KEVIN MCKENNA
I think the result was more significant for the SNP than any other of its Westminster triumphs. Boris Johnson’s entire election strategy was built around one message: Let’s Get Brexit Done.
Not only did Scotland reject this message, it also rejected the premise upon which it was built.
Furthermore, it overwhelmingly backed a party whose independence message was even more unequivocal than in the last two Westminster elections. Nicola Sturgeon must now devise a strategy which pressurises Johnson to grant a Section 30. In this light I’d be advising her to revisit the independence Plan B of Angus MacNeil and Christopher McEleny.
The wider implications of the election result are profound too. The Tories disparage the idea of an independence referendum as being divisive. But nothing could ever be as divisive as Johnson’s Brexit election. Scotland has rejected all that this entails and now Northern Ireland has done too.
DAVID PRATT
The front-page picture on yesterday’s edition of the French daily newspaper Liberation wryly summed up my own response to the election result.
It showed that now-infamous picture of Boris Johnson hanging ludicrously from a zip wire, a Union flag in each hand. Beneath the picture was a simple two-word headline: Good Luck.
It was a stark illustration of what doubtless many in Europe see as the UK’s fate in light of the Tory win and aim to push through on Brexit.
Unlike many of our friends elsewhere in the UK, Scotland will not be dependent on luck when it comes to mapping out our political future. For we have a mandate for change.
Rarely has there been a more clear-cut endorsement of the fact that Scotland is a politically different country than England than this ballot.
Far from being dismayed about the Tory win, though I wish it had never happened, I’m emboldened by the fact Scotland unequivocally now knows where it stands. This is both a strength and an opportunity. The push towards independence must be more resolute than ever.
RUTH WISHART
It was the best of times, it was the worst of times. A very fine result for the SNP, and an absolute nightmare in rUK.
What seems clear to me is that the line “let’s bide our time till we get the gold standard referendum Boris is bound to grant eventually” will no longer hold.
Time and Brexit tides wait for no nation. I imagine the Scottish Government is examining a range of possibilities of which legally testing the sovereignty of the Scottish people may well be one.
There are many arguments against an indicative poll as a fallback strategy. But momentum is all. If the Yes vote is mobilised on the back of a huge election victory, that will underscore for Unionists in Westminster and elsewhere that their game is up.
There is a tide in the affairs of Scotland, and this one must be taken at the flood.
MICHAEL FRY
It is a great victory for the SNP, but there is still one peak to conquer along the windy ridge that leads to independence. The 48 seats were won on 45% of the vote. In other words, support remains at the same level as in 2014 – and these are real votes, not answers to academic questions.
READ MORE: Nicola Sturgeon set for indyref2 showdown with Boris Johnson
We know Boris Johnson will say No to indyref2 up to 2021 and probably beyond, citing the fact that a mere minority wants it. The task for the Scottish Government must be to seek wider support beyond its comfort zone of left-wing west central Scotland.
In the north of the nation and in the south, there has never been any significant following for socialism and there still is not today. Nor will there be in future. I urge the First Minister to keep reading my column to find out how to close the vital electoral gap.
ANDREW WILSON
It was a remarkable night and way ahead of expectations. The three UK parties are now miles off the pace with where people are in Scotland. They sound disingenuous and keep fighting the wrong battle.
The sight of Michael Gove and Boris Johnson’s new government and the manner of that morning after is already shifting opinion. The SNP must reach out positively, persuasively and in a compelling way to help the many who remain uncertain about independence that it will be worth it.
We must do this by being the antithesis of Brexit populists and tell the truth, identify the challenges and trade-offs and articulate how it will work. Tone really matters. Many people will be thinking hard and hearts and minds are opening. It is up to us to help that process and take support for independence well into the 50s and beyond because we can now.
GEORGE KEREVAN
GE19: UK votes 53% Remain yet gets Boris. Actually, Tory vote was only up one point on 2017, so really it was Corbyn what lost it.
