Apologies if the title sounds a bit self-important, but with so much irresponsible advice flying around at a moment of maximum danger for our movement, I want there to be no doubt at all about what I'm saying. If you want independence, you have to vote for it. And even just to keep hopes of independence alive, you have to vote for it. There is no five-dimensional chess available that allows you to get independence by voting against it or by abstaining. If enough people vote against pro-independence parties tomorrow, no matter what their motivation for doing so, the cause could suffer a 1979-style setback that would take fifteen or twenty years to recover from.
I've spent the last few weeks looking closely at individual constituency races, but even if I hadn't done that, it would be a statement of the obvious that in 56 out of 57 constituencies, the SNP will have the pro-independence candidate with by far the largest number of votes. Not all of those 56 seats are winnable for the SNP but a lot of them are, and a lot of them appear to be on a knife-edge right now. Under the first-past-the-post voting system, that's inevitably something that has to be taken into account when deciding whether to vote for the SNP or for another pro-indy candidate who can't realistically win. The same logic applies in the Western Isles, but in reverse, because it appears that Angus MacNeil is in with a shout there and the SNP aren't.
There's also the issue of the national popular vote. If by any chance the SNP were to beat Labour in the popular vote, which may be odds against but after last night's Savanta poll can't be totally ruled out, it would be a tremendous boost for the independence cause and would be recognised as such by the media. It would be frustrating to fall short of that by only a few votes.
Nevertheless, there are Alba candidates in nineteen constituencies. As a member of the Alba party I am required to support those candidates, and I of course do so, in spite of my misgivings about a party that billed itself when it was founded as a "list only party" now making a widescale intervention in a first-past-the-post Westminster election. That's something that no reasonable person could have anticipated when they joined the party in 2021 based on the statements the leadership was making at that time, and with the best will in the world it may risk splitting the Yes vote and help unionist parties to win a few seats they otherwise wouldn't. I stick to what I've been consistently saying since I was on the Alba NEC myself in 2021-22 - the strategy should have been to stand in only two or three seats, and commit all available resources into those seats to create a bubble-like by-election atmosphere. There would still have been risks, but that would have been the closest thing to a win/win, because it would have kept Alba in the public eye in the build-up to 2026 but wouldn't have caused a widespread split Yes vote. There also might just have been an outside chance of getting Neale Hanvey re-elected in Cowdenbeath and Kirkcaldy, but I suspect resources have been spread too thin for that to be realistically possible now.
Barring any mishaps with the photo ID, I will be voting SNP tomorrow, because I live in Cumbernauld and Kirkintilloch which has no Alba candidate. I have no hesitation in urging anyone who lives in one of the thirty-seven constituencies where Alba or Angus MacNeil are not standing to join me in voting SNP. The future of our country depends on it.
Incidentally, I'd draw your attention to a long letter in The National from a few days ago by Andy Anderson, who was a member of Alba but left in horror when he realised that the party was planning to put up candidates in a first-past-the-post election. I don't agree with everything in the letter, in fact there are several points I strongly dispute. But it does illustate that there are people out there who are basically in tune with Alba's thinking about how to use the 2026 election to win independence, but feel excluded from supporting that effort because they disagree with the party's Westminster election strategy. In fact the problem goes further than that, because Alba itself has told members who do not, for example, totally disavow the candidacy of Eva Comrie in Alloa and Grangemouth that they are no longer welcome in the party.
If people who want to support Alba on the list in 2026 are told they can't because Alba has turned itself into an exclusive club with draconian rules about how you had to think and act during the 2024 Westminster election, where are those people going to go in 2026? The answer is I don't know, but they're going to go somewhere, and it's likely to duplicate whatever Alba are doing in 2026 in a way that will not be helpful. I really do think Alba needs to mature as a party and become a broad church for anyone who wants to use the list vote in 2026 to bring independence closer. There needs to be room for those people to agree to disagree on the wisdom of what was done in the current campaign, otherwise Alba will be cutting off its nose to spite its face. 2026 is the opportunity for Alba, not this election, and it needs as many people on board for 2026 as possible.
Please vote tomorrow
Please remember to take your photo ID with you
Please vote for a pro-independence party
Please vote SNP if you live in one of the thirty-seven constituencies where Alba or Angus MacNeil are not standing
I feel like I owe you an apology. Over on Wings they have gone full lunacy in the comments section, talking about "tactically" voting Labour or even the Tories to get the SNP out. You did try to warn us all!
