The Scottish National Party’s primary and defining purpose is Scottish independence. Next weekend’s “special conference” will at least notionally determine its policy on that subject for years to come. On the face of it it’s the most important congregation of party members in the SNP’s history.
The Caird Hall can accommodate just 3% of the claimed membership. (And you’d expect at least half the seats to have been reserved in advance for the faithful payroll.) Members ought to be fighting like dogs for a ticket. And yet a week before the event the leader is having to send out pleading letters to try to scare up enough attendees that it won’t be a half-empty humiliation.
The SNP tell us that independence support is currently at 53%.
They tell us that most Scots want a referendum within the next year:
And we know that it’s absolutely unequivocally possible for the SNP and Greens to trigger a Holyrood election which would serve as a de facto referendum not only within a year, but within weeks. Scots could entirely realistically go to the polls this August or September, or even on the date Nicola Sturgeon promised less than a year ago.
So why are the SNP choosing this of all moments to give up?
When I was a boy at Balbardie Primary School in Bathgate in the mid-70s, football was banned in the playground. Of course we were all fitba-daft laddies, so we sought ways around the prohibition. Occasionally someone would bring in a tennis ball, but those were difficult to control in school shoes and also apt to fly over the wall of the outdoor toilet block if somebody caught one sweetly on the volley.
So most playtimes somebody would produce a tin of Pepsi or Irn-Bru or Cresta, chug the contents, stand the empty container on its end and stomp sharply on it, producing something more akin to an ice-hockey puck that would serve for our kickabout.
But even after being skelped and scudded around a concrete playground into stone walls for 20 minutes, that can was still in better shape at the end of our game than the one the SNP have been kicking down the road since 2016.
Just over a year ago, Shona Robison – then the Cabinet Secretary For Social Justice, now the Deputy First Minister – told the Scottish Parliament this:
There now follow some quotes from the media regarding the case of Andrew Miller, aka Amy George, who yesterday admitted the kidnap and repeated sexual abuse of an 11-year-old girl at his home in Galashiels earlier this year.
Mark Beggan on What Went On: “Scotland leads the world in Child Care Home abuse and how to get away with it even when they catch…” Nov 28, 16:37
Heather McLean on What Went On: “The Scottish Government have turned Scotland into a laughing stock it’s embarrassing But even worse this is our money they…” Nov 28, 16:31
Campbell Clansman on What Went On: “If you voted SNP, Labour, LibDem or Green, you voted for the people who enacted this craziness. Only the Conservatives…” Nov 28, 16:22
Mark Beggan on What Went On: “” What have they done to the earth? What have they done to our fair sister? Ravaged, plundered, ripped and…” Nov 28, 15:58
panda paws on What Went On: ““Thus leaving their unfortunate counsel to have to present a case which is complete gibberish that even they can’t understand…” Nov 28, 15:56
Republicofscotland on What Went On: “More taxpayers cash wasted by the the Vichy SNP government – the SNP government and their degenerate sidekicks the Greens…” Nov 28, 15:51
Stephen on What Went On: “What a farce! Meanwhile what do the Scottish Government have to say on independence?” Nov 28, 15:41
Astonished on What Went On: “Do we have to wait months because it will take that long for the judges to stop laughing at Sturgeon…” Nov 28, 15:36
Mark Beggan on What Went On: ““Sometimes it’s hard to be a woman.” Especially when there’s a sweaty rapist in the next cubicle.” Nov 28, 15:32
Mark Beggan on What Went On: “The only thing that’s on trial here is the Scottish Legal system.” Nov 28, 15:20
gregor on What Went On: “re. “And to think that Scotland was once the land of the enlightenment” It still is (Scot Gov freak has…” Nov 28, 15:11
desimond on What Went On: “A Trans- Men WITH a GRC wont be entitled to IVF or Maternity Pay due to being male. Was this…” Nov 28, 15:11
Mark Beggan on What Went On: “And the whole world stops, The human race cannot continue until the Legal gerbils get their flow charts sorted. Yes…” Nov 28, 15:10
gregor on What Went On: “Woman: “An adult female human being.”: https://dictionary.cambridge.org/dictionary/english/woman” Nov 28, 15:02
Sven on What Went On: ““Whom the gods would destroy, they first make mad.” The madness is surely apparent and in full view Lorna, this…” Nov 28, 14:54
Lorna Campbell on What Went On: “It was also the land of the witch hunter. More ‘witches’ killed here per capita than almost everywhere else, barring…” Nov 28, 14:45
Lorna Campbell on What Went On: “Everything is being affected, Fearghas. Apparently, sex crimes by women have risen 400% in the past couple of years.” Nov 28, 14:38
Ian McCubbin on What Went On: “Seems the waste of taxpayers money will not pay off for the woke SNP. Even their own 1st Minister says…” Nov 28, 14:34
Lorna Campbell on What Went On: “I truly wish that I could put a different spin on your first-rate analysis, Rev, but I can’t. Too many…” Nov 28, 14:33
Campbell Clansman on What Went On: “Only the Conservative Party voted against this in Holyrood. Every other party (SNP, LibDem, Labour, Green) supported it. Your suggestion…” Nov 28, 14:24
Dek on What Went On: “Everyone who had a hand in concocting and supporting this travesty must make a full confession ,apologise, and disappear forever…” Nov 28, 14:18
Nemisis Benn on What Went On: “@Sven: If only someone would place your comment on the (not Daily!) record in the Supreme Court, there would be…” Nov 28, 14:07
Stranger on What Went On: “The parliament is fine, it’s the media who don’t scrutinise it, the SNP that allowed itself to be infiltrated, its…” Nov 28, 13:59
Sven on What Went On: “And yet, nature always wins. Put 50 biological men and 50 biological women on a desert island: come back in…” Nov 28, 13:45
Zander Tait on What Went On: “Once upon a time, a company called Big Bucks Pharma discovered via its head scientist Fester Bester Tester drugs he…” Nov 28, 13:39
Patsy Millar on What Went On: “My head hurts!” Nov 28, 13:37
Fearghas MacFhionnlaigh on What Went On: “Supreme Court told to uphold ‘ordinary’ definition of woman « The Supreme Court should defend “the facts of biological reality rather…” Nov 28, 13:34
100%Yes on What Went On: “I for one have always stated the parliament was a huge mistake which was designed to get us to shut…” Nov 28, 13:29
Anton Decadent on What Went On: “The SNP were born into the wrong movement.” Nov 28, 13:26
100%Yes on What Went On: “Its another fine mess the SNP got us into, thank you very much you’ve caused me ten years of my…” Nov 28, 13:25
