The SNP. The party of independence. The party that will lead us into the promised land of an independent future; independent from England; independent from what must be the most corrupt government ever in the history of the UK. Or, at least, the UK government least concerned about hiding their corruption.
Is that still the SNP? Does today’s SNP still have a laser-like focus on independence, where every action is judged on whether it takes Scotland closer to independence, or, at least, no further away. Or has today’s SNP simply settled for being the party of devolution, waiting to see how things work out, only doing what they have to do to keep enough independence supporters onside, happy to accept whatever crumbs are thrown at it by Westminster, even when the crumbs seem to get fewer and fewer every year.
Or is it even worse? Are the leadership of the SNP actively trying to prevent independence ever happening? Are they so comfortable with the situation as it is now that they have abandoned independence as it constitutes a threat to their current status and their current incomes? Is independence just a carrot to keep voters onside when elections loom?
Well, there must be an election coming because the SNP are talking about independence. Note the key word “talking”, because you can be sure, just like in the run-up to all elections since 2015, there may be talking, but there will be very little doing, and what little doing happens between now and May will be stopped immediately after the announcement of the results.
So what do their recent actions tell us about the SNP under Nicola Sturgeon?
The SNP. The party who say they will always do the best for Scotland. But is it best for Scotland to accept the changes to the devolution settlement being made by Westminster without consultation or agreement, but with no more than a whimper of opposition from the Scottish Government. We can do no more they say, or at least, they would say if they didn’t just keep their collective mouths shut in the hope that no one will notice. But is there a way which allows them to do better? To have more control over all aspects of policy? I wonder if there is one.
The SNP. The party who say they will always do the best for Scotland. But is it best for Scotland to transfer our natural resources to England only to have them sold back to us at an exorbitant markup. We know it happened to the revenue from Scottish oil, which Thatcher, and those who came after, used to fund London improvements. We know it’s happening to low cost Scottish renewable energy, transferred via the National Grid to England, with Scottish consumers then facing huge increases in energy costs to pay for the increased cost of fossil fuel generation, increased cost meaning increased profits for the energy multi-nationals. We know that plans are in place for it to happen with water.
The SNP. The party who say they will always do the best for Scotland. But is it best for Scotland to have millions of Scots living in poverty while Westminster arranges for the very rich to become very richer. Now, the top 1% of households own 23% of the UK’s wealth, a figure that has increased by around 20% during the pandemic, while the rest of us have suffered.
The SNP. The party who say they will always do the best for Scotland. But is it best for Scotland to sell off-shore wind resources on the cheap, doing a deal that means all future profits go to multi-nationals and none comes to the people of Scotland. A deal which impacts on the viability of an independent Scotland.
The SNP. The party who say they will always do the best for Scotland. But is it best for Scotland to have our government concentrating on policies that very few like or want, policies that restrict freedom of speech, policies that benefit a tiny number of people while disadvantaging over 50% of the population.
The SNP. The party who say they will always do the best for Scotland. But is it best for Scotland to have people who disagree with any of the government’s policies, many of them independence supporters, arrested, charged and sometimes jailed on spurious grounds.
The SNP. The party who say they will always do the best for Scotland. But is it best for Scotland to have the SNP, the self-described party of independence, refuse to work with any other independence supporting parties (please don’t tell me the Greens are an independence supporting party), allow some of their members to conduct a campaign of abuse directed at other independence parties, but instead say openly that they want to ally themselves to The Labour Party, a Unionist party.
The SNP. The party who say they will always do the best for Scotland.
“By their deeds shall you know them”.
And by these deeds, can the SNP under Sturgeon’s leadership still be considered the party of independence?
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Angry Weegie 
Are they the same pro-indy party or devolutionist? No, to both. Read the new English Act of Union Bill (2017-2019) which has been enacted in all but name. Look at the terminology, where authority lies, th veto over Scotland and the various aspects that have been brought in. Then, look at how the SNP contingent of the Scottish government have been behaving, the terminology they use, where they claim authority lies etc. They are not pro-indy or devolutionist. They openly support the English establishment and promote the English continuator state narrative and the new English Act of Union. The only reason they are still in office is because folk still hold out the belief that they can deliver while turning a blind eye to the blatantly obvious. The more folk see them for who thtey are they more folk leave the party and go elsewhere. This is why Alba and other pro-indy parties and groups are routinely attacked by the SNP representatives.
