I completely agree with this.
I’m Scottish and I’ve voted SNP the last few times through lack of available alternative. I would dearly love to vote Labour, but Scottish Labour are... well we will leave that there!
Lib Dem’s are also atrocious after they shot their own feet off. I genuinely don’t align with Conservative policies so I won’t vote for them.
A lot of SNP voters are in this scenario though: there’s no alternatives. It doesn’t make all SNP voters in the cult or workship of NS or any of them. It also doesn’t mean that everyone who votes SNP is pro-independence.
Sadly, no system works well without alternatives and a strong opposition. There’s no strong opposition to SNP in Scotland much like there isn’t a strong credible opposition to Conservatives in England. This creates a situation where Scottish voters largely vote in U.K. elections the way their voice will be heard: by voting SNP.
I would be wary of confusing all SNP votes as an endorsement of the hardcore independence contingent within the SNP ranks. Much in the same way I don’t compute all Tory English voters as being the same as the ERG- equally extreme on the other side of the spectrum.
Ultimately, lots of people seem to be angry at Scots voting SNP in. However, until other parties start to truly represent Scotland and build themselves back (looking at you Labour) then they don’t deserve votes, do they?
Tomorrow will be interesting.