ReplyDeleteI've swithered between spoiled ballot and even not voting, but ultimately, I'm voting SNP with incredibly gritted teeth. No Alba or indy candidates in my constituency.
Yes, even if you dislike the SNP, they need to survive enough to be relevant as a vehicle when independence comes round again as a live issue.
DeleteIt's the equivalent of labour abandoning itself after 2015. Time is a healer but you need to survive to heal.
If the answer is to vote Unionist you know you have lost your way. Talk about turkeys voting for Christmas. Presumably they will punch themselves in the face as they vote.
DeleteMy postal ballot went in 10 days ago. Hoping we retain the seat. North Ayrshire looks like one of the seats marked to stay SNP but as the polls have been all over the place I really don't know any more.
Sorry, I'm as Independence minded as they come but if you're STILL voting SNP after everything the careerists in that party have done (and not done; advance the Independence cause) then you're just rewarding their failure. You're in effect endorsing their shambolic performance over the last decade. You're telling them there's no need to improve, you'll vote for them anyway, regardless of whatever unpopular policies they pursue.
DeleteThat's certainly not the message I'll be sending them. I'm totally willing to be the bad guy and vote unionist if it'll wake them up enough for 2026.
"I'm as independence minded as they come, so I'm voting unionist" is just nuts. You're going to look back and feel like an idiot, but that'll be no consolation to the rest of us because you and others like you will have caused immeasurable harm.
DeleteI get what you're saying, and if there was another independent/Alba candidate, they would get my vote. I would also understand if you chose to spoil your ballot. But how can you possibly claim to be an independence supporter and yet vote for a unionist party? Do you have no self respect?
DeleteAndrew, he’s not an Indy supporter.
DeleteThat's certainly not the message I'll be sending them. I'm totally willing to be the bad guy and vote unionist if it'll wake them up enough for 2026.
DeleteYes, if all their votes go to a Unionist party, the message the SNP will take from that is "we need to be less Unionist". You are very smart
For anyone living in a constituency where an Alba candidate is standing surely it’s a no brainier to vote for them. Don’t be fooled by the SNP anymore, enough is enough.
ReplyDeleteIF YOU’RE SERIOUS ABOUT INDEPENDENCE VOTE ALBA
Alba vote ... wasted vote.
DeleteAnon@9:08, you’re entitled to your opinion.
DeleteObviously you’re happy with the SNPs progress towards independence.
The Alba plan is basically the SNP plan.
DeleteNo Alba candidate so I'll be holding my nerve and abstaining tomorrow for reasons I've discussed on here previously. Obviously, I respect those who feel differently and are prepared to give the SNP another go.
ReplyDeleteAlso, thank you James for your efforts these last weeks on polling analysis and your excellent constituency previews.
Enjoy knowing you've done your bit to get a Tory, Tory Lite or Diet Tory elected. Enjoy the consequences.
DeleteAs well as abstaining, I'm going to stamp my feet and scweam.
DeleteIt isn't about "giving the SNP another go", it's about publicly maintaining a mandate for independence with the best chance of being effective
DeleteThree common sense replies above to someone whose approach is endorsed by the mouth frothers over on wings. Each to their own.
DeleteIn all honesty it was up to the SNP themselves to convince me why I should continue to give them my vote, especially after the inaction of the last decade.
ReplyDeleteMy local SNP candidate Grant Costello said in an article for the National (Headline "Despite Scottish revival, Labour may struggle in East Kilbride") that most people aren't expecting independence or indyref2 negotiations even if the SNP somehow manage to win the majority of seats and that the goal in this election is to "reinvigorating, reinforcing that mandate that we won in 2021".
Frankly that isn't a good enough reason for me to vote for him. If the most inspiring thing you can come up with is to reinforce the 2021 mandate what's the point?
That lack of ambition is why the last decade has been wasted and I don't want to vote for more of the same. I'm too tired of it.
Why do you think an anti-independence MP is preferable to Grant Costello?
DeleteHe hasn't convinced me that it's worthwhile to even go to the polling station. I'm not inspired to vote for anyone standing in the Constituency.
DeleteYes, and that means you're content to have an anti-independence MP. Why?
