Say What You See
Don’t say we don’t tell you, readers.
Because we do tell you.
We told you a year and a quarter ago.
(Remember that time when Humza Yousaf was First Minister? It happened, honestly.)
We told you again seven months ago.
And we mentioned it again seven weeks ago.
And, y’know, we’re always pleased when the mainstream press finally catches up with us. The Times had a comment on the matter from Prof. James Mitchell.
And gee, if only there was some evidence indicating the SNP had indeed accepted that “independence was off the agenda for the foreseeable future”.
The story came in the wake of an opinion poll suggesting that the winter fuel allowance cut had severely damaged Scottish Labour and put the SNP back ahead in the polls.
But the figures didn’t actually change the arithmetic in any significant way from our original post last June. They still show a Labour-SNP alliance as the only way to a viable government. The only remotely plausible other options would all fail to get across the line of 65 that lets an administration pass any bills:
LABOUR+LIB DEM+GREEN: 50 seats (15 short of majority)
LABOUR+LIB DEM+TORIES: 57 seats (8 short)
SNP+GREEN: 56 seats (9 short)
(We think it’s safe to discount any coalition that included both the Greens and the Tories – which in any event would still only command 59 seats – and teaming up with Reform would probably be too much for even Scottish Labour to contemplate. Similarly, even if the SNP could rope in both the Greens and the Lib Dems – a wildly unlikely proposition in all sorts of ways – they’d still only be on 64.)
So while Humza Yousaf has been booted out, everything we told you a year and a quarter ago still holds true, and is likely to still hold true whatever fluctuations there might be in the polls in the next 18 months. In the absence of spectacular unforeseen developments, neither of the two big parties have any credible prospect of being able to form a majority coalition with anyone but each other.
As Wings has painstakingly documented, the SNP have been doing the groundwork to prepare their supporters for this final betrayal for some considerable time, and they clearly now feel ready to send a canary into the coalmine to see how it goes down.
McDonald – someone absolutely no serious person believes has any true commitment to Scottish independence, and who has nothing to lose since being unceremoniously ejected by voters in July – was the ideal candidate, and he didn’t hold back, making clear that the proposal was to dump the idea for at least the next 10 years.
(He couldn’t stop himself saying “decade” over and over for emphasis.)
Frankly we’d still have a few quid on McDonald just outright jumping ship to Labour if he doesn’t manage to wangle himself an SNP list seat in 2026. But one way or another he’s absolutely desperate to be on their team.
We’d love to believe that view wasn’t reflective of the Parliamentary SNP as a whole. But the evidence has been building up and building up for a long time now, getting steadily more and more blatant.
And sometimes things are just what they look like.
What I see is a load of ‘Bisto Kids’ who are only interested in the gravy.
They would sell their souls for the gravy or a ‘kid on’ job as a professor at Glasgow University.
It would be great if we could all start identifying as politicians.
Want to be ‘Starmer’ or ‘John Swinney’?
The Holyrood colonial assembly has no direct relationship with Scotland’s constitution. Only a recall of our (1706) Parliament can get us out of the cul-de-sac. If you want to see independence on your 2026 ballot paper then write it for yourself. If you use big print then the candidates may learn something, when they are shown your de-faced ballot.
It’s probably time for the SNP to just do the honest thing and admit to itself that it’s really just a devolutionist party.
Most of the the usual suspects identified by Rev Stu would quite happily spend the rest of their gravy fuelled careers working on devo-max, or seeing what more powers they could prise from the controlling hand of Westminster.
A party which has now explicitly accepted the unionist veto on our self determination as the SNP did 2 days ago when it disgracefully voted against Ash Regan, is not a pr independence party in any meaningful sense.
Enough and more than enough of these milquetoast nationalists. We have to consign the SNP to the dustbin of history just as the Irish did with the IPP in 1918: nothing less will do.
We can’t afford a rump of slavish SNP loyalists warming their well padded arses in Holyrood or Westminster. For progress to be made we need to root them out and destroy them utterly as an electoral force.
and they clearly now feel ready to send a canary into the coalmine to see how it goes down.
Lead balloon?
But the question is what can we do about it?
Difficult question?
Any chance you can give us tomorrow’s lottery numbers Stu!!
We have to consign the SNP to the dustbin of history
How can we do that?
Well a coalition with a party who embrace genocide and neoliberal values should gut the party of all but its most blinkered voters. Reckon the tories will do well in 2026, unless they put forward Annie wells of course.
