SOMETIMES in politics you have to go back to square one. Strategies need reassessed, ideas require interrogation, and built-up preconceptions need challenged.
This is surely the case when it comes to the campaign for Scottish [independence](https://www.thenational.scot/news/scottish-independence/). Many point to the continued strong polling for “Yes”, but the more discerning also ask why support has effectively flatlined. That this should be the case during a period of unprecedented turmoil in the British state adds an exclamation mark after this point.
Of course, the SNP evolved from a united, disciplined and hegemonic party, into one riven with factionalism and very public crises.
That said, the SNP vote should not be underestimated – it may turn out to be more resilient than many expect. But it is striking, given that independence remains the major fault line in Scottish politics, that Labour are in the ascendency despite maintaining its opposition to Scottish self-determination.
This crucial fact, unthinkable in 2015, requires much consideration.
The 2014 referendum became a lightning rod for a series of issues. The working-class character of the pro-independence movement drew on a politics based on opposition to the Conservatives, to austerity and the failures of New Labour. It entailed, at its core, a powerful democratic impulse.
Control, taken away in workplaces and communities, and wielded by Tory governments without electoral legitimacy, could be reasserted in the context of independence.
In other words, the concept of Scottish autonomy could coalesce with social and economic concerns, beyond a dry and legalistic debate about constitutions. People, becoming involved in the political process for the first time, discovered a sense of agency which had up until then felt elusive.
What we know, therefore, is that given the right opportunity, a great many Scots are willing to engage in high levels of activism and campaigning.
The quest for a new referendum quickly followed September 18, 2014. But just as quickly, the SNP leadership were able to cannibalise the movement. This provided a powerful social force, offering numerous electoral advantages to a centralised party leadership.
This new base, heavily composed of former Labour voters, could be kept on tenterhooks with promises of a fresh referendum. Or to be more precise: hope that real democratic agency might be experienced again.
This approach, essentially a public relations operation, held until it didn’t. Once the Supreme Court – itself a misadventure – delivered its verdict on the Scottish Government’s ability to hold a referendum without [Westminster](https://www.thenational.scot/politics/westminster/) consent, the SNP were caught out. The truth is, de facto referendum or not, the party didn’t have an answer
But neither did the movement, in the form of street demonstrations or public gatherings. These were – at any real scale – absent.
Little wonder then that the whole project feels jaded and almost akin to a 2014 re-enactment project.
There is a lack of intellectual life around what independence actually means, and how it will affect people’s lives. There are dogmatic approaches too. Independence is “inevitable”. Is it?
At the core of the prospectus are glaring contradictions. How can a country claim its independence, for example, if it doesn’t control its own monetary policy? Is it really wise to continue to talk about a “Yes” movement when a whole generation of people don’t have much of a clue what the “Yes” refers to?
It’s not that challenging questions are not being answered – the trouble is they are barely being asked.
Zammo, Grange Hill-“Just say NO! “.
They need a feasible economic policy and they need to separate it from the SNPs policy. High tax and redistribution of wealth, while good vote winners aren’t going to convince anyone to vote for independence.
Also big things like being anti North Sea oil and Faslane are not well suited to independence as they are two huge things to help with the negotiations post independence. To just stop or give them away would be foolish.
The big stumbling block (imo) is that can Scotland do better as an independent nation.
We need a plan to prove that, not just we’ll tax our high earners more and give it to others
I wouldn’t say it’s back at square one. Support for independence was in the 10-20% range in 2012, and it’s been in the 45-55% range since 2014. That’s a significant jumping off point.
Shafi has a place and not.all of his contributions are pish. But I do wish he’d stop writing his “The SNP have betrayed indy by turning its back on radical socialist veganism and missing the opportunity to nationalise crisps” article .
Start by not attaching the movement to one party, and in particular one person in that party .
The personality cult around Sturgeon was a disaster for the independence cause when her fall from grace became inevitable.
It’s not back at square 1.