I’ve said this repeatedly, the Scots need to hold their own to account and take full responsibility.
If you cut of your own legs you cannot blame others for not being able to walk.
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I gave up long ago thinking that the SNP would ever bring us independence, but recent events have convinced me that Sturgeon is actively working to prevent it. The sale of wind energy for a handful of magic beans was the last straw. You are right that the behaviour of the majority of SNP MPs in Westminster is shocking. They make no attempt to stand up for what’s right for Scotland. If you haven’t already, read https://t.co/YvCR817ZqM for another view of Sturgeon’s betrayal.
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Indy car Gordon who is a sturgeon apologist said today that he had unconfirmed reports from people he trusted that the nsnp sg were giving licences to companies to mine for minerals in the borders , yet he still believes the croc of shit spouted by Russell the SNHS seller to private enterprise and sturgeon the quisling and betrayer about a indy ref in 23
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Haven’t heard that one, but, following the great wind power sale fiasco, I wouldn’t be surprised if it turns out to be true.
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There are several options.
The SNP is wrestled to the ground by common sense, the magical thinkers sent off for reeducation training while the grown ups throw out the broken toys, tidy up the mess and kick some ass.
Another political party representing common sense and pragmatic thinking emerges to challenge the stupidity of the SNP at the same time as ordinary people are given information sufficient to be able to come to reasoned conclusions for themselves.
Growing bands of disaffected patriots embed themselves into enclaves and spread out their influence, gradually covering the land again with trees and hope.
Enlightened landowners begin radically rewilding, connecting up their estates into networks than challenge the evil bloodlust of driven grouse moors and medieval land management, while every city dweller is offered a parcel of land in one of several national parks where they can build a hut and contemplate the view, while understanding the importance of this place.
Young people wake up to the woke and go off to read Foucault for themselves; they should also just like everybody else always read Marx and Nietzsche; also Wittgenstein, Weber, Darwin, Hume and whomsoever else comes across their path, for they need to be able to learn how to think critically.
Young people need to learn and they need to be taught how to think critically. Who is going to take the responsibility for this?
The working classes ride up against it all. The most obvious candidates as vanguards of working class struggle from where I am sitting right now are women. In this country in the absurdities of … the usual moronic shite from the TRAs … Google Gwent … and in other countries against the toxicities of arranged marriage, sexual slavery, domestic imprisonment, genital mutilation …. and so forth. If I were a younger man, this is where I would be. Organising all of the above from the inside.
Nothing changes.
Maybe more and more people begin to realise what has been happening and then choose not to bang their heads against it any more, but to take advice from Francois Marie about cultivating gardens, to be the change we want to see here.
Or aliens will come to save us from ourselves.
Anyway …..
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It would be great to think some/all of these would happen, but I see no signs at the moment. Maybe it just has to reach a tipping point, there will be a sudden flood of support for independence and the SNP, as it exists now, will be swept away. We can but hope. Like you, I don’t have the energy or the time to be involved in a revolution. I’m sorry now I didn’t pay enough attention when I was younger.
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I have felt for a number of years that the SNP should withdraw itself from Westminster and join in a grand committee with (now ex) MEPs and all MSPs, as well as representatives of assorted significant Scottish institutions and organisations like the SFA, the Kirk, the universities, CalMac, grass roots independence supporters, the cops, army and so forth. But what happened? Blackford’s function seems now only to be a whipping post for English bigots, as he fails daily to dig himself out of the Harry Lauder shaped hole he has made for himself. And at home the SNP has squandered every opportunity to push things in an independence direction. Every fucking opportunity that was handen on a plate has been thrown away or ignored or vilified or whatever!! Instead the party of Scottish independence has decided that the hill it is going to die on is the wholehearted rejection of women’s rights in favour of a mythical future of gendered souls and transubstantiation, where critical thinking is illegal and material reality irrelevant.
