Scottish National Party (SNP)
Scotland's governing nationalist party; won 58 Holyrood seats in May 2026, governing as a minority.
Andy Burnham told Scottish Labour MPs on 7 July 2026 he would not grant a Section 30 order for a second independence referendum, hardening Westminster's refusal even as the SNP presses a mandate from a Holyrood majority it missed by seven seats.
Last refreshed: 3 August 2026 · Appears in 1 active topic
Can the SNP build a pro-independence majority from 58 seats when Westminster keeps refusing Section 30?
Timeline for Scottish National Party (SNP)
Scottish Labour opens a contest Sarwar left early
UK Local Elections 2026Burnham rules out a Scottish vote
UK Local Elections 2026Led the pro-independence bloc that passed the 72-55 motion
UK Local Elections 2026: Holyrood demands a vote it cannot forceFiled Section 30 request from 58-seat minority position
UK Local Elections 2026: Swinney's Section 30 ask, trigger missedMentioned in: Findlay co-opts his Scottish Tory rivals
UK Local Elections 2026Background
The Scottish National Party has governed Scotland continuously since 2007, the longest-serving party of government in the devolved era. Founded in 1934, it won its first Holyrood majority under Alex Salmond in 2011 and secured the 2014 independence referendum, losing 55-45. Successive leaders Nicola Sturgeon and Humza Yousaf preceded current leader John Swinney, First Minister since May 2024. The SNP holds 9 Westminster seats from the 2024 general election, and its central strategic goal remains independence.
The party governs Holyrood as a minority following the 7 May 2026 election, relying on Scottish Green support to pass business, with Reform UK entering Holyrood on 17 seats as the first hard-right populist caucus in its history and the Scottish Conservatives reduced to list-only representation.
Section 30 refusal survives a new PM
At the 7 May 2026 Holyrood election the SNP won 58 of 129 seats, seven below the 65-seat threshold John Swinney had named as his trigger for a 2028 independence referendum. Swinney was sworn in on 14 May and requested a Section 30 order regardless, and Holyrood itself voted 72 to 55 on 26 May to demand one, a demand Downing Street rejected the same day via a spokesperson's line about 'delivery, not division'.
That refusal outlasted the change of prime minister: Andy Burnham told Scottish Labour MPs on 7 July that he would not grant a Section 30 order either, offering enhanced devolution instead. Post-election polling has moved against the SNP's case in the same period, with YouGov finding 56% opposed to independence against 44% in favour.