Perhaps it is time the Lion Rampant of Scotland should be replaced by the elephant in the room.
More and more Scots Indy supporters, certainly within social media are become frustrated, impatient and more than a little suspicious. The intransigence of the SNP and the absence of some, any, message of hope for the future is bewildering.
I know we are all busy doing, well nothing really, at least not in an economic sense but I will keep this brief.
Since the referendum of 2014 many of us have maintained a vigil on Independence in the knowledge that events will transpire that will push us over the line to freedom. This began with a forlorn hope that the corruption of vote rigging of 2014 would somehow force a re-run or even a planned return to the ballot box. That kept us going for a while. Our success at the General Election of 2015 with an unprecedented 56 from 59 seat seemed to confirm it was all over bar the shouting. Even May’s Snap GE and Boris’s, get me out of here General Election were disappointing yet very successful in number terms and we saw a very mature and progressive SNP team in Westminster.
The behaviour of the Unionists in Westminster [I make no distinction between Tory, Labour and LDem] over Brexit where Scotland was mocked failed to translate into any form of positive action from the SNP Government in Scotland.
Fast forward to the Covid-19 debacle. In a sense this has been and still is the most serious instance of dis-Union in the UK. Scottish lives are being lost on a daily basis as a direct impact of the Tory and indeed Unionist mismanagement of a life or death crisis. Surely, this would, will or might precipitate a positive and definitive response. Not a bit of it.
Of course, we all know what I am saying above, so why do I bother? Simple, because once again this highlights what was wrong in 2014. Actually what was wrong in 1997 and indeed in 1707.
The events above and the signpost dates all have one thing in common – they are all political, I will repeat, they are all political. I would like to just remind or even bore many about the meaning of politics.
When a country has a constitution or purpose or mission it is given to the elected politicians to produce policies, take actions, perform or deliver against these actions and be measured by the public on their success or otherwise against the mandate they offered us and we accepted. If not satisfied we kick them out and give another party a chance; and so it goes on, and on, and on.
So what? OK, put it another way, politics is up and down and down and up and around about and in and out and change and change back; ad infinitum.
Do we seriously believe that Scotland could be Independent then dependent and partly dependent then independent then; Christ knows what else. Of course not! An Independent Scotland would stay independent. Our fortunes will waver up and down but our Independence with remain and we would hope that over time the lot of our people would see a progressively better life in Scotland.
You may think this is all motherhood and apple pie, so here’s the thing. How can we ever achieve Independence when we still cannot separate Scotland’s Sovereignty from its politics. They are two very different things:
THEY MUST NOT BE CONFUSED, THEY MUST NOT BE CONFLATED.
In 2014 we allowed the two to be confused and conflated and we were beaten back. There is no other reason, pure and simple. The SNP asked the people of Scotland to answer two questions with one answer;
TWO QUESTIONS WITH ONE ANSWER
Should Scotland be and independent country with an SNP Government. When people answered NO what question were they answering? No, Scotland should not be Independent or no, Scotland should not be independent with an SNP Government. That simple.
I am not suggesting Scotland should not have an SNP Government after independence – but I am reminded (by myself) of my Professor at Uni who lambasted me with a simple retort ‘one question should have one answer’. Genius! actually, not genius just common sense.
2014 was a great campaign that crystalised so many people in Scotland. We became a family, an extended family. We squabble and argue and disagree – of course we do, because we are a family. However, there is one thing that unites us and that is our MISSION, INDEPENDENCE.
Sadly, we were let down. Not deliberately just naively. We underestimated the opposition. In a sentence, the gift to them that kept on giving was this key issue:
TWO QUESTIONS WITH ONE ANSWER
Many, like me were on the streets, knocking doors, debating, leafleting by the tens of thousands. Ask any of us what was the most prevalent reason for NO? one of two things or both: we hate Alex Salmon or we hate the SNP.
How many NO voters said we hate Blair Jenkins, how many people even knew who he was? He was the Head of the Independence Campaign. So why was he so unrecognisable – simple, he was totally eclipsed by – the SNP. a political Party.
Now if … IF IF IF
‘The SNP did their job and got us the referendum TICK then stepped back and said, the people of Scotland know they can make it on their own, they know it will be hard, they are prepared to fight and win for a better Scotland now they have that chance.
After we regain our Independence the SNP will contest an election for a new Government. We will release a White Paper explaining what we will do – we will release that into an Independent Scotland AFTER the referendum. We will offer the people our view, our vision, our manifesto for success’ – 100% they would win. If they did not perform or if they were simply not capable they would be kicked out and Scottish politics would simply evolve until we got it right.
How different would that have been. How different could that be. How different should that be.
If we let it slip away again it will not come back in our lifetime.
So the key message is this:
THE SOVEREIGNTY OF A COUNTRY IS NOT A POLITICAL DECISION, period
WHAT THE PEOPLE DO WITH IT IS!