DeleteTypically most people like to feel at least a little positive when casting their vote, that by doing so they're voting for what they feel will lead to positive change.
DeleteThere hasn't been a convincing argument that will happen by voting SNP and you might as well be asking me: Did you like the last 5 years? If not vote to make the next 5 exactly the same anyway!
That means the poster is a Precious Union enthusiastic pretending to be a disillusioned independent.
DeleteSo what's the argument that has convinced you that you'll enjoy five years of being represented by a Labour MP? You're not daft, you know what the effect of abstaining will be.
DeleteYou are remarkably patient James. He has no intention of voting SNP. I can assure you he has not even read their Manifesto.
DeleteI am spoiling my ballot paper. I cant stomach the idea of voting for an anti Indy Wokist SNP. Fuck the very idea. The Wokist SNP has taken my vote for granted the last 10 years - well no more.
ReplyDeleteGo away KC
DeleteWhy don’t you just eat your polling paper? What eventually comes out is probably of more use than what comes out your head.
DeleteI’d spoil my ballot paper too if I could be arsed going to the polling station, but I can’t.
DeleteThe SNP deserve everything that’s coming their way.
I see I have attracted the ire of some spineless Yoon Wokists. I guess I did something right.
DeleteWhat does Wokist mean? Another one who hasn’t even read the SNP manifesto, reads and gets his politics from the Record and the Express, and thinks Stu Campbell is an intellect. Away back to WOS.
DeleteVote SNP ( or Alba if you must ) but abstaining is bonkers.
ReplyDeleteSaor Alba
I suspect that tomorrow, and a Starmer government, will be very difficult for the cause of independence. I sullenly sent in my SNP postal vote about a week ago.
ReplyDeleteWe must not give up when things get tough. Yes, the SNP's crass politics have brought us to this but all of the circumstances which make independence the best road for future Scotland are still in place and will be under Sir Keir.
Stick with it in YES groups or other active organisations. Our day will come that bit sooner if we if we can still win people over a few at a time.
I wholeheartedly agree. The outcome of this election might be disheartening for many of us. but this too shall pass.I remain hopeful that over the next two years there will be many positives to grab hold of, as people realise the limitations of devolution even under a 'better' Labour government in Westminster.
DeleteI did the same. A good number of those on here claiming they will abstain, spoil their ballot, or vote unionist were never voting Indy in the first place.
DeleteIt's been a while since I was on here. I must admit, I never thought I would ever see independistas voting against their own party because of men in drag or something like that. Isn't it strange the unexpected twists and turns that life can take? But some things do remain constant - like the SNP's inability to achieve independence. Now, it's about to get punted even further into the long grass.
ReplyDeleteEnjoy!
Aldo 😉
I can honestly say I'd forgotten all about you, and I had to think about who you were. Don't take it personally, you've had so many successors as our resident Brit Nat troll. We collect them.
DeleteTomorrow about a third of independence supporters will not vote for the SNP.
ReplyDeleteBut it wasn't independence supporters that turned their back on the SNP. It was the SNP that turned its back on independence supporters.
These voters will not be won back by telling them they have voted wrong. They can only be won back by the SNP listening to and addressing their legitimate concerns.
Cobblers
DeleteMost definitely NOT cobblers.
DeleteIrrefutably cobblers!
DeleteComments on the manifesto? Thought not. And I see you’ve picked up on a unionist media trope that’s gaining traction with the BBC and MSM.
DeleteAnother Great British Empire merchant claiming to be a disillusioned SNP voter.
DeleteJust as well that Labour's Iraq adventure is of less concern than a bunch of transvestites wanting to be called Madam.
The polls speak for themselves. There's a large gap between support for independence and support for the SNP.
DeleteThat indicates a lot of indy supporters have lost faith in the SNP. Instead of ignoring that fact or spouting some nonsense about the MSM why don't SNP supporters attempt to explain why this is and what they can do to change that situation?
The SNP used to poll higher than indy, that's now flipped on its head: Why?
1/3rd of snp supporters?? How come ALBA has a 1/3rd of a 1/3rd of a 1/3rd -well maybe a few hundred worthies dotted across the nation. No MP’s by Friday. What a success.
ReplyDeleteAlba will get total votes in the thousands and no seats. New leadership, revised constitution, expulsion of the WOS brigade and they just might revert to the list party worth voting for in 26 that all true Indy supporters want. It is actually quite simple. It’s lack of willingness, on both sides, that is preventing it.
