LET me say straight away that if I criticise the SNP, I am most certainly NOT doing it with a copy of any Unionist paper by my side.
As for everyone else who at times puts forward a view that does not please everyone, let me say that it is an honour to be able to speak one’s mind in The National and I am sure all the contributors are grateful for it.
We, as SNP and most assuredly as supporters of Scottish independence, have no chance whatsoever of our letters being published regularly in the mainstream written media. So I would urge tolerance and let all our different points of view to be listened to.
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Let’s get down to some nitty gritty. I hope the people of Scotland noticed the vote in the Commons regarding the two-child benefit cap. Not one Scottish Labour MP voted against Starmer. That made Anas Sarwar look exactly like the very epitome of what he actually is. He is nothing more than a Tartan puppet on a string and after this vote he has no credibility whatsoever.
While Starmer tries to rule with an iron fist, that will only last so long. Already the Red Austerity Party are running into trouble and it will only get worse for them as the electorate finds out that the promises that were made before the election are going to be impossible to put into practice.
That does not mean that everything in the garden is rosy for us. As 2026 becomes the most important year in the history of Scotland, it is time to start putting out there the reasons it is so important and why we as SNP and independence supporters feel the need to kickstart the campaign for independence.
When Nicola Sturgeon resigned, I voted for Kate Forbes because I did not think Humza Yousaf had the political nous for the job. He was too nice a guy with a big heart but no political awareness. And so it proved to be.
However, having watched the performance of Kate Forbes since she returned to office, I have reevaluated how I see her worth to the SNP. She is without doubt more suited to the type of role she currently has than being party leader. I would still have voted for her if the same ballot was available to me today.
That leads me very nicely to my next point. When Humza resigned, the SNP were lucky to have someone of the stature of John Swinney (below) to step in and steady the ship. He is an honourable and honest politician who is the ultimate safe pair of hands.
(Image: PA)
That for me is where the crux of the matter lies. I do not think he is the leader to take us into the 2026 Holyrood election. For this particular assignment, we need a firebrand first minister who has considerable political experience, is able to bat away the third-raters in opposition in Holyrood and above all, stand up to Westminster and all it stands for.
We need an FM that the voters would come out and vote for.
There is no room for error here and saying the day after a Unionist government is elected to Holyrood that lessons would be learned is just not good enough! We have wasted too many chances and this is our last chance for years.
I believe we have that person available to us and I don’t think it would be hard for everyone to work it out.
We have no time to waste on this issue as time goes quickly. I can certainly testify to that. So my friends, let us all have our various points of view and our differences of opinion, but keep in mind at all times that while we may not see eye to eye on some things, we are all united behind the concept of Scottish independence.
Unless, of course, you are a closet Unionist.
Old John
Ayrshire
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