As you were: the Scottish Parliament election of 2021

Johns, Robert (2021) As you were: the Scottish Parliament election of 2021. Political Quarterly, 92 (3), 493-499. (doi:10.1111/1467-923X.13047).

Record type: Article

Abstract

The Scottish Parliament election of May 2021 was an ‘as you were’ election. Vote shares were more or less as in the previous election five years earlier. Barely any seats changed hands and the Scottish National Party (SNP) was left tantalisingly short of a majority. One reason for this stasis is that voting in Scottish elections remains largely an expression of support or opposition to independence—and opinions on that issue are deeply entrenched. Opinions on most other issues, like the pandemic or the Alex Salmond scandal, were mostly driven by constitutional preferences and certainly could not override them. Only Brexit had the power to shift significant numbers of votes. However, because the Conservatives lost Remainers while gaining Leavers and the reverse was true of the SNP, the net result was little change. The entrenchment and polarisation over independence means that this election was never likely to break the constitutional deadlock—and it did not surprise.

This record has no associated files available for download.