Nine lessons from the elections

Here are the big things I learned from Thursday’s elections and their aftermath.

1. The Scottish parliament will vote to hold a referendum on independence for Scotland — but the legislation probably won’t be introduced till late 2022.

2. The earliest there would be a referendum would be 2023.

Most popular

Michael Gove

‘I’m a new kind of Christian’: Jordan Peterson on faith, family and the future of the right

3. Boris Johnson’s revealed preference is to persuade the people of Scotland of the merits of remaining within the UK, rather than exploiting the Westminster government’s ‘reserve power’ to veto independence.

He wants to avoid what would be widely seen in Scotland as the tyranny of Westminster depriving the Scottish people of a voice on their future. That means a referendum in around three years is likely — which does not mean independence for Scotland is likely.

4. The Labour party can still win elections all over the country where there is a transferable vote system because that sees it pick up the second preferences of voters that support other left-leaning parties, like the Greens and Liberal Democrats.