Biggest ever Independence Majority at Holyrood! It’s time for an independence referendum
Scotland has once again voted a pro-independence majority of MSPs in the Scottish Parliament. Scotland has had enough of democratic denial, it’s time for an independence referendum. A historic fifth consecutive SNP Government has been elected, alongside a record-breaking total of Scottish Green MSPs. Independence supporters hold 73 seats out of 129 - 57% of all seats.
This time, the mandate is stronger than ever. This is the biggest pro-independence majority in the history of the Scottish Parliament. The Scottish people have democratically elected a clear majority of MSPs who are committed to giving Scotland the right to choose its own future. This was not an accidental outcome. It was the central question of the election. Every party put their position on independence front and centre of the campaign.
Across the UK, the Celtic Exit is gathering force. In Wales, Plaid Cymru will form a minority government, while Sinn Féin lead the Northern Irish government - and are calling for an Irish unity referendum.
Meanwhile in England’s council elections, Reform polled far ahead of any other party, hitting 40% in some areas and averaging close to 30% across the country. If Scotland remains within the UK, it looks highly likely that the next Prime Minister will be the English nationalist Nigel Farage. Scotland must be allowed to choose its future before a future we would not vote for is forced upon us by voters from outside Scotland.
Believe in Scotland founder Gordon MacIntyre-Kemp said:
“The Scottish people are sovereign and they have spoken. At Thursday’s Scottish Parliament elections, the Scottish people returned a record majority of pro-independence MSPs. Those independence-supporting MSPs stood on a platform of delivering a second independence referendum. That means that the Scottish people have voted for a referendum and so the Scottish people should damn well get a referendum.
“No refusal from Westminster should be tolerated - there is a moral and democratic mandate for a second referendum and any Westminster attempt to refuse to agree terms or to delay would be an assault on democracy and an insult to the people of Scotland.”
What the result showed
Holyrood has 129 seats. 73 of them are First Past the Post constituency seats. The SNP won 57 of these - that is 78%. In Westminster terms that would be regarded as an extraordinary victory. The Scottish Greens also won two seats In the constituency contests for the first time.
The second ballot is for additional members, elected on a proportional representation basis. Although the SNP got the most votes on this ballot too, because it is designed to give seats to the smaller parties, they only got one more seat here, in the Highland region, finishing on 58.
The Scottish Greens who fought their campaign this time on a strong independence platform got 15 seats in total. That means that the pro-independence total is 73, 57% of the Parliament (including list seats).
Scotland must escape a Reform-led UK
At the same time, the English Council elections make it clear that Nigel Farage is the likeliest candidate to be the next UK Prime Minister. While Scotland did not elect a single constituency MSP for Reform, in England’s council elections they achieved an astonishing 27%, far ahead of any other party, and within sight of the kind of vote share that can deliver a big majority at Westminster.
In Scotland, Reform failed to pick up any constituency seats. Its share of the first vote was 15%. On the regional list, it was 16%, more than ten points or almost 40%, lower than England’s. This is yet more evidence that Scotland and England are diverging politically.
If the Labour Government in Westminster fails to recognise the democratic will of the Scottish people to hold a second referendum, they will never be forgiven for handing Scotland powerless to a Reform-led UK government that Scotland would never elect.
Scotland has had enough of goalpost shifting
When the Conservative Party won the 2015 Westminster election, they had a lower share of the vote (37%) than the SNP does now. At that election, the SNP took 95% of the Scottish constituencies. But that was not regarded as a mandate - although this was once seen as the hoop that Scots had to jump through to get independence.
Everyone in Westminster accepted that the Conservatives with 50% of seats on just over a third of the votes had a mandate for the Brexit referendum. Yet 78% of constituency seats for the SNP (plus two more for the Scottish Greens) isn't a mandate for an independence referendum? A supermajority for pro-independence MSPs across the whole Parliament seemingly does not count either? It’s clearly one rule for English parties and another for the Scottish. We cannot accept such an uneven electoral playing field.
Why is the Scottish electorate held to a different standard? What is the reason for the different approach? If it's just that they know they would lose a second independence referendum, then that is a complete and unacceptable assault on democracy.
In 2021, the Conservative government refused to accept Green MSPs as part of a pro-independence majority that would activate a referendum, on the grounds that they had not made their commitment to Scottish independence sufficiently clear. But in 2026, the Scottish Greens put their commitment to Scottish independence at the heart of their campaign. The majority for independence made up of the SNP and the Scottish Greens is clear.
No referendum? Believe in Scotland will campaign for a de facto referendum
Gordon MacIntyre-Kemp pledged that Believe in Scotland will campaign for Scotland’s Right to Choose its future. If Labour betrays Scotland by ignoring the record democratic mandate, Believe in Scotland will move to campaigning for a de facto referendum at the next UK General Election.
He said: “Past mandates were ignored - partly as the indy political parties did not force the issue in the way they should have but they will now and so Believe in Scotland will lead a new campaign to make sure that everyone knows that: It’s Scotland’s future, so it’s Scotland’s right to choose.
“Our movement must now step up, engage, educate and activate the Scottish people against any unionist / Westminster resistance to the will of the Scottish people. We must make sure that the people are angry if a September 2028 referendum is not agreed and make sure that they are ready for a de-facto referendum approach to the UK General Election in 2029 should that be necessary.
“A de-facto referendum simply stated is when a party stands candidates on the main manifesto pledge that a majority of MPs elected leads immediately to negotiations for Scotland withdrawal from the Union. We can win either way but we must start now. Support Believe in Scotland and let’s force that issue and demand that Scotland vote for a second independence referendum is respected.”
