IT probably wasn’t a great idea for Jo Swinson to have a go at the Scots in her leadership acceptance speech. The LibDems are hardly at the forefront of Scottish voters’ minds, especially given they’re polling in fourth place. Considering the ineptitude of Richard Leonard and the flip-floppery of Ruth Davidson, it is scarcely a ringing endorsement.
But Swinson decided to use her moment in the limelight to suggest that our current era of harsh and hostile politics in the UK has its origins in Scotland’s so-called “divisive” 2014 independence referendum.
Nothing to do with austerity, cuts to social security, the working poor, zero-hour contracts, the huge cost of going to university, the widening gap between the haves and the have-nots, of course.
Nothing to do with the policies she wholeheartedly supported when her party were in coalition with the Conservative government that brought the UK to its knees and opened the door for the likes of Farage and Johnson to creep in and gather up the marginalised and disillusioned with their base, populist politics.
Nothing to see here guv and it wisnae me to blame. Except of course it was, and she and her colleagues are jointly and severely responsible for the consequences of Tory austerity. It’s rather Trumpian of Swinson to try to distract from her own dismal record in politics by blaming a whole country for the current vortex of political pain that is Brexit, especially when the country in question, Scotland, voted to Remain and has been fighting to keep not just Scots but the whole of the UK in the EU ever since.
READ MORE: Mhairi Black calls on new LibDem leader Jo Swinson to apologise
It’s dishonest to suggest that the awful xenophobia, anti-immigration attitude and debasing of political language has its roots in the Scottish independence referendum and it shows how comprehensively out of touch she is with Scotland and our values. Indeed our referendum of 2014 was a model of participative democracy compared with the Brexit bourach of 2016.
But these kinds of important details and concrete consequences don’t seem to concern Swinson. She’s riding high as the new leader of the LibDems at an incredible time for her party.
If polls are anything to go by, and the rumoured General Election takes place this autumn, in certain areas of the UK the LibDems could be set to do pretty well out of the current chaos and lack of leadership from the Tories and the Labour Party on the Brexit crisis.
In England, while Tory voters peel off to support the Brexit Party in their quest to Leave, and with Labour in disarray, the LibDems – and, of course, the Greens – are the only other options for the disillusioned centre-left voter who desperately wants to remain in Europe.
Not so in Scotland, where we have a far more progressive option, and have had for nearly 12 years now. We’re far less rose-tinted about Swinson and her sidekick Willie Rennie, with the unpopularity of their dogged inability to recognise the triple mandate of the Scottish people on a second independence referendum.
For Swinson and Rennie, it’s one rule for a People’s Vote and a second chance on Brexit, but entirely another one when it comes to the democratic wishes of the Scottish people. Indeed it was Swinson’s comprehensive inability to explain this contradiction which led to her lowlight of the leadership campaign – an excruciating, toe-curling, completely inept interview with Ian Dale of LBC. So far, not so liberal.
In the wider UK sense, Swinson’s new crown comes at a crucial moment; whether she has the ability to capitalise upon it remains to be seen. Her party’s recent track record under her predecessor, Vince Cable, does not inspire hope.
As a political force, until very recently, they have been utterly marginalised during this whole Brexit debacle, their tiny voices as the so-called “Party of Remain” a mere whisper against the boorish Brexit bullies at Westminster. It has hardly been the roll call of a dynamic party ready to take the reins and steer the great ship Britannia away from the no-deal iceberg.
Despite their recovery at the European Parliament elections, the LibDems’ success is more about luck than strategy, an opportunity to plug the gap left by the inadequacies of the bigger parties.
The last time the LibDems stepped into the political big time, they were quick to bend the knee to their Conservative coalition colleagues and throw away their principles to keep power. It’s Swinson’s past support for Tory austerity that will always be an issue with voters, particularly in Scotland.
This utterly unnecessary counsel of economic despair has been incredibly damaging to the whole country, with only Scotland cushioned from the worst excesses of austerity by our devolved government’s crucial mitigation of horrors such as the bedroom tax and drastic benefit cuts that Swinson voted for multiple times.
If she’s capable of throwing away her political principles to stay in power with the Tories, what else is she capable of? All voters have to go on is her past record at Westminster, a series of promises unkept with disastrous consequences for many people across the UK.
Of course, a politician can change, but Swinson first needs to take ownership of the LibDems’ capitulation to the right-wing Tory agenda and the damage this has caused. No sign of that so far. She also needs to reassure voters that the LibDems will not go into coalition with the Tories ever again.
READ MORE: Britain 2019: Run by extremists and in cahoots with Donald Trump
Her opportunity to reassert her credentials is all focused on stopping Brexit, an admirable cause, no doubt, but the LibDems are late to the party, Scotland has been fighting Brexit since the very start with strategies, white papers and Plan Bs, as well as championing a second referendum.
In Scotland, the question is what does Swinson have to offer that is better than what we have already? Not much if she continues to deny Scots our democratic voice. She has a lot to prove and a lot of damage to make up for and Scotland has neither the time, the trust or the interest to take notice.
We’ve stuck to our promise on tuition fees and protecting the vulnerable and we have other progressive options that are far more imaginative than her or Rennie’s broken record on the importance of preserving the Union whatever the cost. Swinson has picked the wrong fight with the wrong country.
Why are you making commenting on The National only available to subscribers?
We know there are thousands of National readers who want to debate, argue and go back and forth in the comments section of our stories. We’ve got the most informed readers in Scotland, asking each other the big questions about the future of our country.
Unfortunately, though, these important debates are being spoiled by a vocal minority of trolls who aren’t really interested in the issues, try to derail the conversations, register under fake names, and post vile abuse.
So that’s why we’ve decided to make the ability to comment only available to our paying subscribers. That way, all the trolls who post abuse on our website will have to pay if they want to join the debate – and risk a permanent ban from the account that they subscribe with.
The conversation will go back to what it should be about – people who care passionately about the issues, but disagree constructively on what we should do about them. Let’s get that debate started!
Callum Baird, Editor of The National
Comments: Our rules
We want our comments to be a lively and valuable part of our community - a place where readers can debate and engage with the most important local issues. The ability to comment on our stories is a privilege, not a right, however, and that privilege may be withdrawn if it is abused or misused.
Please report any comments that break our rules.
Read the rules hereLast Updated:
Report this comment Cancel