn't really matter that much to the Ewings! Scottish interests yes but the complicated bit about how an independent Scotland would pay its way in the world is a blind spot for many SNP politicians (excepting the "oil will pay for it" / England will pay us back for the oil it stole).

The SNP voters up here in Banff and Buchan are much moire likely to flip to Conservative than Labour - alot of land owners and farmers.

Hmm interesting, I've always laughed at the whole the oil will pay for it thing. Oil is running out fast aha.
 
One obvious solution would be to create a more viable left wing option for Scottish Nationalism. Maybe PR gets introduced for Westminster several decades before the SNP become ideologically defined, giving space for multiple nationalist parties, though the most realistic PoD before that is 1918, 16 years before the parties foundation. Maybe that could lead to the Scottish Party becoming the main force in Scottish nationalism. More recently, perhaps an even more successful SSP which somehow avoids Sheridan's personal issues, coupled with a simultaneously discredited SNP, most likely from spending time as a junior coalition partner in an unpopular government, either at Holyrood or Westminster, might do it.

Another route to explore with a long PoD might be sectarianism. Is there a way the SNP could exploit it to build up support among one side on a socially conservative platform, if Scotland experienced something similar to Northern Ireland? Or possibly a stronger church presence north of the border leads to Scotland defining itself against England's social liberalism, rather than its economic conservatism.These are all just vague ideas, so feel free to shoot them down.
 
Last edited:
I'm not sure I would call 1997-2003 SNP right wing. It was less left wing than it is now simply as it was trying to oppose a Labour administration. Salmond, Cunningham and even Swinney were all left leaning. I think you would need to go all the way back to 1979 and have Winine and later Fergus Ewing as possible leaders taking a socially conservative position.
Admittedly its hard but if the Scottish Tories continue to recede and the Lib Dems lack a message without Iraq, I could see an Orange Book style SNP emerging
 
Top