Square 1, the SNP had the benefit of the doubt with regards to their competence governing.
The problem is that simply reframing old problems and grievances doesn’t solve anything. The same people will be pulling the strings, the same stalemate will be reached.
Show me and every other Scot a competent leadership and a convincing pathway, and independence is a done deal. Give us more third rate arseholes trying to convince us to risk Scotlands future with nothing more than paper thin asperations and we’re doomed for another generation.
We’re no better off after 17 years of the SNP in ‘government’, and their lack of achievement is a fucking disgrace. Don’t dare say “but it’s even mair shite in England”, frankly I don’t fucking care. If Salmond had set off comparing Scotland with Switzerland, and positivity, then we would have been independent by now. Instead we’ve had 17 years of utterly inept leadership, and we’ve let them away with excuse after excuse, “because it’s worse in England”, and what’s worse we keep these useless cunts in power due to some kind of bullshit patriotism.
Now will we flush them all down the pan at the next election and start the Independence campaign afresh with new talented leadership, or will the brown nosing, sleekit, back stabbing bastards cling on to the SNP leadership, and sabotage our future for another generation?
I think we know the answer…
Can Scotland do better with Independence? If someone can come out with strong evidence Scotland will be better off, just forget it.
Folk are genuinely bored with North Sea Oil. The money will never go to Scotland and the legal arguments would take years to come to a resounding No.
Since there is no Oil the economy is screwed.
Independence is, at best fanciful, the reality its delusional.
Change its position to’No’? I could support them if they do that. At the moment it’s really hard because they’ve no case, economic or otherwise, to justify separation.
Not square one at all.
All of this has happened before, in Ireland. Cultural nationalism took over the impetus after the perceived failures of political nationalism in the late 19th century.
Imagine how much more attractive independent would look if Scotland showed how well we could do in the current union.
I hate to bring up ‘ferries’ but the present debacle is giving a great big stick to beat the SNP with. A properly designed and built couple of ferries (yes they still would have cost a bit more than Turkish ferries) could have been a feather in the cap.
Every disaster Holyrood makes is just another reason not to trust them.
Yes someone will come up with ‘We’re not voting for the party, we’re voting for independence’ but these same politicians sitting in Holyrood now are the ones who will be negotiating the independence deal and leading up down the path. If there are political giants waiting in the wings to step up and take over all I can say is they are hiding pretty damn well.
As an optimist, clearly we’re completely fucked at international, britnational, scotnational, and local level and no politician has any way to sort it out because it’s too complicated and broken. Imagine a straight to the point Adam Curtis documentary ‘this is a story about how everything is fucked and no one can fix it’.
That’s why I support the idea of independence, because it’s a chance to at least try something else. The worrying part is that day after, who would we entrust building a nation to? Seriously, of the current crop of MSP’s and MP’s who do you think we could rely on?
If you compare the Scottish Parliament to the Welsh Assembly, we have extra powers but it’s a system designed to fail. The biggest deal in Wales appears to be speed limits. On the other hand because we have more power but simultaneously not quite enough power to really make a difference we’re constantly fighting about stuff that while important, has very little resonance with the majority of people.
Obviously we should protect the most vulnerable in society, look after the environment, not embezzle funds from people who support a cause but donated to a party.
But what do the majority really care about? Consistently becoming poorer, dead town centres, potholes, the NHS. That and worrying they’re going to be arrested for bigotry in their own home because they haven’t read a law so are manipulated by millionaires through their media outlets.
That kind of thing. Keep smiling <3
Which is sad in a way because the collapse of the Conservative Party presents huge opportunities on which the broader independence movement would be capitalising. Unfortunately it’s tied inescapably to the SNP so their failures are independence failures.
It needs to be more than 1 party so if that party screws up, the movement as a whole isn’t stalled and the others can still lock the yoons out of Holyrood.
