The Scottish National Party is in a rather comfortable position following Thursday’s election result. They won 56 out of the 59 Scottish seats, which is their best result in a UK general election ever. Furthermore, following the collapse of the Liberal Democrats, they are now comfortably the third largest party in the House of Commons. However, there is even more for the party to celebrate.

50% of Scots voted SNP in an election where their usual percentage is just below 20%, or 1 in 5 of Scottish voters. Their main opponents, the Scottish Labour Party, saw a mass desertion of voters and a swing to the SNP that continuously broke records as election night rumbled on. Due to their overwhelming support in Scotland, the SNP will inevitably privately be discussing how Scotland has never been closer to independence before, and what they must do to capitalise on this result. They will not use last week’s result as a mandate for another referendum, as clearly stated, but they will use it as a mandate to offer the chance to hold another referendum in their 2016 Holyrood election manifesto; the two are not the same.

The combination of the SNPs strong support in the 2011 Holyrood election, and their huge surge in support in the UK general election just past, means that there has never been a better time for the independence movement, even following last year’s referendum. The party can now claim, and rightly so, that the people of Scotland have voted, in a majority, for an independence-supporting party. This obviously will not result in a declaration of independence, as that would be simply idiotic and irresponsible, given last year’s result; however it does mean that the possibility of another vote is very likely.

Many will mumble in discontent about the prospect of a second referendum, but they must respect democracy. If Scotland elects the SNP next year, and their manifesto contains the pledge of another referendum, then Scotland is asking for another referendum. The only other way to come to a more conclusive nationwide decision would be to hold a referendum on whether Scotland wishes to hold another referendum. As democratic as that may sound, it is equally as ridiculous.

It must be stressed that only the people of Scotland can decide the future of our nation. Don’t let the fear of unionist parties consume you; whether or not our nation becomes independent is not in the hands of the SNP, but is rather in the hands of the Scottish people – we must first vote for a party that desires another referendum, and then we must also vote for independence itself. This is democracy in action, and no political party can argue with that.

Ryan Curran

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