IT seems fitting that a new preserving the Union get-together should be held in Newcastle not Scotland.
The pro-Unionist group These Islands have booked the Godfather of Better Together Gordon Brown as their keynote speaker at this fundraiser in preparation for another independence referendum. Choosing Newcastle as their location shows they want to keep a safe distance from disgruntled Scots; choosing Brown as their big star speaker shows they want to keep an even bigger distance from reality.
I’m not sure how wise a strategy it is to enlist the former Labour PM again on the pro-Union side, given the catalogue of broken promises from the Better Together brigade back in 2014. Their Vow lies now in tatters, eviscerated by Brexit and an almost unrecognisable UK in comparison to the days before the European Union referendum back in 2016.
Brown and These Islands now face an uphill struggle to convince many Scots of the benefits of the Union in 2020. Faced with a large majority for Boris Johnson and his alarming version of the Conservative and Unionist Party at Westminster, the arguments for preserving the Union will be even more exposed as paltry and unconvincing.
You’d have to have been living on the moon not to have noticed the level of contempt for Scotland emanating from the corridors of power at Westminster, or how Scots democratic choices have been unceremoniously dismissed and marginalised without a bye or leave.
Voters in Scotland have noticed this, that’s why so many Scottish Tories got their marching orders at the last election. That’s why SNP numbers are up significantly in the House of Commons and why pro-Union parties like Scottish Labour and the Liberal Democrats are just hanging on by their toenails to parliamentary representation, mere echoes of former power, dark shadows of missed opportunities, lost in the wilderness.
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In truth, the SNP may have bums on seats in Westminster but what will this really amount to in reality? How can Scotland make her voice heard when Johnson and his posh boys will be even more arrogant and dismissive than before now they have the numbers to bulldoze through their version of splendid isolation and Britannia ruling the waves. It’s a very depressing thought on which to start this new year.
The days of highlighting our unequal relationship in the UK are gone. In this new post-truth era, it’s ineffectual to merely point out the obvious; the SNP have been Stronger for Scotland at Westminster, and the electorate have responded positively to this cause. But now there is a brick wall. We’re being wrenched from Europe against our will and in direct contradiction to the promises made by Better Together. Brexit will impact Scots the hardest and marginalise our devolved parliament.
We’re not even being offered a special deal to cushion the blow like the other remain-voting nation of the UK, Northern Ireland. The Union isn’t working for Scotland and the Scots know it.
How These Islands and Gordon Brown are going to spin this disregard, contempt and downright dishonesty will be interesting, if not entertaining, to watch.
Meanwhile, the Scottish Tories under Jackson Carlaw have just doubled down on Johnson’s rhetoric, shamelessly selling out Scotland as they bow to their imperial masters on all Brexit matters. But Carlaw’s brief tenure as their leader may soon come to an end, depending on who wins Ruth Davidson’s tarnished crown. Certain Scottish Tories have been voicing their concern for their party’s future north of the Border but it’s doubtful whether they have the courage to cut the umbilical cord that ties them to their Westminster nanny.
READ MORE: Jackson Carlaw's track record 'exposed' by SNP dossier
The same can be said of Scottish Labour. They have a golden opportunity to rebrand themselves as a separate entity from their muddled English counterparts. Just imagine a potential rebirth as an independence-supporting party and their resurgence in the new political landscape of an independent Scotland – it’s their only real chance of rising from the ashes. Survival in politics is all about adapting to change. Watch this space.
I’m guessing there are quite a few Scottish Liberal Democrats who realise the end is nigh for the Rennie tenure, with a re-imagining of their goals as a pro-Europe party in Scotland more of an urgency than ever. Who will be the first to raise their head above the parapet and plump for independence in Europe? Is there a new Charles Kennedy ready to emerge from the depleted Lib-Dem ranks?
Scottish MPs and MSPs need to unfetter themselves from their traditional allegiances. The status quo is broken, and change can only be effected by some dramatic and imaginative strategic action. If there’s one thing we’ve learnt from watching Brexit play out this past three and a half years, it’s that cross-party collaboration bears positive fruit against the bully-boy tactics of the ruling elite. Just look at the “Scottish Six” who took their case to the European Court of Justice to fight to Revoke Article 50 – SNP, Liberal Democrats and Greens working in tandem for the good of the nation, for the marginalised 48% of UK voters who wanted to Remain.
My good friend Joanna Cherry was one of these six and has been a shining light in the SNP for reaching out across the divides to fight the bigger picture; her prorogation legal triumph was also an outstanding win for working across political and tribal differences on a shared goal.
But now Johnson is on his perch placed there by a foolish and unnecessary General Election. It was the greatest Christmas present Bozo will ever have. The task is now to give him a new year hangover and knock him off his perch.
It will not be easy. It requires a determined strategy from the SNP to undermine the legitimacy of Tory rule in Scotland and the imagination to reach beyond party ranks to build a national consensus around Scotland’s right to choose.
Gordon Brown may end up delivering cold comfort to Newcastle, which will suit him well. Seldom has any politician been better equipped to fulfil the role of prophet of doom. For the Precious Union, the writing is on the wall.
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