Delete"It’s lack of willingness, on both sides, that is preventing it".
DeleteAlba are the ones who have consistently called for a Consequential Convention since 2021 though and they excessively pushed for 'Scotland United' in this election. As they say: It takes two to tango!
It can't be said that both sides are equally unwilling to work together when one side has offered multiple olive branches that have been slapped away.
I no longer live in the UK, but courtesy of Brexit, I get to vote.
ReplyDeleteI have been watching on aghast as the indy vote splits and no synchronised objective between everyone. Divide and conquer, Westminster has won.
It's fairly obvious people are annoyed with the SNP, but in Aberdeen for example there is a backlash against SNP Council changes, oil industry comments from good old Yousaf etc.....yes I have voted SNP btw lol
Whilst I understand some of the frustration at the SNP having Blair McDougall as my potential MP makes voting SNP very easy
ReplyDeleteDoes anyone else think McDougall is not quite of this world? There's something very odd about his appearance in the photos he's been posting.
DeleteI suspect he might be the least of the insufferable gits coming back, you just have to look at East Lothian.
DeleteThat would be an equally insufferable smug git I grant you
DeleteEvery one of them in Labour is a Blair McDougall or a Jackie Baillie or an Anas Sarwar or the latest newest one who swore blind he would never be a Starmer puppet then immediately became one, Michael Shanks
DeleteSorry you never thought of voting for Colette Walker, ISP. You voted for that key member of Sturgeon's gang Kirsten Oswald who has no interest in independence but likes the good food/drink in the 30 odd bars/ restaurants on site in Westminster.
DeleteJames Kelly: delighted to hear that you are voting SNP in Cumbernauld. My nephew has reluctantly decided to continue to do so. Polling suggests that the SNP have a real chance of holding this seat but it could be one of the closest results in Scotland!
ReplyDeleteI'll vote for the SNP when they give me a candidate that I'm convinced will actually spend their time advocating for Independence and not transgender issues. Until then I will actively vote against them, either for Alba (unfortunately not available this time) or whatever unionist party is best placed to defeat them, currently that's Labour in my constituency and my postal vote has already been sent in. I know the Labour candidate has strong views on protecting women's rights and single sex spaces so I'm mildly satisfied with my choice on that basis alone, otherwise I'm pretty aggrieved by the fact that the SNP has forced me into this position. I can't begin to express how furious I am with the careerists in the SNP, with their inaction and getting involved with the toxic trans stuff, effectively destroying their own party (the vehicle) and robbing my parents of any realistic prospect of seeing Independence in their lifetime.
ReplyDeleteThey absolutely need to be sent a wake up call, to get their act together before 2026 and this election is the perfect time to do it. So I'm sorry James, you might be happy enough to vote for them no matter what they do, so long as they sport the Indy colours and talk the talk, but I most certainly won't. I am 100% prepared to punish them by voting for a unionist party, even when doing so sickens me to my core. I know that through this defeat they'll be REQUIRED to come back better and stronger and hopefully without the rainbow chains that shackle them. It's time for them to turn back into a serious, unequivocal Indy party again.
If you truly want Independence, send them a message they won't forget (and hope to god they get their act together before 2026 hits).
You hear this stuff alot. What if the choice was Independence but all the "trans" stuff you hated came with it?
DeleteSounds like you'd vote to stay in the UK. Meaning ironically Independence isn't your top objective despite you calling for ir to be the SNPs.
He is one of many conditional Indy supporters. It’s his baw and he’s no playing any more.
DeleteYou mean the Labour who voted for the GRA? The Labour who declared that TWAW and suspended women who dared to disagree? That Labour? Labour who have pledged to simplify the GRC process?
DeleteYou cannae claim to support independence if you vote for a colonial Westminster party.
DeleteMornin' Alf.
DeleteAnonymous arsehole at 10.47am - I ain't Alf Baird. But you have clearly identified yourself as an arsehole.
DeleteTransgender issues ?// really? The most important thing on planet earth? Vote unionist? Hypocrite or liar? Take you pick.
ReplyDeleteI didn't say it was the most important thing on planet earth, but when given the choice between a unionist that recognises actual reality and an Indy candidate who believes in made up things like 100's of gender identities and argues for "ending conversion therapy" (which is code for being fine with transing kids) then I know which is the lesser of two evils.