Promising headline, but the copy is a classic Bella Caledonia style nothingburger. The remnants of RISE were the odd men out after 2016, basically an SSP without working class roots and a Euroskeptic fringe in a movement where the left were all pro-EU.
Shafi (like Small) just repeats this mantra about needing to empower the grassroots without explaining why that’s a strategy. Cat Boyd is fairly intelligent, saw the writing on the wall for Sturgeon style technocratic managerialism years ago and probably sees the rationale behind Alba. But all of them believe in a movement with as many leaders as factions.
Maybe having a realistic and positive vision for post independence rather than just focussing on deficiencies with how things are now would be a start.
It’s striking how the yes movement is dominated by an “of course it will be better – ignore the details” attitude that was so prevalent in England before the Brexit referendum.
I suppose since I thought they went down the wrong path years ago I should feel vindicated but I’m just a bit scunnered at the waste of time and energy there’s been, not to mention the factional feuding and the feathering of various nests.
All delusional pish that took us all for mugs
That’s been true for probably 8 years now….
The problem is that Queen Nicola ignored sensible legal advice and picked an unnecessary fight with the UK Supreme Court, which she of course lost. End result is the final legal doors being padlocked and chained shut – something which can only be reversed by a sympathetic Westminster government or Northern Ireland violence.
Alex Salmond almost did the same back in the day, but actually listened to good advice because he understood the outcome. He has since quite rightly criticised Sturgeon’s strategy, as did the late Gordon Wilson.
Ironically, possibly the best thing that could happen to the SNP right now is for it to take a heavy loss in the General election and for the senior party to be cleared out before the next Holyrood election.
The senior party members are clearly more interested in their various pet projects and career goals rather than achieving independence. So give them the boot.
Looks to me like independence is dead. Brexit has shown us what a de-coupling after 50 years looks like. Unbelievable to think about de-coupling Scotland from the U.K. after hundreds of years with the same currency and shared land mass/family ties. I’ve come to the conclusion, that we need to change from within, we have many of the tools we need to change like control of education, police, housing and health which are the things that effect ordinary people’s lives. I want these things improved by politicians not some glory hunting politician wanting to go down in history as the person who saved Scotland from the English with independence. Just make our lives better with education, police, housing and health.
Noooope, let it lie on the back burner
Lets the current UK burn, let the rUK have a right good dose of Union politics – turn into the cesspit that the GOP has become and if anyone complains remind them its their fault
Or let them have Right good go and watch as the Labour bring around fresh change and sunshine and lollipops and defo not just Tory with a different colour tie. Either way it’s win win
Unless you are young, or old, or disabled or an immigrant
Still….better together
No shit Sherlock….
If it is to reset, it really needs to be two things. Big tent encompassing pro independence supporters from across the spectrum, including independence minded tories and socialists.
It also needs to have a bit of distance from the SNP. The argument that an independent Scotland will choose is harmed by an SNP asserting it will do this and that (for example seek to take Scotland into the EU without a hint of a debate).
This much was obvious even as far back as 2015, when I was writing about such things.
The Yes movement needs to first be honest and admit the SNP has been overall poor in government. They’ve achieved positives at social level – such as free sanitary products, free bus travel for under 18’s, free prescriptions etc. But performance in the major areas like Health and Education has been dismal.
Instead of trying to blindly defend the SNP, they should acknowledging these failures.
We could just scrap the whole fucking idea as it’s utter stupidity. Make the union better. People don’t realise what an influential voice we have globally as part of the UK which is used for good. We loose that.
Personally I’m nationalist and republican, I see the SNP as a vehicle to the first part of that and immediately replaceable – what’s the point of an indy part when you have it?
Then we can forge a republic in these islands and with the Irish and the Welsh – we can finally rescue our English brothers from the Tories.
It’s certainly not back at square one.
We are hovering around the 50% mark. It used to be around 24%.
If anything a “rebrand” will do us good.
I voted yes in 2014. I’d do it again, except for the border issue.
