[Oliver_W]

Originally Posted by Soldier Boy

I don't think many Tories ever shifted from Tory, I think you're right but realistically I think what that ends up looking like, is vote-splitting between SNP and Labour that allows the Tories more wins without actually getting more votes.

There's not really anywhere for disenfranchised Tory supporters to shift to, assuming they still hold all their same views but don't like the party in its current form; contrary to the beliefs of some, the differences between Labour and the Tories are greater than those between Labour and Green/LibDem/Etc.

Again this is coming from the distorted viewpoint of an Englander, if the cost of living crisis is hitting Scotland especially hard, then the last things they'll be worrying about is imminent independence and trans stuff.

[user104658]

Originally Posted by Oliver_W

Again this is coming from the distorted viewpoint of an Englander, if the cost of living crisis is hitting Scotland especially hard, then the last things they'll be worrying about is imminent independence and trans stuff.

I agree and that's what makes it all so bizarre - all the SNP had to do to continue sweeping elections was offer up some CoL crisis cushioning... even relatively small, if they offered meaningful support beyond what Westminster has mustered up, it would (rightly) have been a vote winner. Instead they've been distracted by other things, and also, I suspect tried to come at it from the other angle (things WOULD be better if we were independent, Westminster doesn't care about you, look how hard things are etc.)

Again I think that's a total blunder. All it really looks like in the end is "Westminster has ****ed us over but oh well we're not going to help either, we're going to have a 4 hour debate about prisons instead".