Joanna Cherry the SNP candidate in Edinburgh South West arrived at The Royal Highland Showground around 1.30am and it appeared she was already steeling herself for the result expected in the early hours.
She said: “Well, I mean, obviously, I’m going to wait to see what the result is. But it’s fairly clear that this so far has not been the SNP’s night. I think the story of the night is the collapse of the conservative votes, and what seems to be a labour landslide. And I think obviously Labour are to be congratulated on delivering such a historic results. I think the SNP are in trouble for two reasons.
“I think our core votes, those who believe passionately in the cause of Scottish independence, are disappointed that we have failed to take advantage of various opportunities that presented themselves during the Brexit and Boris Johnson years to advance the cause of independence. And on the other side, and many people who necessarily weren’t necessarily independence enthusiasts, but who supported us because they felt that we delivered strong, competent governments have deserted us in some numbers, because they don’t feel that the party has governed as competently in recent years, as it’s done in the past.
“And I think as the night develops, the party will find itself in a position where it’s going to have to address what’s gone wrong in recent years, so that we can reestablish ourselves as people in whom the public can have confidence, both from the point of view of delivering independence and delivering competent government.”
Founding Editor of The Edinburgh Reporter.
Edinburgh-born multimedia journalist and iPhoneographer.
