Dear All
If you were to name some of the key
players who helped deliver Brexit in this country, you would put Nigel Farage
at the lost of the list, and closely followed by Dominic Cummings. As history
will record, these two people were in the right place at the right time and did
the UK a great service. Of course their place in history won't have been
possible if then PM David Cameron hadn't been so out of touch with the mood of
the British people. As the Brexit transition period draws to a close, it seems the
winds of change will also be sweeping through Number 10. Lee Cain, an advisor
has gone, he was a close ally of Dominic Cummings, and now Cummings himself is
said to be departing at the end of the year. Are there other people who will
also be leaving, well that story is still to unfold, but these key departures
allow PM Boris Johnson the chance to reset his administration according to a
senior Conservative. Just as Brexit was important, the next big fight for the
Conservatives is to destroy what some people call the 'yellow wall'. The
'yellow wall' is the SNP, but the fight to get rid of them is vastly different
than the Brexit fight. The reasons are many but a key difference is the
Conservatives have to fight individual elections in Scotland and not a
referendum.
One thing which will not happen despite
being touted, and is a road to nowhere is that idea that Boris Johnson can rebuild
relations with the SNP Government. Given the way that the SNP operate, Johnson
and his advisors must surely know that cooperation is dead. Building relations with
them is a myth and handing over of more powers doesn't change the mindset in
Scotland one bit. The SNP have been
effectively using 'hate speech' to build up their vote, instead of using
the word, 'English' as the cause of all Scotland's ills, they use the word,
'Westminster'. The SNP could and should be called an 'exotic' version of the
BNP. Out of one side of their mouth they preach diversity, out the opposite
side, they preach hatred, hatred of England, hatred of English people, and hatred
of Conservatives. Anyone think that Boris Johnson can turn that around? If so,
a better question would be could Boris Johnson tame a rabid dog with a few
biscuits and a jolly disposition?
The answer to both questions is No!
Boris cannot turn the SNP into a
cooperative body of government working towards mutual ends. The SNP cannot be bought
off, they can't be reasoned with, they only 'take', they don't give back or
work for the common good. So, there is no benchmark in which active negotiations
with them produce positive results unless it is in the SNP's interests. For
years, the UK Government of all colours has left the 'Scottish problem' to
fester. The lack of 'boots on the ground' has left the SNP as the dominate party
in Scotland. The SNP seized of the opportunity of the Westminster expenses
scandal and concentrated their power by the shift in the voter base. Rather
than upping their game, the opposition parties fell back and became
ineffective, they were willing to settle for less as the elections results to
the Scottish parliament shows time and time again.
Due to the 'list' system at Holyrood,
those elected have a double edge sword against them, if they do nothing chances
are they can keep their list seats, if they campaign properly, they might win FPTP
seats in which case, a list MSP may be out of a job. In many respects it's a
bit like the period at dusk where your eyes can't see properly in the dark or
light, this has caused what I would describe as a 'list' mentality in the
opposition parties. Outside of parliament, their influence is mainly confined
to social media, and this includes their activities pre Covid. While the SNP
beavered away in constituencies doing the talking and being seen on the ground,
the opposition parties were scarce.
The only way effective campaigning from
the opposition parties can happen is if those on the list system can experience
the 'fear of loss'. I believe that all MSPs should only be eligible and allowed
by law only two terms on the list before they are rotated off it. This would
boost campaigning and those who refuse to work, well their party and the public
will take care of them.
Isn't time we had better MSPs?
When I say better, I don't mean
qualifications, I mean commitment to work harder in their areas. I would also
end the practice of people standing in constituencies also standing on the
list. The only way to take Scotland back from the SNP is to fight for it. Parties
need to win back the voters who felt that the opposite parties didn't speak for
them, didn't represent them and, establish the ethos of public service back
into politics. At present in Scotland, the Scottish public know that SNP politicians
put 'party before country' at every turn,
but as they see no one viable, they keep voting SNP. In return for their votes,
the SNP offer election bribes, not because they feel generous or kind or worldly,
but because they clicked a few pounds thrown at the masses can buy you the
government of Scotland.
Two things set the SNP on the path to
power, the Westminster expenses scandal and the Council tax freeze. Over the
years, they add other incentives, not a lot but just enough to retain power.
Whitehall insiders really don't know Scottish politics, they don't grasp the
why of how voters drifted away from them and gave the SNP power. They went into
every Scottish election post 2007 with manifestos which were all about them,
not the people. 2015 Westminster, Jim Murphy 'offers' Scotland policies that he
cannot implement as a centre piece of his election campaign for Scottish
Labour. To me nothing explains it better than a post I wrote in Feb 2015, it
was aptly titled, 'Fucking it all up'.
http://glasgowunihumanrights.blogspot.com/2015/02/fucking-it-all-up-labour-leader-jim.html
And that was exactly what Jim Murphy and
Kezia Dugdale did to the Scottish Labour campaign which ushered in 56 SNP MPs.