It wasn’t a problem then, but now that England is out of the EU it would be a major headache – because if we rejoined as I think we would want to, there would need to be customs checks. This would devastate the economy unfortunately, so I don’t think it’s worth it.
Aye back at square one despite the fact a hell of a lot of people are still in favour of it
No corrupt politician getting caught with their fingers in the cookie jar or whatever is gonna convince me it’s better for the politicians in Westminster to do the same
The problem that the independence movement has now is that it has no leadership whatsoever. Having been pretty much tied up with the SNP, it has never really been a true movement in its own right.
Now that Nicola Sturgeon has become toxic thanks to her husband’s antics, there is no one left to properly lead the case for independence, leaving the movement nothing more than a large squabble with no idea on how to proceed, and with that it will be decades before a real attempt at independence will be made, if at all.
Let the pendulum swing the other way.
A nationalist party in Scotland is in my view not the way to achieve independence and is not conducive to good governance. Constitutionally it can never work. A different approach would be needed to win over the majority of MPs in Westminster as that is what it will take.
A nationalist party for Scotland needs to unite a majority vote in Westminster and not be seen as the uncooperative step child of the United Kingdom – which isn’t a Union – it’s a country formed from an act of union – at the very least the constitutional narrative needs to be honest.
The SNP have painted themselves as the belligerent child of the UK government and it’s very hard to see how they are acting in good faith for the people of Scotland in how they act. They have governed like amateurs and sold a dream that can never be realised constitutionally as has been found out.
I’m pro UK obviously and I was Pro EU. So when I’m looking for Scottish Government I’m looking for competence in managing those devolved policy areas. The constitutional question was asked and answered in my view. Now Scotland needs to operate within that decision of its Scottish people – something it has failed to do since 2014.
35 comments
SOMETIMES in politics you have to go back to square one. Strategies need reassessed, ideas require interrogation, and built-up preconceptions need challenged.
This is surely the case when it comes to the campaign for Scottish [independence](https://www.thenational.scot/news/scottish-independence/). Many point to the continued strong polling for “Yes”, but the more discerning also ask why support has effectively flatlined. That this should be the case during a period of unprecedented turmoil in the British state adds an exclamation mark after this point.
So does another development: the projections for [Labour](https://www.thenational.scot/politics/labour/) in the coming General Election. For the first time since 2014, YouGov reports that the party is ahead of the [SNP](https://www.thenational.scot/politics/snp/) in the polls.
Of course, the SNP evolved from a united, disciplined and hegemonic party, into one riven with factionalism and very public crises.
That said, the SNP vote should not be underestimated – it may turn out to be more resilient than many expect. But it is striking, given that independence remains the major fault line in Scottish politics, that Labour are in the ascendency despite maintaining its opposition to Scottish self-determination.
**READ MORE:** [**SNP say ‘no positive case for Union’ after Gordon Brown independence admission**](https://www.thenational.scot/news/24255084.snp-say-no-positive-case-union-gordon-brown-admission/)
This crucial fact, unthinkable in 2015, requires much consideration.
The 2014 referendum became a lightning rod for a series of issues. The working-class character of the pro-independence movement drew on a politics based on opposition to the Conservatives, to austerity and the failures of New Labour. It entailed, at its core, a powerful democratic impulse.
Control, taken away in workplaces and communities, and wielded by Tory governments without electoral legitimacy, could be reasserted in the context of independence.
In other words, the concept of Scottish autonomy could coalesce with social and economic concerns, beyond a dry and legalistic debate about constitutions. People, becoming involved in the political process for the first time, discovered a sense of agency which had up until then felt elusive.
What we know, therefore, is that given the right opportunity, a great many Scots are willing to engage in high levels of activism and campaigning.
The quest for a new referendum quickly followed September 18, 2014. But just as quickly, the SNP leadership were able to cannibalise the movement. This provided a powerful social force, offering numerous electoral advantages to a centralised party leadership.
