David Torrance: Labour is not the only party troubled by the Euro elections

Published on Tuesday 2 June 2009 22:01

A SURPRISING feature of the 1979 European Parliament elections was the unexpected victory of the SNP's Winnie Ewing in the Highlands and Islands constituency.

Ewing was a well-kent face and formidable campaigner, and quickly came to symbolise Europe for many Scots voters. Although her "Madame Ecosse" persona owed more to effective PR than tangible gains for Scotland, she understood the potential of Europe.

Her positive Nationalism seemed to compare favourably against Mrs Thatcher's often strident, and implicitly anti-European, English nationalism, for the Scottish Tory vote declined at Euro-polls in 1984 and 1989. In 1984 the Conservatives emerged with just two MEPs, and five years later Scotland – in European terms – became Tory-free.

In 1989 the SNP's appealing slogan of "Independence in Europe" was born, later fleshed out by Professor Sir Neil MacCormick, arguably the most articulate and intellectual MEP from Scotland. His retirement at the 2004 elections coincided with a sharp decline in the SNP vote share which pushed John Swinney's faltering leadership over the edge. The departure of Winnie Ewing in 1999 also deprived the Nationalists of their highest-profile Euro-politician.

In truth, Europe poses problems for all major parties in Scotland, with the possible exception of the Lib Dems. The Conservatives suffer from internal divisions which stymie a genuinely enthusiastic campaign; Labour draws criticism for constantly shirking major decisions on the UK's future role in Europe; while the SNP combines zeal for the wider European project with targeted criticism of the Common Fisheries Policy (CFP).

The most recent campaign has also been shackled by a ludicrous closed-list PR voting system. Lacking distinct constituency-based issues, as in 1979, and with voters prevented from even ranking each party's candidates in order of preference, political managers have understandably resorted to token manifesto launches. The fact the Electoral Commission is running newspaper adverts not only urging Scots to vote, but also explaining how to do so, is a sad indictment of the whole sorry business.

Yet the European Parliament, European Commission and Council of Ministers, are hugely important. Scotland enjoys a generous share of financial largesse from the European Regional Development and Social Funds, and for good or ill, it is also guided by the CFP and Common Agricultural Policy.

Europe is also important for Scotland's constitutional future. The question of whether or not Scotland would qualify for automatic membership of the European Union is far from settled but will have to be answered when – and more to the point if – independence day comes. Only then will Scots discover what "Independence in Europe" actually means.

Mrs Thatcher thought she knew. "If those several movements were to succeed in their separatist ambitions, what would then be the position of the breakaway parts in relation to the Community?" she asked in the late 1980s. "I have no doubt...to fragment Europe would be to undermine its progress and destroy its strength."

The SNP would naturally dispute that Unionist interpretation, but the 2009 declaration will make little difference to the SNP's "big idea", even if the Nationalists manage to beat Labour. The outcome, however, will have a bearing on Labour fortunes. Just as in 2004 when John Swinney watched the Euro results with trepidation, Gordon Brown will be dreading the outcome as yet another electoral nail in his political coffin.