Conclusion: it’s not enough to offer “freebees”. You need to inspire genuine hope of social change in England. Election bright spots: Northern Ireland sees its first majority for nationalist parties.
And SNP resurgent in Scotland. Conclusion: break-up of UK now seriously on the agenda.
Major worry: Tories will stonewall and block constitutional road to indyref2, in hope of wearing down SNP. Therefore, wider Yes movement needs to prepare Plan B involving disciplined civil disobedience to force referendum. Newly elected SNP MPs should start by using delay tactics at Westminster. Nil desperandum: Tories will soon fall out over EU and US trade treaties.
Final message to Scottish Labour: come and join us in building an independent, radical Scotland.
WEE GINGER DUG
IT’S been a far better result for the SNP than was expected and it puts the question of indyref2 firmly in the forefront of Scottish politics. It’s now impossible for the anti-independence parties to plausibly deny that there’s a mandate for another independence referendum, although that certainly won’t stop the Conservatives from trying.
What this election has revealed is that Scotland is politically on a very different page from the rest of the UK. It also taught us that it is no longer possible to pretend that Scotland can choose both the UK and the EU. We now know that the UK will be leaving the EU and will be taking Scotland with it, despite our wishes to the contrary. We can now expect to see consistent majorities for independence in the opinion polls as people realise that we’re facing many years of majority Tory rule, outside the EU, and with no restraints on Boris Johnson. This was the election that spelled the end of the UK. There’s a rocky road ahead, but independence is now more certain than ever.
LESLEY RIDDOCH
Scotland is a different country. Yessers have known that for a while. Thursday’s election made it official.
North of the Border folk swiftly identified Boris Johnson as a dangerous, self-important, right-wing demagogue – a withering view amply confirmed as the Tory leader ducked cross-examination by Andrew Neil, dived into a fridge and denied NHS meltdown despite the world being able to see that damning image of the four-year-old bairn.
But south of the Border this gross abdication of responsibility dented Boris Johnson’s popularity not one iota. Voters surveyed the Del Boy Prime Minister and somehow liked what they saw.
How is that even possible?
North of the Border, most Scots see Brexit as a self-harming desire for splendid isolation that will take years to complete and waste billions.
South of the Border, voters believe Brexit will get done in a year, bring greater prosperity and restart the Good Old Days when Britain was special and Old Etonians ruled the world.
How can they be so gullible?
In England, mining communities laid waste by Thatcher gave Tories the chance to do it all over again when they voted on Thursday night.
In Scotland, working-class communities voted instead for the SNP, upholding the post-war settlement and the welfare state that English voters have now abandoned to the whims of the market.
Scotland is a different country.
Not because we all want independence – not quite yet.
But because Scottish voters can spot a wrong ’un.
And because the value we place on human dignity, fairness, co-operation and solidarity has given us herd immunity from chancers, spivs and speculators.
Who knows what the next few weeks and months will bring.
But that’s a very solid base for nation-building.
Why are you making commenting on The National only available to subscribers?
We know there are thousands of National readers who want to debate, argue and go back and forth in the comments section of our stories. We’ve got the most informed readers in Scotland, asking each other the big questions about the future of our country.
Unfortunately, though, these important debates are being spoiled by a vocal minority of trolls who aren’t really interested in the issues, try to derail the conversations, register under fake names, and post vile abuse.
So that’s why we’ve decided to make the ability to comment only available to our paying subscribers. That way, all the trolls who post abuse on our website will have to pay if they want to join the debate – and risk a permanent ban from the account that they subscribe with.
The conversation will go back to what it should be about – people who care passionately about the issues, but disagree constructively on what we should do about them. Let’s get that debate started!
Callum Baird, Editor of The National
Comments: Our rules
We want our comments to be a lively and valuable part of our community - a place where readers can debate and engage with the most important local issues. The ability to comment on our stories is a privilege, not a right, however, and that privilege may be withdrawn if it is abused or misused.
Please report any comments that break our rules.
Read the rules here