DeleteYou are a troll, not an Indy supporter. Away back to WOS.
DeleteAnon@12:32, well said indeed.
Deleteyou are a turkey voting for xmas
ReplyDeleteSorry for expecting more from my elected representative. You may be fine with voting for this SNP and the stagnation they currently represent, but I ask for more.
DeleteGet away with you
DeleteWhy dont the britnats that vote on here fine something better to do?
DeleteAnon@8:29, you just don’t like reading the truth do you?
DeleteNew Norstat poll has Labour down on 37% UK wide and SNP up on 4%
ReplyDeleteWe didn't need Alba for the list vote, we already had the Greens
ReplyDeleteWho have admitted independence isn't a red line for them, largely to blame for the decrease of the SNP's popularity due to the unpopular policies they made them pursue and just look at the hissy fit they had which nearly brought down the Scottish Government. They've proven that they shouldn't be anywhere near power.
DeleteAnon@9:05,
DeleteI’m afraid the SNP are largely responsible for their own predicament.
Anon@9:35 AM
DeleteTrue but the batshit crazy shit the Greens did while in Government and the amount of money they jizzed away on policies that never came to fruition didn't help either.
The greens don’t see independence as a red line issue. They lost my list vote the second they said that. We need a credible list only Indy party for 2026. It’s not Alba in its present form and with its present leadership.
ReplyDeleteExcellent post James and we’ll done for saying what needs to be said about Alba in it’s current form. I hope that a credible List only party emerges in Time for Holyrood 26, whether that be a renewed Alba without A S and the WOS faction, or a new party. If SNP are reduced to a rump today, it may become academic.
ReplyDeleteReally the wee diddy parties need to link together with fresh new leadership then maybe in the Holyrood elections for a 2nd list vote they will get the support from snp but not with the current malevolent ALBA crew.
ReplyDeleteMurray Foote
ReplyDeleteOne last push from the Unionist concern trolls I see, trying to convince us that voting Unionist is somehow sane. The Unionists that gave us Project Fear, The Vow, Labour who neutered the Smith Commission, the Tories who have tried to neuter devolution. Whatever gripes one may have with the SNP, voting Unionist? My arse!
ReplyDeleteAnd all this "woke" nonsense, where next? Vote Farage? A political journey I'm not even prepared to contemplate.
The trouble with "woke", H&S, is self explanatory when you speak to someone outside the bubble. Try this yourself—I have—ask non-political friends what they think about Isla Bryson.
DeleteThere is mainstream cut-through on this stuff. If you know anyone in the isles, ask them about marine protected areas, too. Expect to hear a lot of anger!
Scotgov has done a lot of harm the last few years in power. People have noticed, and that's the real reason the SNP vote will drop so much this election. Honest to god disappointment with their actions.
"The Vow"
DeleteWho's the CEO of the SNP again?
Shrimp - just how many years did you vote Labour ? You said you did on WGD. But people like you have the brass neck to lecture others. I know you won't answer this question because you ignored the other reasonable questions I put to you. Like your fellow WGD numpty Dr Jim you just run away and hide.
DeleteAnon@8:59,
DeleteExtremely well put.
Is IFS the same as Indy for Scotland?
DeleteOutside the bubble virtually no one gives a toss about woke, gender. Only you. Get out more.
DeleteAs far as I can see the bubble is the woke thing. People talk about energy prices, cost of housing, future employment for their kids, the NHS, the prospect of war. Culture wars is not a first tier or even second tier issue.
DeleteShrimp were you once a Unionist concern troll during the years you voted Labour?
DeleteGood day to join the SNP?
ReplyDelete(In anticipation of a leadership contest.)
Last UK wide IPSOS poll had the SNP on 6%.
ReplyDeleteNow that's crazy high but it Dora seem there has been a late shift towards the SNP in Scotland.
Been out and voted for local resident, and leader of the ISP (Independence for Scotland Party). Sun was shining, short walk to polling station, no politicians at door and hardly anyone voting in the station.
ReplyDeleteJames will remember I said back in 2020 that I would vote in 2021 in the constituency for the SNP and that would be the last time I would vote SNP if they did not deliver on their no ifs no buts promise of a referendum. I also said I did not expect Sturgeon to deliver anything but a right mess. I am keeping my promise unlike Sturgeon and her gang.
