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The Guardian - UK
The Guardian - UK
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Val McDermid

How could I back anyone but the SNP and the bolshie, buoyant Scotland it stands for?

SNP Scotland Val McDermid
John Swinney launches the SNP’s manifesto
John Swinney launches the SNP’s manifesto, 19 June. Photograph: Murdo MacLeod/The Guardian

Just a few weeks ago there were 43 SNP MPs at Westminster, almost three-quarters of the total Scottish seats. It would be hard to argue that wasn’t a mandate for revisiting the vexed question of Scottish independence.

At the 2019 election, as we made our way to the polling booths, there was still a bolshie, buoyant feeling in the country, at least among those of us who believe the country’s best future lies in becoming one of the small, socially progressive European nations within the family of the EU. Independent of the UK, obviously.

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