Thursday 24 May 2012

Back to Sitting on the Independence Fence

I've decided to go back to sitting on the fence, at least where it relates to being in favour of independence.

I used to reside there, and then about eighteen months ago fell squarely into the independence garden. Labour was a disaster; Cameron had teamed up with the Lib Dems; Andy Coulson was brought into the Conservative Inner Circle; Iain Gray was impotent; health was doing great in Scotland; council tax freeze; Salmond was the ultimate statesman (Diageo nothwithstanding).

Let's get one thing absolutely clear - I voted for the SNP last May in the Scottish Elections and continue to support them, even if some of their policies are in my view totally crap (transport for starters). I also have a damn good MSP in Linda Fabiani.

But.........

Some of their policies on independence are - to put it bluntly - a bloody mess.

Currency - first the Euro, now Sterling.

Europe - a desire to be at the heart of an political entity that is rapidly disintegrating.

Defence - the recent decision on whether an independence Scotland will be in NATO or not has been put off to allow the party to decide. That single action was the trigger that has returned me to the fence. Independence policies are  - to paraphrase the First Minister - for the people of Scotland to decide. Not the SNP party faithful.

Added to this is the SNP's relationship with Murdoch. They don't need the support of his organisation. The SNP secured an historic majority with a hostile press and limited resources. Now they have substantial funds but are trapped in a relationship with a private organisation that is under investigation, and has already paid out substantial compensation.

Moreover, the First Minister ignored the Scottish Parliament - of whom he is the figurehead - when questionned about certain allegations, preferring ironically to respond to a Westminster sponsored enquiry.

The SNP needs to stop this utopia bullshit and start giving definite answers on how an independent Scotland will look. There are concerns that need addressed, but to date have not been and I doubt ever will be.

My views are not tainted by the BBC or other unionist media. I read a lot of news, but I can spot media bullshit a mile away. I look at how politicians perform in Parliament, in interviews and on the street. Nor do other blogs influence my views. I make my own mind up.

I want an independent Scotland, but what is on offer at present makes me wonder what exactly I will be getting. There is an air of "independence or bust", something I thought Salmond had kicked into the long grass. But ever since that historic majority last year, the judgement has gone walkabouts.

The SNP has become arrogant rather than confident, and unless that changes, and they start giving a realistic vision to an independent Scotland, they are in for a shock come 2014.

(I'll accept all comments. But if you simply want to rant and accuse me of being a unionist, traitor or anything similar don't bother. I know where to go if I want that sort of abuse.)

5 comments:

  1. An Duine Gruamach24 May 2012 at 23:21

    - "Currency - first the Euro, now Sterling."

    Who was it who said "when the facts change, I change my mind"?

    - "Defence - the recent decision on whether an independence Scotland will be in NATO or not has been put off to allow the party to decide. That single action was the trigger that has returned me to the fence. Independence policies are - to paraphrase the First Minister - for the people of Scotland to decide. Not the SNP party faithful."

    This isn't about the SNP membership deciding whether or Scotland will be part of Nato, just as the SNP won't decide, ultimately, on our membership of the EU, the Eurozone. All this decides is what the SNPs policies for such things would be once Scotland becomes independent. In this sense, it is no different from the SNP membership deciding party policy on health, education etc. Since we don't and won't live in a one party state, it's still the electorate's choice to make.



    The Murdoch/ Leveson stuff is also not really directly relevant to the independence issue; it's the common error of assuming that independence = the SNP and the SNP = independence.

    It really boils down to whether decisions about things like currency, EU membership, defence, press regulation etc. should be made in Scotland by a Scottish government or not. This is not the same thing as saying "should all policies be made by the SNP?"

    ReplyDelete
  2. Very interesting to read such a frank view on the internet, where this kind of argument is of course very difficult to find; it's generally more black and white, them v us, sort of thing.

    But probably closer to what many people are thinking in the real world, or at least the third or so undecideds.

    So anyone looking for an indication of how things are going over the next couple of years could do worse than read this blog ;0)

    (And note I didn't say this is the defintive representation of what the floaters might be thinking, merely that it's a lot closer than 95% plus of Scottish online political commentary.)

    ReplyDelete
  3. I'm a committed 'don't know'. You make some good points with which I thoroughly agree.

    I still think of the old slogan 'Independence within Europe' as one of the ultimate oxymorons.

    My heart's with the idea and principle of independence. My head's more pragmatic.

    I started blogging on Feb 26 due to feeling personally insulted by Alex Salmond and that Scottish Sunday Sun cover.

    When the James Murdoch emails were revealed, that's when I started actively distrusting Mr Salmond.

    It's probably no reason not to vote for independence, but I feel that I would have to trust the people putting the vision of independence forward in order to be convinced by it.

    I wouldn't even trust Mr Salmond to tell me the time now.

    The fact that he has now refused to answer whether or not his phone has been hacked shows a breathtaking contempt for, and arrogance toward, the Scots and their parliament.

    Regards

    ReplyDelete
  4. "I want an independent Scotland, but what is on offer at present makes me wonder what exactly I will be getting."

    Whatever you decide. For the millionth time, the referendum is NOT for deciding policies on the Euro, NATO, the monarchy, Trident or anything else. It's about deciding whether we want to have the right to decide those, or whether we want to keep letting Mummy Westminster do it for us.

    The referendum paper will not have a box marked SNP, or Labour, or Green, or anything else. It'll have options marked Yes and No. If you're still undecided about whether you think Scots should take their own decisions or not, nothing anyone can say can help you.

    ReplyDelete
  5. Thought I'd better respond since I took long enough to post the comments!

    All good comments btw.

    Rev, the SNP are the only party (Greens dont count) in favour of independence (individual members of the other parties notwithstanding). Therefore the only policies on offer are the SNP's.

    But there is a lack of consistency here. A government changing policies is absolutely fine, especially when they realise the original one was crap. But a policy proposal on such a fundamental issue has to stay the same, otherwise the electorate does not know what is truly on offer.

    Before May 2011 I knew what the SNP stood for with both independence and government. Now I'm not so sure, and nor do I suspect are many others.

    ReplyDelete