Is Jeremy Corbyn a sell-out over Trident? — Paul, Dundee
THE view that Jeremy Corbyn has sold out his core beliefs is quite a popular one among Yes supporters. However, I think it’s an unfair assessment.
Corbyn has made no bones about the fact that many of his own beliefs differ from policy within the Labour Party manifesto. Jez might personally think that Trident is awful, but he’s unfortunately representing a party that backed its renewal. Corbyn has had to accept that Labour, in its current form, isn’t nearly as progressive as he is.
However, if Jeremy overruled his party, and enforced his own views upon it, he would be a dictator. If you go down the road of party leaders acting as authoritarians, even well-intentioned ones, you end up in very dark territory.
As much as I would prefer to see a Labour Party that is in favour of ending Trident, I also understand that making the gigantic leap from Blairism to Corbynism is going to take some time. Fortunately, now Jez has proven he’s electable, I foresee many in the Labour Party moving further left. I suspect that the cancellation of Trident could be part of this radical change, too.
Corbyn’s wave of momentum has yet to crash, and I imagine Labour will go from strength to strength until it does.
In terms of Scottish nationalism, Corbyn putting the final nail in the coffin of Blairism is bittersweet. It’s good in the sense that a more effective Labour Party means future Tory governments are less likely, but it also creates much more viable competition for the Scottish National Party.
The SNP have had quite an easy ride in Scotland since 2010, with the dislikable Tories being no threat to them at all, and Labour being far too calamitous to offer any real opposition. It’s a very different game in 2017, and if Corbyn makes some major changes to Scottish Labour leadership north of the Border, suddenly the SNP could be up against a functioning and viable left-wing opposition for the first time since coming to power.
As Corbyn continues to improve Labour, the SNP will have to up their game. Dismissing Jeremy as unelectable lost the SNP seats at the General Election, and to continue to believe that his rejuvenated Labour Party aren’t a threat will only do them more damage. The casual voter associates Labour with Corbyn, not Kezia Dugdale – and the SNP need to take note of that.
Thankfully, competition usually brings out the best in both parties, and hopefully as they hold each other’s feet to the fire, both will reap the rewards – and so will the public.
Should Nicola Sturgeon stand down? — Eric, Glasgow
THE notion that Nicola should relinquish command of the Starship Scotland hasn’t gained much traction, but it likely stems from the belief that changes need to be made in the SNP.
Undeniably, Sturgeon is a polarising personality, and this always made her place as the focus of SNP campaigns somewhat dicey. Simply put, Project Nicola was going to work until people got sick of being fed the same meal, and that seems to be what happened at the General Election.
Unlike Sturgeon’s devastatingly handsome predecessor, who always made a point of sharing billboards with his deputy, many SNP campaign posters simply featured Nicola’s head. An SNP manifesto launch a few years ago effectively saw Nicola Sturgeon holding a picture of Nicola Sturgeon in front of another picture of Nicola Sturgeon. Even though she was unquestionably a phenomenal politician this, for many, was overkill.
Another issue has been Nic’s on-again/off-again relationship with independence. A press conference to announce indyref2 – complete with a fundraiser – was held only a few months ago.
This gained massive TV coverage that even the most politically out-of-touch person would have seen. However, at the General Election, the SNP mantra was “this isn’t about independence”. I accept that to political junkies and SNP diehards this might be a reasonable statement, but to the casual audience it felt totally inconsistent.
One minute indyref2 was the biggest thing in the world, and the next it was being completely sidelined.
I agree that the General Election wasn’t about Scottish independence, but at the same time, I think the SNP need to accept that indyref2 discussion doesn’t just come and go when it’s convenient for them.
You can’t massively hype ScotRef and then sweep it under the rug the minute it’s not politically advantageous. This will only confuse the casual voter – the voter that everybody should be targeting.
As much as I don’t think Nicola Sturgeon should stand down, I do think that some serious reflection on her campaign strategy needs to take place. Consistency wins the game of politics, and right now multiple SNP politicians are coming out with wildly different takes on indyref2.
This needs to be stopped and the only way it will be is with strong, stable leadership from Captain Sturgeon.
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