SNP, not Labour, is best placed to take seats off the Conservatives – Angus Robertson

A “strong showing” in Scotland. That’s Sir Keir’s aim for the Labour party in the next general election.

He says he needs a “considerable number” of seats in Scotland to be a legitimate government. I do not doubt the sincerity of Keir Starmer’s intention. But there is a disconnect between his ambition and his party’s understanding and approach towards Scotland.

Starmer himself reminded us of that fact recently. He admitted responsibility for deposing former Scottish Labour leader Richard Leonard. The fact he thought it appropriate to undermine and sideline the elected leader of Scottish Labour shows his regard for his own party in Scotland.

We don’t need much imagination to guess how he will treat the democratic choices of Scotland. Indeed, his party continue to deny the democratic mandate of the majority in the Scottish Parliament to let the people of Scotland decide the country’s future.

For all of Labour’s talk about how much Scotland matters to them and how much we are needed in the UK, it is in fact more to do with their own ambitions. Scotland has already defeated the Tories, and in fact it is the SNP that is best placed to win the last seats held by the Conservatives.

To win UK elections, the Labour party needs to win in England, while in Scotland there is already a strong anti-Tory majority. Labour’s talk of respecting Scotland and its democratic choices is just that: empty rhetoric. The best election result for Scotland will be an SNP victory, with Scottish MPs who will put Scotland first rather than Keir Starmer’s ambitions.

Angus Robertson is the SNP MSP for Edinburgh Central and Constitution, External Affairs and Culture Secretary