I am reminded sometimes of corporal Fraser’s oft repeated warning.
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This pretty much mirrors my own thinking. I would like to see the formation of a grand committee to decide the way forward. Better than a plebicite and certainly better than a referendum using the 2014 franchise (a certain loss), as less susceptible to Westminster gerrymandering. My only reservation would be that too many of the organisations you mention are run by unionist placemen, several Sturgeon selected or at least influenced the appointment.
Independence is no longer the prime concern of the SNP, if it even forms any part of their thinking. Only with upcoming elections does it get a mention and, after an SNP win, is swiftly forgotten. Covid has been a huge bonus for Sturgeon as it has provided her with a load of almost believable excuses for delay. Was the postponement of the census till this year to prevent people realising how many likely NO voters had moved from England in the years since 2014? Will it even be held this year?
I cling to the hope that corporal Fraser was wrong.
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The list was partly a silly search through the top of my head. But I would disagree about excluding any organisation because it is populated in the main by unionists. The organisation is not its members. And in any case I envisage conversations taking place at many levels between all shades of opinion, always taking place on the assumption that we are now hovering ourselves, doing the stuff that grown up countries do and not giving any fucks about what Westminster thinks.
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My concern was about organisations led by unionists, not populated by unionists. Thinking of organisations like Historic Environment Scotland and their efforts to deny independence supporters access to properties like Stirling Castle and Holyrood Park. If you’re expecting grown-up conversations involving unionists, you may be sadly disappointed. They are more likely to be disruptive and, if it came to a vote on any proposal, to vote against anything of benefit to Scotland.
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Plan A The SNP could have desolve the union with the Brexit , instead they colluded with Westminster to keep us in the UK. The MPs could have been withdrawn and 300 years of misery servitude and colonialism ended there and then. This for me was a light bulb moment when I started to doubt the SNP.
Plan B They always had the option of a pebiste election and still do. Plan C UDI. They always use Rhodesia as an excuse as to why this would not work, they say that Rhodesia never got international recognition but they forget to add why. Colonial British government replaced by expat colonial white racists settlers in a coup at that. The indigenous black population having no say or democracy in their own country. No wonder they didn’t get recognition it does not meet the criteria for self determination or for Decolonisation under the UN. This would not be the case for Scotland as we are the indigenous population taking back control of our country from our colonial masters.
Plan D a Referendum on a section 30. UK can always deny this to play the game with the SNP who are pretending to push for independence but do nothing. Also a default for the Unionists due to a rigged voting franchise, 1 million settlers now in Scotland the reason the SNP have delayed the census. They know the shit will hit the fan when this is found out. We all know English people who will vote for independence your kidding yourself on if you think 1 million will. There alliance is to their mother country England. If a referendum goes ahead on this franchise your enslaved forever to the UK and you will never get another chance. Remember the Brexit vote no European citizens were aloud to vote on Brexit. The UK choose to used a constitutional voting franchise. Remember EVIL English vote for English laws Scottish MPs couldn’t vote on English matters. The recognised voting franchise by the UN Decolonisation process is that for constitutional matters it is only for the indigenous population .(Scots)
This would be the only way a referendum would be acceptable if it was on a constitutional voting franchise. The settlers can then be offered citizenship after a successful yes vote. So dont listen to the racist anti English card, You can see why a Referendum on a gold standard is the least favourable way to go, another reason I distrust the SNP.
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Can’t disagree with any of this, though I would hold that there have been other opportunities. What about 2015 when the SNP held 56 out of 59 seats in Westminster. A majority in Westminster as justification for independence used to be party policy. Too soon after the referendum? What about 2017 or 2019?
I would go for a variation of your Plan C because that’s the least likely to be affected by Unionist skullduggery. An assembly of our elected representatives, MPs, MSPs, perhaps others, to decide the way ahead. However, with no forward planning for independence being carried out by the Scottish Government, there would be a lot of work to do.
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I can’t disagree either but could I recommend a good proofreader 🙂 🙂
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