Rhetoric and the Rise of the Scottish National Party

Abstract

The electoral success of the Scottish National Party (SNP) in recent years owes much to its rhetoric. Whatever its ideological origins, the SNP currently espouses an ill-defined form of social democracy, and is thus properly understood as a party of the centre-left. The ideological repositioning of Labour after 1994 created a political opportunity for the SNP, which reinforced its nationalist appeal by claiming to be the only significant Scottish party capable of articulating the country’s traditional, ‘progressive’ outlook. Leaders like Alex Salmond and Nicola Sturgeon have possessed ethos in abundance and, as a party of government after 2007, the SNP has established its logos. In short, by 2011 the party enjoyed something akin to rhetorical ‘hegemony’ in Scottish politics to match its remarkable electoral performances.