SNP members have overwhelmingly backed a resolution supporting a UK-wide ban on social media platform X, formerly Twitter, at the party’s annual conference in Aberdeen on Saturday 17 October 2026.
The resolution also calls for the SNP, its elected representatives, councils, the Scottish Government and other public bodies to avoid platforms that harbour abusive content. The vote is a party conference position, not a government decision to impose a ban.
SNP to review its own use of X
Following the vote, an SNP spokesperson said the party would review its use of X and report to its national executive. That review does not amount to an immediate withdrawal from the platform, and there has been no announcement of legislation to ban X across the United Kingdom.
The party has continued to post on X and had almost 320,000 followers there at the time of the conference, according to PA Media reporting.
Delegates debate safety and public communications
Proposing the motion, SNP member Erin Lux criticised X and its Grok chatbot, alleging that the platform enables harmful and abusive content and spreads misinformation. These were claims made during the conference debate, not findings established by the vote.
Another delegate, David Birkett, opposed abandoning the platform. He argued that X still reaches far more users than alternatives and that elected representatives should be able to decide for themselves which services to use.
Birkett also warned that public information about ferry cancellations, rail disruption and road conditions could reach fewer people if public bodies left X before other platforms achieved comparable reach.
What happens next?
The SNP’s next confirmed step is an internal review to be reported to its national executive. Whether the party or Scottish public bodies will ultimately stop using X remains undecided. A UK-wide ban would require separate action by the UK government and is not created by a political party conference resolution.