East Dunbartonshire weighs up its future after Jo Swinson defeat

East Dunbartonshire is where Miss Jean Brodie would have lived in her prime had Muriel Spark been a Glaswegian. Affluence is worn discreetly here in towns such as Milngavie and Bearsden. Residents of these areas would not have taken kindly to finding themselves on the front pages of Friday’s later editions, a position they secured by tipping Jo Swinson, the Liberal Democrat leader, from her seat. If she ever seeks re-election she may be asked to explain herself.

The diverse nature of the seat is likely a microcosm of Scotland’s larger economic aspirations and challenges. Between 2015 and 2017 Swinson, a locally-educated lass o’ pairts, has had it to herself. Her defeat, though not entirely unexpected, still came as a shock to those who had assumed her high national profile would be sufficient to see off a resurgent Scottish National party, which took 48 of Scotland’s 59 seats.

Paula Speirs, an NHS executive and local resident, said: “Her first mistake was to say she’d revoke article 50, which is quite anti-democratic and not well thought through. Then, presumably after listening to some people, she changed back to pushing for a people’s vote but her initial strategy was not at all smart or intelligent. People are looking for an MP who won’t make such reckless policies.”

Swinson’s early insistence that she could become prime minister will not have played well in these neighbourhoods. Such grandstanding might resonate in more louche surroundings; here it came across as brazen. Pam Hughes, a benefits supervisor, said: “I think Jo lost her seat because she’s difficult to relate to and can appear out of touch with ordinary people.”

One of Thursday night’s few moments of controversy came when Nicola Sturgeon was told the SNP candidate, Amy Callaghan, had won by 149 votes, she was filmed pumping her fists in glee. This led to rebukes that such conduct was ungracious and unbecoming, a deadly flaw in a community such as this. In fairness to Scotland’s first minister, her untypical explosion of joy was probably more to do with the triumph of a young, first-time candidate who had overcome a cancer diagnosis as a teenager and has since sworn allegiance to the NHS.

Sturgeon knows her party must win in more East Dunbartonshires if she is to realise her dream of an independent Scotland. That the SNP prevailed so overwhelmingly this time will have given her hope. Nothing, though, is guaranteed in Scotland, despite the nationalists annexing 45% of the vote. In her speech in Edinburgh on Friday morning, Sturgeon acknowledged that some of those who had voted SNP did not necessarily support Scottish independence.

She also signalled the beginning of a constitutional war of attrition with Boris Johnson by stating that the SNP landslide in Scotland, running on the pledge of a second independence referendum, constituted a clear mandate. Nor was she seeking Johnson’s permission to hold one.

This constituency also includes Kirkintilloch, a town famous for the Roman Antonine Wall that cuts through it. The town has a large working-class population, many of whom are descended from Irish immigrants who worked in surrounding pits and fields. The SNP are on firmer ground in these areas, where they have replaced the Labour party in local souls.

Gerard McLaughlin, a whisky exporter reared in the community, said: “I think the legacy of the Tory-Lib Dem alliance came back to bite Swinson. The austerity caused over the last 10 years and her support for all of those bills nailed her on Thursday. She was never a credible prime minister either. The UK debt is measured in trillions and the number of food banks is approaching 3,000.

“The UK’s political landscape has changed dramatically and I’m now certain that this will make Scotland independent within the next few years. England and Wales voted together and I don’t think it would have mattered if Koko the silverback gorilla was the leader of the Tories: they had a message wrapped in the union jack and voters in England bought it.”

On Thursday night, the SNP converted a number of slim majorities into large ones. This is as significant as its 13-seat increase. It indicates a new bedrock of support, which won’t easily be shifted and which is tooling up for the next battle in the struggle for Scotland’s independence.