My contribution to that Labour campaign was nil, serious illness sidelined me.
12 weeks before the ballot, I knew Scottish Labour's campaign would see them
wiped off the face of the political map in Scotland. What surprises me is that
Jim Murphy, his campaigning team and Scottish Labour HQ couldn't, and they were
supposed to be the 'experts'. The result for Scottish Labour was to hold one
single seat, which Ian Murray did in Edinburgh because of the unionist vote in
his area, Conservatives and Lib Dems gave him their votes. His support for
Hearts also helped him as the Scottish Labour vote crumbled away to dust. This
wasn't Scottish Labour's finest hour, it was a major embarrassment which post
election, the party didn't learn from.
As I said above, it is a waste of time
to deal with the SNP, if the Conservatives want power in Scotland, they need to
'cut out the middle man' and go straight
to the people. There is no opportunity to change the tone and style of the UK
Government regarding Nicola Sturgeon and the SNP by thinking a softer approach
works. The UK Government need to be more professional and active in promoting
themselves in Scotland. Also they need to shout from the rooftops what they are
doing, and even more active in offering and making people aware of every single
resource, grants, loans and specialised help which is available to enrich their
lives. This is the tack that the UK Government should take as part of its
'Global UK' strategy for Scotland, not just help to businesses, but also
directly to people. They need to shut down the SNP and force them to do the 'day
job', the UK Government has to go into competition with the SNP, head to head,
365 days a year.
Help people and then tell their stories
to all of Scotland!
SNP leader Nicola Sturgeon’s argument for
another Scottish independence referendum in the near future should be drowned
out by the UK. Alister Jack, the Scottish Secretary has said that as far as the
Conservative Government was concerned it would be 25 years before a second
poll on Scotland’s future should take place. In 25 years from now the pretend
parliament will still be a debating chamber for student union politics. By the
time that 2039 rolls around, there will be no heavyweights in the SNP. Alex
Salmond and Nicola Sturgeon will be probably be gone, or incapable of
campaigning. Nicola Sturgeon is the last dodo when she falls and that is
looking increasingly likely, the SNP will be fractionalised by 'woke' activists pushing gender politics
and critical race theory to anyone who will listen. The SNP is a party in
decline because once they got power, they abused power for selfish ends.
As we wait to find out what 'goodies'
are in the publication of The Dunlop Report, on strengthening the Union, along with
the review on intergovernmental relations. If it doesn't grasp the full extent breakdown
and thinks 'candy for the weans' solves everything, it will be just another
report to gather dust. It doesn't matter to the SNP how well Scotland is
treated, they would simply claim any good done for Scotland because the SNP
'fought' for it from Westminster. What is needed is a fight on Scottish soil,
some people call it 'parking your tanks on someone's lawn'. Everything
according to the SNP is not good enough, and it started long before Brexit and
even the UK Internal Market Bill. The SNP calls this Bill a power grab of
powers that they never had at Holyrood because they were until recently enacted
by the EU.
I see the change at Number 10 as
positive, Cummings had a job to do, it is now ending, Brexit is now ending,
'Global UK' will now have a different
set of priorities to do, and it's right that the new era starts with a fresh
team for the PM. One part of tackling the 'yellow wall' was hinted at by
Michael Gove who said that the UK Government wanted to “reset” relations with
the SNP and improve it through “constant repair and renovation”. Everyone
except the SNP recognises that devolution is broken in Scotland, and the SNP
have overstepped the mark. Part of repair and renovation is to recognise that
the UK Government needs to have more accountability how the SNP is spending
money. It's time to ensure that UK money earmarked for certain people and
projects is actually used on them. If the SNP won't pass on money to business
or people, there is a case that this should be done by the Scotland Office. This is a part of the UK Government which I have for years highlighted needs enlarging and with a
new remit. A start has been made in that direction in Edinburgh, but it is time
to crank up the machine to a level which the SNP cannot compete with, if not all you can
expect a shuffling of deck chairs at Holyrood, and some different people
waiting in line at the canteen who call themselves MSPs!
Finally, Scottish actor Sean Connery
recently passed away at the age of 90, I was a fan of his Bond movies, and some
of his later work, which include one of his best performances in The Hunt for
Red October. Connery also did a movie with Kevin Costner and Robert De Niro
called, The 'Untouchables'. In that movie there is a quote by Costner to De Niro
in the court at the end of the movie which is rather apt for the situation in Scotland.
"Never stop, never stop fighting
till the fight is done".
Whose up for a fight?
Yours sincerely
George Laird The Campaign for Human Rights at Glasgow University
2 comments:
Game on!
Great Georgiboy but the tories want the SNP in power to keep Lab out of Westminster
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