United Kingdom: General Election 2017 – the situation in Scotland: Illustrating the spectacular decline of Labour in Scotland and the revival of the Scottish Conservatives / The election battle for Scotland / Scottish National Party hampered by Brexit and its own success

Up until the 2015 UK general election, Scotland had been regarded as a Labour stronghold, with the country regularly returning a large number of Labour MPs to Westminster. But the party managed to secure only a single Scottish seat in 2015 and recent polls suggest its vote share could fall even further in the June 2017 general election.

Stuart Brown assesses where Scottish Labour voters have shifted their support to since 2015, and suggests the Conservatives could be the key beneficiaries if Labour’s vote share declines further in 2017.

• Primary Source

ESO: Background information: Labour has just blown a big chance to seize initiative on Scotland’s future http://www.europeansources.info/record/labour-has-just-blown-a-big-chance-to-seize-initiative-on-scotlands-future/

Website: What Scotland Thinks: http://whatscotlandthinks.org/opinion-polls

The Conversation, 06.06.17: Nicola Sturgeon’s falling popularity could be disastrous for the Scottish independence cause https://theconversation.com/nicola-sturgeons-falling-popularity-could-be-disastrous-for-the-scottish-independence-cause-78957

The Independent, 06.06.17: Election 2017: Labour lead SNP among young voters in Scotland http://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/politics/election-2017-latest-news-labour-snp-young-people-voters-scotland-a7775561.html

The Guardian, 05.06.17: [Editorial]: The Guardian view on the election in Scotland: a chance to puncture May’s complacency https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2017/jun/05/the-guardian-view-on-the-election-in-scotland-a-chance-to-puncture-mays-complacency

Blog: Al Jazeera, 06.06.17: How will Scotland vote in the UK general election? http://www.aljazeera.com/blogs/europe/2017/06/scotland-vote-uk-general-election-170603171931018.html

Politico, 07.06.17: Scottish National Party hampered by Brexit and its own success http://www.politico.eu/article/scottish-national-party-hampered-by-brexit-and-its-own-success/

Deutsche Welle, 07.06.17: The election battle for Scotland http://p.dw.com/p/2eE9s

Blog: UK in a Changing Europe, 08.06.17: SNP election strategy has important implications Brexit http://ukandeu.ac.uk/snp-election-strategy-has-important-implications-brexit/

BBC News, 09.06.17: Election 2017: What does it all mean in Scotland? http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-scotland-politics-40210339

New Statesman, 09.06.17: This Scottish electoral earthquake has killed Indyref2 and shaken the SNP http://www.newstatesman.com/politics/devolution/2017/06/scottish-electoral-earthquake-has-killed-indyref2-and-shaken-snp

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