For ten years, the Scottish National party has batted away criticism as ‘talking down Scotland’ – that does not seem to work anymore, argues Sheila Gilmore

In last Sunday night’s Scottish leaders’ debate several audience questions pushed Nicola Sturgeon hard on the performance of her government, especially on health and education. Performing on the United Kingdom stage, Sturgeon and her members of parliament may still be able to give the impression that everything is wonderful in Scotland, but here at home those on the frontline, whether staff or service users, know the reality. In 2015, Sturgeon starred on the UK political scene, and few interviewers or political opponents, knew enough about the reality in Scotland to challenge her.

Sturgeon was uncomfortable at times in this debate, and we saw the unedifying sight of the Scottish National party Twitterati attacking the nurse who raised the issue of low pay, among other things claiming she was the wife of a Tory councillor. This was not just the extreme ‘cybernats’. At least one SNP MP had to tweet an apology for repeating the claim.

We should not get too excited. 2015 was a political tsunami. Turning back the tide is going to be a much slower process. However, having divided the country along yes/no lines, the SNP should not be too surprised that in some places at least the ‘no majority’ is seeking ways to ‘put the SNP gas at a peep’. We saw some of this last year in the Holyrood election, where the Liberal Democrats, Tories and Labour all managed to win first past the post seats from the SNP.

This year here in Edinburgh  at the very least we hope to hold Ian Murray’s seat, and the Liberal Democrats have a good chance of winning back Edinburgh West. Neighbouring East Lothian is another seat where Labour hopes are increasing following the local election result in May.

Admittedly, much of the benefit currently seems to be going to the Tories, mainly because people are attracted by their strong anti-independence stance. Although perhaps the SNP has been premature in thinking that conservatism was dead in Scotland.  In some places it was simply hiding – in the north-east attracted by the apparent tartan Toryism of the earlier SNP surges.

Several such long-term SNP Westminster seats voted ‘no’ in the independence referendum. In my own city of Edinburgh when it became uncomfortable to be a Tory in the late 1980s and 1990s, the Liberal Democrats were the main beneficiaries, winning many council seats from the Tories, winning one Westminster seat and being a serious challenge in two others. These voters swinging back to the apparently reformed Ruth Davidson’s Tory party put them into second place at Holyrood in 2016 and in our council elections this May.

Scottish Labour has been in a difficult place. Many of the tough questions the debate audience asked have been raised week-in and week-out by Kezia Dugdale at first minister’s questions and elsewhere. Sturgeon has tried to swat these away by claiming anyone who dares raise such matters is ‘talking down’ Scotland’s children, teachers and nurses. Much harder for her to take that tack when it is the teachers and nurses who are speaking themselves.

If we now have an atmosphere where our criticisms of the Scottish government begins to resonate with more people’s experience, we begin to have the chance to win support for our plans to use the powers of the devolved parliament to make real improvements to people’s lives.

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Sheila Gilmore is a member of the Progress strategy board. She tweets @SheilaGilmore49

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