Nicola Sturgeon has come under fire from within the Scottish National Party (SNP) after she criticized the party’s recent election campaign, describing it as lacking vision and disconnected from key issues affecting voters. In a new paperback edition of her memoir, the former first minister blamed the campaign for the party’s disappointing performance in the May Holyrood elections, where the SNP remained the largest party but lost six seats and saw its vote share drop by 10 percentage points.

Sturgeon suggested that the party was “lucky” the Scottish Greens did not field more candidates, as their increased presence could have resulted in the worst SNP election outcome in nearly two decades. She also argued that it would be a “massive electoral blunder” for the SNP to soften its left-of-centre environmentalist stance, despite the party’s heavy defeat in a recent Aberdeen by-election.

However, former SNP minister Alex Neil challenged Sturgeon’s assertions, stating she is mistaken to believe that adopting more “woke” policies would have strengthened the party’s position. Neil described the SNP’s election campaign as “pathetic” but maintained that the party’s gains were aided by the absence of credible pro-independence rivals. He further contended that Sturgeon appears more aligned with Green positions than those of the SNP, noting that she did not address the issue of Scottish independence in her critique.

Neil’s primary criticism centered on the SNP’s failure to refresh its case for independence during the campaign and its poor handling of the issue. He agreed that the campaign was ineffective but argued that voters were not motivated by a desire for more progressive policies related to identity or environmentalism. According to Neil, Sturgeon’s belief that such policies would have bolstered voter support is disconnected from the views of the typical SNP supporter.

The SNP’s underperformance has complicated John Swinney’s strategy to secure an outright majority and pursue a second Scottish independence referendum, known as IndyRef2. Sturgeon’s comments underscore divisions within the party over the direction and messaging needed to regain momentum ahead of future electoral contests.