It remains to be seen if the remaining indy parties can attract enough votes to make a difference.
Andy Ellis 1.20
I agree with you 100% Andy. Sadly as you know if they only get a few constituency seats they will get list seats.
Ahem Mr C , people like myself , Mia & others have been mooting the prospect of * some kind * of alliance between the SNP and * Scottishishish * Labour for a few years now .
It increasingly seems like the only option left to them ( SNP ) to hold on to at least a modicum of power and as they’re virtually indistinguishable ideologically there would be nothing much for either Party to have to compromise on : except in the SNP’s case that bothersome identification with Independence . I am sure that little matter could be resolved without too much trouble , eg by saying Independence has not been abandoned , only suspended until …….rocks melt with the sun & every child in Scotland has been granted the right to free puberty blockers ( that part is already in bag ) and can change the parents they were assigned at birth .
Talking of slavish loyalists, I wonder what the eternal optimists in the WGD bunker are making of these recent clarifications of the SNP’s position? I mean if this doesn’t hit home with them then what will? I’ve tried to point this out to them but, alas, it seems that any message which is critical of the SNP in any way is simply swept into the bit bucket. Ach well…there’s none so blind and all that… 😐
If this does happen, and I believe you are right, Rev., it is the end of the velvet glove politics. I fear what might happen in the longer term. Independence is not going anywhere, but the SNP and Greens have, effectively, boxed it into a corner in the vain hope that they can contain it. In that, they are at one with the British State, except that the British State is a hundred times smarter than they are – and a thousand times more ruthless. Except against female humans, of course – the SG, that is – where it is the very vanguard of ruthlessness.
In any case, if Putin carried out his threat to launch a limited nuclear strike against Europe – and it would be Europe, not America, because America can wipe out Russia – and even though we are no longer part of Europe, we are resplendent with a crumbling nuclear weapons stock, and we would almost certainly be a target. If we could remove ourselves from the American anus for just a millisecond, we would realize that. Our subs are useless without American permissions. Any strike would be retrospective, anyway, with the Central Belt, our most populated area, gone in a vaporizing cloud and the rest of us chocking on the fallout, eventually with tumours the size of neeps.
This very scenario, folks, is the final price of the Union and all the ‘transwomen’ force-teamed with the real McCoy (MacKay, the Americans change everyone’s language), or, at least, any that are left from both sets, will be keeping the home fires burning, or, rather, the reverse, trying to put them out this time.
SNP have been a devolutionist party for several years.
Many of its members jumped ship from Labour when Labour were in meltdown.
Labour are the same disaster that they were when they were kicked out.
Smelling strongly of sulphur they are incompetent and corrupt.
SNP and Labour together in charge dear god save us all.
I could careless what the SNP is doing, SNP is dead and buried. When ever I get a chance to vote against the SNP I’ll do it.
Andy Ellis
I disagree I believe the New SNP would rather give powers back to Westminster. This lot would rather just sit in Holyrood talking to each other and leave Westminster making all the decisions but keep all the fringe benefits that come with the job. If you don’t have the power that no one can criticize you on your failings.
The Alba party is a busted flush and its leader would run back to the SNP if they asked, but they won’t.
I don’t care how many Bloggers or Indy supporters like someone if the general public don’t like you your never going to be elected. Eva got Double Alba’s votes in falkirk in 2024, if Salmond thinks he’s going to be the next messiah keep dreaming if the Alba party was going to do it it would have done it. Reform had a better performance than the Alba party and none of them even came to Scotland.
If we want the best for Scotland its time to move on from 1 the SNP 2 Alex Salmond who’s more interested in joking and 2 Sturgeon.
I couldn’t careless what the SNP is doing, SNP is dead and buried. When ever I get a chance to vote against the SNP I’ll do it.
It goes without saying – (though I’m saying it) – that we should not vote for the SNP, Greens, or unionist party at Holyrood – that leaves the ISP and Alba party – where you find their candidates – for me where you don’t find and ISP or Alba candidate in your constituency – it should be a case of spoiling your ballot paper.
The SNP has sold us out – lets return the favour coming voting day.
The SNP not interested in independence for at least a decade..
Very depressing.
At least that will see the qwerties effing off back to Labour now there is no imminent SNP drive to enable the qwerties to form independent Scotland in their mould.
Alba needs to up the ante and give independence supporters the viable political party to vote for that’s badly needed.
Maybe the couple of potential court cases will rehabilitate Alex Salmonds reputation as tarnished in public opinion.