BACK in 2014, one of the key promises of the Better Together campaign was that it was only by rejecting independence that Scotland could ensure its political and economic stability. Why risk the uncertainties of independence, it said, when you can enjoy the safety and stability of the UK. Of late, the UK has appeared as safe and secure as a flatpack wardrobe held together with chewing gum, an old hairpin, and Theresa May’s fond hopes.
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British politics has always been characterised by a dangerous and reckless short-termism. Where other countries plan for the years ahead, Westminster can’t see further than the next Commons vote. But it’s now got so bad that we can’t even be certain what’s going to happen by the time you’ve finished reading this article, never mind next week.
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The Tory vultures are circling the political corpse of Theresa May. Admittedly it’s difficult to distinguish a Tory MP from a vulture at the best of times, but the swivel-eyed Brexit section of the party smells blood, and is seeking to replace May with someone who’s as delusional as they are. Sadly for them, and for the rest of the UK, the problem with Brexit isn’t Theresa May. The problem with Brexit is Brexit. The only certainty in British politics nowadays is that we’re set to be mired in uncertainty for an uncertainly long time to come.
It is entirely possible that the UK Government won’t last much longer. Despite the fact that the one thing the UK really needs right now is stability and a plan to get out of this Brexmess, sections of the Conservative Party won’t hesitate to bring down their own government in pursuit of a hard-right crash out of the EU. Meanwhile, there seems to be no way out of the Brexit impasse that could gain a majority in Parliament. We could be facing another General Election sooner rather than later.
Blasé on Brexit: Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn
But that wouldn’t solve the problem of Brexit. Jeremy Corbyn certainly doesn’t seem disposed to halt it. Last week, the Labour leader said in an interview with a German newspaper that there was no way to stop Brexit happening. He was wrong. Various sources from within the EU have said they would be willing to halt the ticking clock of Article 50 to allow the UK to have another referendum, and if that referendum produced a majority for staying in the EU, as opinion polls suggest, the EU would be delighted to see the whole sorry mess go away. However, Jeremy Corbyn is every bit as committed to Brexit as the most swivel-eyed British Empire loyalist on the Tory backbenches.
It is being widely reported in the British media that there are now only three possible scenarios for the UK. Theresa May’s deal, no deal, or no Brexit. That might be the case for the UK, but it’s not the case for Scotland. Scotland has an additional possibility – independence. If we are in for an early General Election, the SNP need to make sure the electorate of Scotland understand that, for Scotland, independence is the only realistic and meaningful path out of the disaster of Brexit inflicted upon the UK by a reactionary British nationalism blinded by nostalgia and longing for an empire that’s long gone.
The big mistake the SNP made in the 2017 General Election was to try to downplay the issue of independence. The party’s attempts to persuade the electorate that the vote wasn’t about independence were drowned out by the other parties and the overwhelmingly anti-independence media pushing the message that it was.
Single-minded: Scottish Tory leader Ruth Davidson
Ruth Davidson infamously fought that campaign with but one single policy, saying no to another referendum. Saying no to another independence referendum was the Scottish Conservatives’ policy on health, education, social security, the economy, and foreign affairs.
In a country with a media which was as evenly split on the topic of independence as the public at large, the SNP might have had a chance of getting their message across. In the Scottish media landscape they had no chance at all. They were caught between the Conservatives seeking to hoover up the votes of everyone who would never support independence under any circumstances, and a Labour Party who were making a pitch to left-wing voters who had been attracted to independence as a means of tackling the social and economic inequalities which blight Scotland. The result was that anti-independence supporters were motivated to go out and vote, but independence supporters were not motivated to vote for the main party of independence.
If there is to be an early General Election, the SNP cannot shy away from independence. It must be front and foremost in the party’s pitch to the public. The SNP must articulate a clear and compelling case for independence as Scotland’s route out of the self-inflicted British disaster of Brexit.
Only independence offers Scotland the possibility of remaining within the single market and the customs union which are so important to our economy. Only independence offers Scotland the possibility of retaining the free movement of people and attracting much needed inward migration. Only independence offers Scotland the possibility of regaining membership of the EU.
The SNP is the party of independence. It cannot shy away from that. It needs to own it.
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