I have zero trust in the SNP based on their actions.
I mean Murray Foote, ex editor of the Daily Redcoat and part architect of the infamous Vow which could have cost Scotland its freedom is Chief Exec of the SNP. Truly unbelievable how much people will turn a blind eye to.
10 years of Sturgeon saying just vote SNP and everything will be fine. Aye right - what a charlatan. My independent rational mind tells me doing the same for another 10 years will just deliver more of the same while Westminster happily helps itself to our rich resources. I refuse to vote for this. I did it in 2021 - no more.
Outside this bubble no one cares what you think. Even inside it few do. The fact that you need to justify what you have just done tells its own story. You and others are a unionist dream. Let’s see what unfolds.
DeleteThat's a fair point, many reluctantly gave the SNP their first vote in the 2021 election... and what did they do with that mandate?
DeleteWhen you've given the SNP "one last chance" and they waste it, why would you vote for them again?
IFS, I pretty much agree with all you say.
DeleteI’m actually astonished that so many are still prepared to vote SNP, after they’ve achieved absolutely zilch on independence.
Unlike you, I don’t have a pro Independence candidate to vote for, so am abstaining.
Anon at 9.39pm - never thought that was the case so why do all you ignorant trolls troll me as if it does.
DeleteWho are you anon - nowt but an anonymous ignorant troll.
Quite right IfS.
DeleteIt's a nice sunny day here in Edinburgh too. Too nice to spoil by voting against my own principles for a cynical, manipulative and by now fully exposed SNP.
They've earned this election result. Let them learn their lesson or perish.
There is a small and vocal group who will talk to you about 'the trans' till your ears bleed and tell you how it's a major issue. But in reality; it isn't. In polling it doesn't register as an issue either in Scotland or rUK. The idea everyone is talking about it on the bus or in the pub is absolute nonsense. Twitter yes. And half the time you don't know if the posters are even real.
ReplyDeleteA Labour victory will see independence framed as 'over'. It will take a Labour government to make people see it's more important than ever. If you don't want to participate in that movement or boycott it because 'the trans' is the most important issue in your waking life nothing the SNP does or doesn't do still matter.
You're just shouting in an empty hallway.
We'll see just how "small" it is tonight. Not long now.
DeleteTonight’s vote will have nothing to do with trans issues. Cost of living crisis and NHS are what people are talking about.
DeleteJames, I've got a question voting for the SNP will delivery What?
ReplyDeleteIf only reality was as simple as you appear to be.
DeleteThey certainly won’t ever deliver independence, that’s for sure.
DeleteThis.
ReplyDeleteThe focus on being a list-only party was always described in the context of the specific electoral strategy for that particular election cycle. There is no evidence to suggest that Alba intended to remain a list-only party permanently. If the intention was to compliment the SNP rather than apply pressure then most members likely never would have joined in the first place.
More than labour pro bomb Gaza party for a start.
ReplyDeleteEngland says shut up and eat your Starmer cereal, with a majority several times larger than all of Scotland.
DeleteCampbell has finally gone totally off his rocker. He's now telling people the only road to indy is to vote Labour to destroy the SNP. His cult following of gullible gobshites and curmudgeons are now echoing this and even talking about the 'need' to vote Tory. Obsession with cocks in frocks has damaged him even more than it has the SNP.
ReplyDeleteKezia will be chuffed 🙂
DeleteLOL - good point.
DeleteStu has lost it.
DeleteThe SNP has too.
These things are not self-exclusive. The SNP can fail and Alba too. Nicola and Salmond.
The WOS brigade on here have given many of us dogs abuse for saying what James in at long last saying. The mouth frothers give Campbell money on an ongoing basis to be brainwashed into damaging Indy. Astonishing.
DeleteIt's also considerably annoying when people imply all sides are equally responsible for the divisions in the Yes movement.
ReplyDeleteAlba has consistently called multiple times for a Constitutional Convention since March 2021, they advocated for #SNP1Alba2 in the 2021 Scottish Parliament election, 'Vote until you drop' for all pro-indy candidates (including the SNP) in the Council elections, not standing against the SNP in the crucial Rutherglen and Hamilton West By-election, offering to work with Humza Yousaf to save his job as First Minister and they excessively pushed for us all to work together via a 'Scotland United' strategy in this election.
