Round up of the Nicola Sturgeon SNP’s very bad week, Scottish independence poll: One in five Scots back Nicola Sturgeon's Indyref 2 plan, ex SNP MP Natalie McGarry admits embezzlement to the tune of £circa 25,000, but the fight goes on, it’s time opposition politicians upped their game to retake Holyrood

Dear All

Just as there is good news, there is also bad news, which is why you get the saying, ‘do you want the good news or the bad news first’?

The good news is that only one in five Scots back Nicola Sturgeon's Indyref2 plan, the overwhelming majority of Scots do not want a second independence referendum. You may remember that I have continually said that Nicola Sturgeon can’t lead Scotland to independence because Scotland doesn’t want her. In fact I will go further; the Scottish public doesn’t want the SNP to lead an independent Scotland ever.

That is the good news for pro UK supporters who work tirelessly to build up brand UK in Scotland.

The good news for Nicola Sturgeon is there was a general election tomorrow; the SNP would win almost as much of the vote as Labour and the Conservatives combined, and pick up 51 of Scotland’s 59 seats.

So, why the anomaly between what pro UK groups and pro UK political parties in Scotland are doing? Pro UK groups are getting their message across but the political parties aren’t making much headway. The reason is in part strategy, in politics as in business; you need customers; that means you need a product that customers actively want. If this trend continues the SNP will remain effectively unchallenged for some considerable time.

What is needed is a political game changer?

This can be done by promising to deliver policies that the SNP cannot via the Westminster system, use Westminster to retake Holyrood and then use Holyrood to retake seats for Westminster. This brings me back to an enhanced devo settlement which works better and makes the SNP just a memory.

In 2017, the SNP crashed from 56 MPs to 35 MPs, the fact that a poll says that they could take 51 seats given their incompetence and low quality candidates isn’t a surprise, it’s time that the opposition stopped playing the SNP’s game, its time the opposition became more, gave more and done more.

You can’t have failed to notice the drift in opposition politics in Scotland; you can have failed to notice the division or the lack of policy which apparently only comes out in drips and then a spurge at election time.

The static between ‘events’ means no momentum!

No momentum equals no gains, no forward progress, even against the SNP who aren’t able to deliver progress, but are rooted in failure. To outsiders, this state of affairs looks bizarre especially when pro UK groups have done their job and produced 61 per cent of people who want Scotland to stay in the UK.

As we know, Theresa May’s deputy David Lidington yesterday restated the Government’s opposition at a conference in Glasgow.

The Cabinet Office Minister said:

“We don’t see any evidence there is a demand from the people of Scotland for a revisit of the decision  they took in 2014. That referendum was something the First Minister and her colleagues said at the time would settle matters for a generation. We don’t see that a Section 30 Order is called for. I don’t see that is going to help put right Scottish schools and Scottish hospitals.”

The Scottish Conservatives want to push for a win in 2021, and given the Conservatives in Westminster hold the ‘keys to the Kingdom’, they need a Westminster manifesto being played out for a Holyrood win.

Deliver change that the SNP cannot. 

Sturgeon announced on Wednesday she intended to introduce a framework bill for a fresh referendum at Holyrood but with the UK Government refusing to grant a Section 30 order, the Scottish Conservatives dubbed it a “bill to nowhere”. They are right it will be a bill to nowhere but it is also a ‘bill to keep Holyrood power’.

Basically a ‘stopper’ tactic won’t win Holyrood, it is going to have to be a ‘fight’.

Conservative MSP Maurice Golden said:

“No matter what the SNP says, support for independence simply hasn’t risen since the 2014 vote. That’s all the evidence Nicola Sturgeon should need to take this threat off the table.

“But instead she ploughs on, ensuring Scotland is subjected to yet more division and uncertainty. A responsible Scottish Government should be seeking to bring the country together, not drive another wedge through it.”

So, this brings me back to what is needed a ‘fight’, with the SNP backed by 41%, Labour 24%, the Tories 22%, and the Lib Dems 8%, the Electoral Calculus website said the numbers would translate into 51 MPs for the SNP.

Anyone up for a ‘fight’ because sooner or later, Holyrood must be taken back, and it will not be with a smile, a balloon or a T shirt!

Finally; a few comments on the criminal conviction of Natalie McGarry who admitted embezzlement to the tune of circa £25,000 on Wednesday.

As a victim of Natalie McGarry’s vicious and nasty hateful nature, I am glad to see justice was done against her. 

Natalie McGarry was part of Nicola Sturgeon’s nasty Southside clique who has paid the price for her own stupidity. From high to low, the future looks bleak for McGarry, does she deserve to be put in prison, the answer is yes; it is what the public expects. I am also glad that Prosecutor Gerard Drugan is asking for a hearing to confiscate money from the ex-SNP MP, which will take place next week. 

A fitting end to her ‘career’ is conviction, prison and confiscate of the money she took.

Yours sincerely

George Laird

The Campaign for Human Rights at Glasgow University