THE BBC and the rest of the London-controlled UK mainstream media are attempting to marginalise the SNP and the Scottish Government and thereby sustain the constitutional status quo desired by the British establishment.
This was evident in the reporting of Rishi Sunak’s chaperoned visit to Scotland, with the emphasis more on Tory UK Government propaganda than on objective analysis, including the abandonment of COP26 commitments made in Glasgow; the long political delay in committing to the carbon-capture Acorn Project; and the U-turn on repeated pro-Union statements during the 2014 referendum campaign that Scotland’s oil and gas resources would soon run out.
Clearly, in spite of some arguments put forward by other pro-independence parties, the pro-Union mainstream media of the UK recognise that the key to preventing independence, at least for the foreseeable future, is to foster the demise of the SNP.
READ MORE: Jeremy Vine says people should be 'fired' for talking about Scottish independence
Gerry Hassan’s column (Aug 1) echoes what many have expressed across the Yes movement in assessing that our leaders must be bold while recognising that Humza Yousaf has initially had to focus on steadying the SNP ship.
The only apparent major obstacle to Humza now demonstrating he can be that bold leader who can unite the Yes movement behind the SNP banner is the outcome of the inquiry into the spending of donations made for a second independence referendum.
Once we have that outcome, Humza may be challenged to make some tough decisions but it might also be an appropriate time to request a meeting with the leaders of the other pro-independence parties to discuss their views on achieving self-determination.
But boldness should not only be expected of Humza. Alex Salmond and Patrick Harvie, who clearly disagree on a number of Scottish Government policies, could demonstrate their own wise and selfless leadership by pausing their opposing arguments on secondary matters and focus on support of Humza in maximising both the number of pro-independence MPs and the number of pro-independence votes in the next General Election.
Ahead of that election, Humza (below) must make it clear that, with a majority of SNP MPs, all of those MPs will only attend Parliament at Westminster for a strictly limited period unless the conditions for a second referendum are agreed (but not beyond the term of the next parliament, and that with a majority of the number of votes, all SNP MPs will refuse to attend Westminster until the UK Government agrees with the Scottish Government a statutory timetable for formal independence negotiations.
Should the prospects of winning a seat at Westminster clearly favour supporting a candidate other than the one proposed by the SNP, then that candidate would also commit to this same attendance strategy and any other follow-up actions agreed between the pro-independence parties.
With a Labour Party in Scotland split on the right of the people of Scotland to determine their own future there will probably be an opportunity – assuming Keir Starmer as prime minister will not abandon his principles around democracy as he did previously around socialism – to at least achieve a second referendum early in the term of the new UK Government, if not immediately the primary goal of bringing about Scotland’s independence.
Perhaps all supporters of self-determination must selflessly be braver.
Stan Grodynski
Longniddry, East Lothian
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