This new base, heavily composed of former Labour voters, could be kept on tenterhooks with promises of a fresh referendum. Or to be more precise: hope that real democratic agency might be experienced again.
This approach, essentially a public relations operation, held until it didn’t. Once the Supreme Court – itself a misadventure – delivered its verdict on the Scottish Government’s ability to hold a referendum without [Westminster](https://www.thenational.scot/politics/westminster/) consent, the SNP were caught out. The truth is, de facto referendum or not, the party didn’t have an answer
But neither did the movement, in the form of street demonstrations or public gatherings. These were – at any real scale – absent.
Little wonder then that the whole project feels jaded and almost akin to a 2014 re-enactment project.
There is a lack of intellectual life around what independence actually means, and how it will affect people’s lives. There are dogmatic approaches too. Independence is “inevitable”. Is it?
At the core of the prospectus are glaring contradictions. How can a country claim its independence, for example, if it doesn’t control its own monetary policy? Is it really wise to continue to talk about a “Yes” movement when a whole generation of people don’t have much of a clue what the “Yes” refers to?
It’s not that challenging questions are not being answered – the trouble is they are barely being asked.
Zammo, Grange Hill-“Just say NO! “.
They need a feasible economic policy and they need to separate it from the SNPs policy. High tax and redistribution of wealth, while good vote winners aren’t going to convince anyone to vote for independence.
Also big things like being anti North Sea oil and Faslane are not well suited to independence as they are two huge things to help with the negotiations post independence. To just stop or give them away would be foolish.
The big stumbling block (imo) is that can Scotland do better as an independent nation.
We need a plan to prove that, not just we’ll tax our high earners more and give it to others
I wouldn’t say it’s back at square one. Support for independence was in the 10-20% range in 2012, and it’s been in the 45-55% range since 2014. That’s a significant jumping off point.
Shafi has a place and not.all of his contributions are pish. But I do wish he’d stop writing his “The SNP have betrayed indy by turning its back on radical socialist veganism and missing the opportunity to nationalise crisps” article .
Start by not attaching the movement to one party, and in particular one person in that party .
The personality cult around Sturgeon was a disaster for the independence cause when her fall from grace became inevitable.
It’s not back at square 1.
Square 1, the SNP had the benefit of the doubt with regards to their competence governing.
The problem is that simply reframing old problems and grievances doesn’t solve anything. The same people will be pulling the strings, the same stalemate will be reached.
Show me and every other Scot a competent leadership and a convincing pathway, and independence is a done deal. Give us more third rate arseholes trying to convince us to risk Scotlands future with nothing more than paper thin asperations and we’re doomed for another generation.
We’re no better off after 17 years of the SNP in ‘government’, and their lack of achievement is a fucking disgrace. Don’t dare say “but it’s even mair shite in England”, frankly I don’t fucking care. If Salmond had set off comparing Scotland with Switzerland, and positivity, then we would have been independent by now. Instead we’ve had 17 years of utterly inept leadership, and we’ve let them away with excuse after excuse, “because it’s worse in England”, and what’s worse we keep these useless cunts in power due to some kind of bullshit patriotism.
Now will we flush them all down the pan at the next election and start the Independence campaign afresh with new talented leadership, or will the brown nosing, sleekit, back stabbing bastards cling on to the SNP leadership, and sabotage our future for another generation?
I think we know the answer…
Can Scotland do better with Independence? If someone can come out with strong evidence Scotland will be better off, just forget it.
Folk are genuinely bored with North Sea Oil. The money will never go to Scotland and the legal arguments would take years to come to a resounding No.
Since there is no Oil the economy is screwed.
Independence is, at best fanciful, the reality its delusional.
Change its position to’No’? I could support them if they do that. At the moment it’s really hard because they’ve no case, economic or otherwise, to justify separation.
Not square one at all.
All of this has happened before, in Ireland. Cultural nationalism took over the impetus after the perceived failures of political nationalism in the late 19th century.
