Westminster is imploding – the time for Scotland to act is now

With rumours circulating on further departures from the Tory and Labour party, either for MPs to forge their own path in protest or join forces with the new Independent Group, things are not looking good or indeed even stable in the corridors of power.

Add to this news of a recent poll by YouGov which shows both Labour and the Tories losing voter support to the TIG and an encouraging projected increase to 46 seats for the SNP should another General Election be on the cards, and suddenly the balance of power becomes even more, well, unbalanced.

It is in that light we should see the desperate attempts of both main London Party mariners to bail out their own sinking boats. Admiral May is trimming towards ruling out a no deal to stave off a Cabinet mutiny. Captain Corbyn tacks towards a People’s Vote to stave off an MPs mutiny. But the ship of state is still going down.

The TIGgers push poll was taken prior to Labour’s announcement on the People’s Vote, an “ifs and buts and maybes” announcement if ever I heard one, with their support for another vote based on a rejection of their dubious Brexit plan.

It’s a move that has been brought on by the formation of the new Independent Group but is sure to open a further flank of internal divisions for their party. Watch this space for further turmoil in the midst of an already uncertain time.

When the new Independent Group made their breakaway announcements last week it seemed that finally, something interesting might be happening to break the stalemate at Westminster. However, these defectors from the Labour and Tory parties were very much speechifying to their colleagues, to their former party ministers rather than to the voting and non-voting public. Their earnest comments were inward rather than outward.

We are still left wondering how this new band of brothers and sisters will come together and agree on coherent policies. How will Soubry’s support for austerity chime with Umunna’s attacks on it for instance?

Thus rather than break the mould of British politics the TIGgers seem to be stuck in the same old rut. Too little coherence and no fresh vision on the great constitutional crisis that is Brexit and the major questions of our era on poverty, immigration and our place in the world.

The whole reason we are in this political predicament is due to David Cameron’s knee-jerk response to Tory in-fighting on Europe by calling the referendum back in 2016, and in his failure to adequately prepare positive arguments for staying in rather than leaving.

Cameron and Osborne tried to scare the pants off England but they turned out to be the Emperors left with no clothes.

Arrogance and ignorance are a lethal combination. Cameron had no idea how the British public felt about Europe, or indeed how they felt about the British state because he had not been listening to them, he had only been listening to his party.

It was all about protecting their interests as a party. Theresa May’s continuation of this self-absorption has raised procrastination to an art form. It already has proved too much for three of her female colleagues with rumours of more to follow suit.

As for Labour, perhaps their betrayal of the public and their own historic mission is the worst of all. Corbyn’s dogged adherence to his own personal ideology and intransience on the big issues, an almost lethargy in the face of Brexit and a failure to deal firmly with slurs of anti-Semitism, combined with pulling shadow ministers into line with alleged threats and bullying, and we see the shallow roots of the Independent Group.

A disparate and disaffected group of politicians coming together through failure on their leader’s part. Corbyn may be trying to stop the revolving door of ministers leaving the party by dangling a carrot on a Second Referendum, but once again, the motivation is more about protecting his party and his own position rather than what is for the good of the country.

Of course, what’s most worrying is the gaps that open when political parties are wrestling with their own demons or taking their eye off the ball.

Just look what happened when Cameron, Clegg and the Remainers failed to grasp the temperature of the nation to plan a proper campaign that represented the benefits of being in Europe. Into this muddle crept the likes of Nigel Farage, Aaron Banks, UKIP and shadowy campaign groups and analytics firms who saw their opportunity and stepped in to the fill this chasm of contact with the disgruntled or marginalised.

The message we can take from this is beware dodging the big issues, in politics prevaricate at your peril.

This message needs to be reaffirmed at Holyrood too. Watching on as Westminster ties itself in knots and doing nothing cannot be the real answer. Imminent announcements on indyref2 have been trailed so often that no one is taking them seriously now.

Indications of growing support for the SNP as in this YouGov poll need to be capitalised on and developed. To paraphrase Theresa May “now IS the time” to be presenting coherent plans and campaigning for change.

After all, as a Remain voting country, we must surely all be agreed that Scotland deserves better than the chaos of Westminster where our interests are at the bottom of the pile. Now is the time for action – action this day.