What attempts have the SNP made to reach out to the wider movement?
We do all need to come together and talk but it seems like one Party is a little less willing to do that than the others. The olive branches have been very one-sided.
Sorry but that is disingenuous. “On our terms” is not an acceptable basis for discussion, especially with a party that has no elected representatives at any level, less than 2% of the vote, and insists on being run as a dictatorship by the most unpopular politician in Scotland. In general I agree we all need to talk, and SNP need to come off of their high horse as well, but I need to respectfully suggest that Alba cannot take a lead in these talks unless it changes leader and gets rid of the WOS mouth frothers.
DeleteWith the possible exception of the 'Scotland United' strategy Alba has never suggested that they would 'take a lead in these talks' they've only called for talks to actually take place. That's what a Constitutional Convention would be.
DeleteAnon at 11.06am - you criticise Alba for having terms then you set out your own terms. Who made Salmond unpopular - the SNP leadership with their plot to send him to jail and then continually defame him after he is aquitted. Only truly despicable people would do that.
DeleteIt wisnae that long ago the SNP and the WGD numpties were prattling on about how the SNP had decided to clearly put independence for Scotland after SNP on the voting form in bold large font. They claimed this meant the SNP were for Scottish independence.
ReplyDeleteSpoiler alert - it ain't on the voting form. Just one of many many shit examples of how they punt stuff to try and convince they are for independence then back off.
A reminder if you vote Labour or Tory you have the children of Gaza's blood on your hands.
A further reminder to anon/WGD numpties that if you voted for any of the Westminster parties in the past you have contributed to the ongoing colonial subjugation of Scotland and should just shut up calling other people unionists when that was you.
IFS, I fully understand your frustration, I’m frustrated myself as are many many others, on the lack of progress towards independence, however I feel you’re being a wee bit over critical towards the SNP.
DeleteThey’ve made it clear in this election a vote for the SNP is a vote for independence.
I certainly don’t think you voting for a minor pro Independence Party and people abstaining is helping the Indy cause. To the contrary in fact, these are effectively votes for the union. I think this is a fact you and others need to grasp.
"They’ve made it clear in this election a vote for the SNP is a vote for independence."
DeleteThey really haven't.
Every single time John Swinney, Stephen Flynn etc have ever been interviewed since the last SNP Party Conference they've just waffled about entering into negotiations for a referendum, demanding the transfer of powers and that Keir Starmer will succumb to the democratic pressure... basically the same nonsense said at the last General Election and the one before that.
In fact the 2024 plan is pretty much a carbon copy of the one used in 2017. In that election winning the majority of seats supposedly gave the SNP a "triple lock” of mandates and they argued then that the UK Government would find it “democratically unsustainable” to continue to oppose another referendum...
Correct. They've done bugger all, and will continue to do bugger all. They are Devolutionists, London's Little Helpers.
DeleteI’m done with them. Tonight, we'll find out just how many Scots they've lost outright.
Anon at 10.22am - no I am not being overly critical of the SNP. Perhaps if more people had been more critical in the past instead of holding Sturgeon up as some sort of saint and branding anyone who held up warning signs as unionists then we wouldnae be where we are today.
DeleteSturgeon herself told us she wouldnae be having an illegal referendum in her speech of Jan 30 2020 only weeks after promising Indyref2 if we get another mandate. Funny how she never mentioned this qualification before in all her election campaigning. But not content with setting up the Britnats to get a London court to declare Indyref2 illegal she decided not to waste any time by appointing a Unionist Lord Advocate to get a London court to declare that Scots only have a right to self determination if England grants it.
No people have not been critical enough. Too many nicophants.
Whether or not you think the SNP have made it clear in this election that they are for independence isnae the point. It's what they have done and will do that counts not what they say.
The SNP exists to monopolise the independence movement. To be honest, this is entirely rational from their own self-interested point of view. As long as they can use indy as a wedge issue to force half of Scotland to vote for them, they're gold.
ReplyDeleteThat's why I’m not voting for them any more. I want independence, not just the eternal promise of carrots tomorrow.
June, I'm not going to allow you to tell direct lies, so your comment has been deleted. Alex Salmond was quoted on the day Alba was launched describing it as a "list only party".
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