Imagine how much more attractive independent would look if Scotland showed how well we could do in the current union.
I hate to bring up ‘ferries’ but the present debacle is giving a great big stick to beat the SNP with. A properly designed and built couple of ferries (yes they still would have cost a bit more than Turkish ferries) could have been a feather in the cap.
Every disaster Holyrood makes is just another reason not to trust them.
Yes someone will come up with ‘We’re not voting for the party, we’re voting for independence’ but these same politicians sitting in Holyrood now are the ones who will be negotiating the independence deal and leading up down the path. If there are political giants waiting in the wings to step up and take over all I can say is they are hiding pretty damn well.
As an optimist, clearly we’re completely fucked at international, britnational, scotnational, and local level and no politician has any way to sort it out because it’s too complicated and broken. Imagine a straight to the point Adam Curtis documentary ‘this is a story about how everything is fucked and no one can fix it’.
That’s why I support the idea of independence, because it’s a chance to at least try something else. The worrying part is that day after, who would we entrust building a nation to? Seriously, of the current crop of MSP’s and MP’s who do you think we could rely on?
If you compare the Scottish Parliament to the Welsh Assembly, we have extra powers but it’s a system designed to fail. The biggest deal in Wales appears to be speed limits. On the other hand because we have more power but simultaneously not quite enough power to really make a difference we’re constantly fighting about stuff that while important, has very little resonance with the majority of people.
Obviously we should protect the most vulnerable in society, look after the environment, not embezzle funds from people who support a cause but donated to a party.
But what do the majority really care about? Consistently becoming poorer, dead town centres, potholes, the NHS. That and worrying they’re going to be arrested for bigotry in their own home because they haven’t read a law so are manipulated by millionaires through their media outlets.
That kind of thing. Keep smiling <3
Which is sad in a way because the collapse of the Conservative Party presents huge opportunities on which the broader independence movement would be capitalising. Unfortunately it’s tied inescapably to the SNP so their failures are independence failures.
It needs to be more than 1 party so if that party screws up, the movement as a whole isn’t stalled and the others can still lock the yoons out of Holyrood.
Promising headline, but the copy is a classic Bella Caledonia style nothingburger. The remnants of RISE were the odd men out after 2016, basically an SSP without working class roots and a Euroskeptic fringe in a movement where the left were all pro-EU.
Shafi (like Small) just repeats this mantra about needing to empower the grassroots without explaining why that’s a strategy. Cat Boyd is fairly intelligent, saw the writing on the wall for Sturgeon style technocratic managerialism years ago and probably sees the rationale behind Alba. But all of them believe in a movement with as many leaders as factions.
Maybe having a realistic and positive vision for post independence rather than just focussing on deficiencies with how things are now would be a start.
It’s striking how the yes movement is dominated by an “of course it will be better – ignore the details” attitude that was so prevalent in England before the Brexit referendum.
I suppose since I thought they went down the wrong path years ago I should feel vindicated but I’m just a bit scunnered at the waste of time and energy there’s been, not to mention the factional feuding and the feathering of various nests.
All delusional pish that took us all for mugs
That’s been true for probably 8 years now….
The problem is that Queen Nicola ignored sensible legal advice and picked an unnecessary fight with the UK Supreme Court, which she of course lost. End result is the final legal doors being padlocked and chained shut – something which can only be reversed by a sympathetic Westminster government or Northern Ireland violence.
Alex Salmond almost did the same back in the day, but actually listened to good advice because he understood the outcome. He has since quite rightly criticised Sturgeon’s strategy, as did the late Gordon Wilson.
Ironically, possibly the best thing that could happen to the SNP right now is for it to take a heavy loss in the General election and for the senior party to be cleared out before the next Holyrood election.
The senior party members are clearly more interested in their various pet projects and career goals rather than achieving independence. So give them the boot.
