ALEX Salmond said recently that the independence movement needs to regain the mood of excitement and enthusiasm that existed pre 2014 referendum. I think few wishing for independence would disagree with that opinion.
Personally, what I detected from the SNP prior to the recent UK election was a defensive approach, as if stating “we are going to get battered, let’s shelter under the umbrella and batten down the hatches”.
It is hard to envisage that if the SNP had gone on the attack and presented the very positive case for independence, the results could have been worse.
In our ambition of achieving independence for our country, it is time to hit the reset button.
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If you had not noticed, the establishment will battle those seeking freedom for Scotland. It is not a conventional battle, but a viperish one, where our opponents are armed with intimidation and control of the media.
While Alex Salmond was very successful in taking the case for independence forward, he was careless enough in his behaviour to allow mud to be thrown at him. Mud sticks, whether guilty or not guilty.
Nicola Sturgeon was our Joan of Arc during the pandemic. Our country owes her and the frontline workforce a debt of gratitude we will never be able to repay.
In her success lay her downfall. Despite whatever demarcation she thought lay between her and her husband’s personal and working life, it was never sufficient to dissuade the casual observer (or the establishment) that there was not something odd occurring. That the very public investigation and arrest were trumped up is not in question. If she and Peter had been smarter in their working relationship – by not working together, for example – it would never have allowed this pantomime to happen.
Nicola (below) also made the mistake of inviting the Greens into government. This meant consequences for her and for her successor, Humza Yousaf. The fact that independence is not a red line for the Greens ought to have been a flag. What happened – at least in my view from the outside – is that the tail began wagging the dog and what was once a competent government was bedevilled by policies which were bewildering to the public at large and allowed the Government to be an easy target for criticism, despite how good the intentions were.
If lessons are required in the tail wagging the dog, just look at the Tories and their right wing.
Humza Yousaf seems to me to be a decent man. I heard him speak in September 2023 and I was impressed by his passion and his commitment.
As FM, I think he made a mistake by not including Kate Forbes in his cabinet, which undermined his authority to command a government.
Humza was also correctly outspoken about Palestine – having family caught up in the occupation and genocide gave his words poignancy. Where Humza fell foul were in his pleas to the establishment to force a ceasefire and for the UK Government to cease arms sales to Israel. Challenging the establishment – as Nicola and Alex found out – has consequences, Humza seemed to realise this too.
John Swinney is a decent, hard-working man. In describing these as his qualities, I am underselling him by a significant margin. John is a safe pair of hands who was unfortunate enough to be holding the ball when the full backlash came.
Whatever John’s qualities are, he is not the charismatic, cheerleading, Moses figure who will lead us forward to independence.
In seeing who is leading on independence, I see an old guard (I am old too) whose period in government has lent an air of complacency – they have served us well, but need to recognise that the reset needs to be led by younger, more vigorous voices.
When I first saw and heard Mhairi Black. I saw independence’s future. I saw the natural successor to Alex and Nicola. Her decision to leave Westminster was disappointing, if understandable. Mhairi has done a lot of good and ought to be an inspiration to a generation of Scots.
What I don’t like to see is Mhairi’s public criticism of Kate Forbes. Kate’s private beliefs are well-known while making it clear that they will not impinge on her ability to govern. I don’t agree with Kate’s private beliefs, but I believe in her right to hold them. Kate is a competent and strong politician.
And the establishment loves when people on the same side start fighting each other.
It is, as others have said, time to put petty personal differences aside – there is only one goal, independence.
This is not a time for hand-wringing and petty internal squabbles. According to polls, the support for independence remains strong. We need leaders, otherwise move aside.
I think if we are looking at a leadership team to push us forward to independence, my triumvirate would be Mhairi, Kate and Stephen Flynn, competence and charisma. A new guard for a new approach to independence.
On to the tactical approach.
I would immediately withdraw our MPs from Westminster. It was already voiced in the previous parliament that some MPs were becoming too cosy in the comfortable trappings of the Palace of Westminster. From an outsider view, how can you be friends with people who are denying your country a voice, denying your country freedom?
The Westminster speaker during the last parliament has already showed his contempt when the SNP were the third-largest party, how is that likely to improve, now our numbers have significantly reduced?
After withdrawing from Westminster, what next? Along with Plaid Cymru and Sinn Fein, let’s set up a collective Celtic alliance to challenge Westminster. Sinn Fein’s MPs do not attend Westminster, so they must be able to advise on the practicalities of how that works.
Imagine a concerted effort from three different nations seeking to work in concert to achieve freedom for their respective countries.
You should also hammer on about English independence and question why a country like England is not standing on its own two feet; why it insists on service from its vassal states.
I also think it has to be mentioned about the missed opportunity we have had, when having the US president as Joe Biden – who is reported as not being a particular friend to the UK Government. I look at the period of his presidency as a period of advancement for Sinn Fein in Northern Ireland. Hopefully, if elected, a President Harris will have the same view as President Biden and the lost ground on Scottish independence can be regained.
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As for as the media bias, for too long I have watched as SNP spokespeople are constantly interrupted as they answer questions or make points. Stop accepting this. Stop being polite – you look weak, and like your argument has no currency.
Ask as the interview starts: are you going to allow me to make my full point? Are you going to interrupt me? Be assertive – talk over the host, the questioner. Raise issues such as that our children are living in poverty, Brexit has been a disaster, genocide is being committed in Palestine – make your point. Good manners do not stop murder or feed children. These interviewers are not your friends – they are seeking to undermine you. Look at the success the right-wing is having by ignoring the usual polite conventions.
The fight for independence has started, we need to start fighting back.
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