Robert Peston Robert Peston

Is a vote for the SNP really a vote for prime minister Corbyn?

Nicola Sturgeon says she wants to form a “progressive alliance” after the election to evict Boris Johnson from 10 Downing Street – which in practice means an arrangement with Labour to make Jeremy Corbyn prime minister (this could be a formal coalition though Sturgeon told me she would prefer a less constraining arrangement).

And she also says that in the event parliament is hung, on 13 December, there is literally no chance she would sustain the Tories in power – even if Johnson did a dramatic vote face and agreed she could have her cherished referendum on independence for Scotland.

Which means that a vote for the SNP can be seen as a vote for Corbyn to become PM.

And it also probably means that a vote for Labour is – whatever Corbyn’s constructive ambiguity on IndyRef2, and Scottish Labour’s implacable opposition to IndyRef2 – a vote to accelerate a second referendum on Scottish independence.

How this will all play out at the ballot box in a few weeks is unclear.

Comments

Join the debate for just $5 for 3 months

Be part of the conversation with other Spectator readers by getting your first three months for $5.

Already a subscriber? Log in