Looks to me like independence is dead. Brexit has shown us what a de-coupling after 50 years looks like. Unbelievable to think about de-coupling Scotland from the U.K. after hundreds of years with the same currency and shared land mass/family ties. I’ve come to the conclusion, that we need to change from within, we have many of the tools we need to change like control of education, police, housing and health which are the things that effect ordinary people’s lives. I want these things improved by politicians not some glory hunting politician wanting to go down in history as the person who saved Scotland from the English with independence. Just make our lives better with education, police, housing and health.
Noooope, let it lie on the back burner
Lets the current UK burn, let the rUK have a right good dose of Union politics – turn into the cesspit that the GOP has become and if anyone complains remind them its their fault
Or let them have Right good go and watch as the Labour bring around fresh change and sunshine and lollipops and defo not just Tory with a different colour tie. Either way it’s win win
Unless you are young, or old, or disabled or an immigrant
Still….better together
No shit Sherlock….
If it is to reset, it really needs to be two things. Big tent encompassing pro independence supporters from across the spectrum, including independence minded tories and socialists.
It also needs to have a bit of distance from the SNP. The argument that an independent Scotland will choose is harmed by an SNP asserting it will do this and that (for example seek to take Scotland into the EU without a hint of a debate).
This much was obvious even as far back as 2015, when I was writing about such things.
The Yes movement needs to first be honest and admit the SNP has been overall poor in government. They’ve achieved positives at social level – such as free sanitary products, free bus travel for under 18’s, free prescriptions etc. But performance in the major areas like Health and Education has been dismal.
Instead of trying to blindly defend the SNP, they should acknowledging these failures.
We could just scrap the whole fucking idea as it’s utter stupidity. Make the union better. People don’t realise what an influential voice we have globally as part of the UK which is used for good. We loose that.
Personally I’m nationalist and republican, I see the SNP as a vehicle to the first part of that and immediately replaceable – what’s the point of an indy part when you have it?
Then we can forge a republic in these islands and with the Irish and the Welsh – we can finally rescue our English brothers from the Tories.
It’s certainly not back at square one.
We are hovering around the 50% mark. It used to be around 24%.
If anything a “rebrand” will do us good.
I voted yes in 2014. I’d do it again, except for the border issue.
It wasn’t a problem then, but now that England is out of the EU it would be a major headache – because if we rejoined as I think we would want to, there would need to be customs checks. This would devastate the economy unfortunately, so I don’t think it’s worth it.
Aye back at square one despite the fact a hell of a lot of people are still in favour of it
No corrupt politician getting caught with their fingers in the cookie jar or whatever is gonna convince me it’s better for the politicians in Westminster to do the same
The problem that the independence movement has now is that it has no leadership whatsoever. Having been pretty much tied up with the SNP, it has never really been a true movement in its own right.
Now that Nicola Sturgeon has become toxic thanks to her husband’s antics, there is no one left to properly lead the case for independence, leaving the movement nothing more than a large squabble with no idea on how to proceed, and with that it will be decades before a real attempt at independence will be made, if at all.
Let the pendulum swing the other way.
A nationalist party in Scotland is in my view not the way to achieve independence and is not conducive to good governance. Constitutionally it can never work. A different approach would be needed to win over the majority of MPs in Westminster as that is what it will take.
A nationalist party for Scotland needs to unite a majority vote in Westminster and not be seen as the uncooperative step child of the United Kingdom – which isn’t a Union – it’s a country formed from an act of union – at the very least the constitutional narrative needs to be honest.
The SNP have painted themselves as the belligerent child of the UK government and it’s very hard to see how they are acting in good faith for the people of Scotland in how they act. They have governed like amateurs and sold a dream that can never be realised constitutionally as has been found out.
I’m pro UK obviously and I was Pro EU. So when I’m looking for Scottish Government I’m looking for competence in managing those devolved policy areas. The constitutional question was asked and answered in my view. Now Scotland needs to operate within that decision of its Scottish people – something it has failed to do since 2014.