Does the Colonel have a fair point here? Spoiler: no of course she bloody doesn't, but let's at least start by giving her credit for a couple of specific aspects of her tweet. Firstly, it's obviously true that the Record is a repulsive "newspaper", the existence of which represents an ongoing crime against humanity, and it would do all of us a tremendous service if it voluntarily winded up operations immediately. (Although the idea that it's "partisan" in favour of the SNP as well as Labour is downright risible.) And secondly, I think most independence supporters would agree in retrospect that it was sub-optimal that Nicola Sturgeon did not face a contested leadership election in 2014. Although her victory would have been assured anyway, it would have been highly desirable for her to have been required to engage in an internal SNP debate about the way forward in the immediate aftermath of the indyref defeat, and also about the medium-term strategy for independence in the event that Brexit reopened the issue. To some extent the depute leadership election served as a proxy for that debate, and you might remember that I backed the eventual winner Stewart Hosie, because his strategic vision seemed clearest and strongest to me, but ultimately we knew we were electing someone who wouldn't be calling the shots.Y'know, it's funny. There was no such front page in 2007 when Brown became PM without a vote (no GE til 2010) or in 2014 when @NicolaSturgeon became FM without a vote (no Scottish elex til 2016)
— Ruth Davidson (@RuthDavidsonPC) October 25, 2022
It's **almost** as if their pearl clutching sanctimony is actually partisanship... pic.twitter.com/K3ygCqghcm
However, let's now look at the differences between the processes by which Nicola Sturgeon and Rishi Sunak ascended to office, because you don't have to look far to find some.
* The SNP leadership contest in 2014 was not rigged by an absurd rule stating that each candidate had to be "nominated" by twenty-eight per cent of the entire parliamentary party. Nicola Sturgeon was elected unopposed simply because there was no other candidate with non-trivial support who was willing to stand against her.
* Nicola Sturgeon was not "elected unopposed" by a rigged system less than two months after being beaten fair and square in a contested leadership election by someone else.
* Although Nicola Sturgeon didn't face a contested election to become SNP leader, she did face an election among MSPs to become First Minister. It's surprising Ruth Davidson doesn't remember that, because she stood in that election and was heavily defeated by a margin of 66 votes to 15. Rishi Sunak, by contrast, hasn't even been elected as Prime Minister by the House of Commons - he's simply been appointed by the King in line with constitutional conventions.
* The Scottish Parliament has five-year fixed terms, so it's wired into the system that a new First Minister will see out the remainder of the term unless extraordinary circumstances occur. There is no such barrier to Sunak seeking a proper mandate from voters - this very Tory government changed the law to hand the power of choosing the general election date back to the Prime Minister. (Incidentally, in doing so they outrageously extended their own term of office - the sort of thing you'd expect to happen in a tinpot dictatorship. This parliament was originally supposed to end with an election in May 2024, but in theory that may not now happen until January 2025.)
The vermin in ermine wid be happier if the First Minister was appointed in some anonymous conference room in Foggy Bottom.
ReplyDeleteDavidson sitting in the House of Lords and complaining about the lack of democracy of others. No wonder she is a failed politician with that brass neck how does she get through the scanners in Edinburgh airport. In this instance Sturgeon has nothing to be ashamed of.
ReplyDeleteNow if Davidson had said something like - no Tory MP has ever been PM with their spouse as Head of the Conservative Party as Sturgeon has done now for eight years in the SNP - she would have a valid point. You never hear the SNP/WGD numpties saying a word about this. Sturgeon could have sacked her husband for outrageously lying in the Scottish Parliament Inquiry in to Sturgeons persecution of Salmond but as she lied herself it could have been a bit of a domestic argy bargy similar to her sister's domestic incident.
Stewart Hosie has settled in at Westminster so much he was content to give up any role as the Deputy Leader to deliver Scotland's freedom to commit adultery in Westminster. In his defence I don't think it lasted long. Perhaps he realised independence wisnae gonna happen with Sturgeon in charge and thought a quick bonk was the value he put on being the Deputy Leader. Again all those moralising WGD numpties going on about Salmond never have a word to say about this.
Who would have thought the Tories would be the party to have the first dark skinned PM. Mind you they only achieved this by cutting out their members. The members can console themselves with the fact that he has many of the standard Tory attributes e.g. Tax dodging, giving dodgy contracts to Tory donors/friends, the usual Tory stuff.
Which of the following will Sunak do first:
ReplyDeleteA. Try and resurrect the trade deal with India.
B. Ask his wife if she wants any tax changes for extremely wealthy people.
C. Sack Suella Braverman.
D. Phone Sturgeon.
E. Have a very expensive nice meal.
F. Declare war on Russia.
G. Declare the poor must pay more tax to ensure the wealthy stay wealthy.
H. Say sorry for wasting billions of public money when Chancellor.
I. Say devolution in Wales and Scotland isn't working and must be reformed.
J. Other.
The Britnat media are painting Sunak as some super effective nice guy who will make England great again. He isn't and he won't.
No one says "elex"
ReplyDeleteJames.
ReplyDeleteTime to put your moderate and pragmatic credentials to the test and stimulate a debate on how we can continue to vote SNP after their Westminster walk out yesterday.
I for one am utterly scunnered. The thought of lending my approval for the likes of Blackford (in my case, Alyn Smith) to wallow in their luxurious sty turns my stomach.
I just canny do it any more.
"Time to put your moderate and pragmatic credentials to the test and stimulate a debate on how we can continue to vote SNP after their Westminster walk out yesterday."
DeletePretty simple: do you want independence or don't you? If you do, then don't sabotage any chance of it by voting against the only pro-indy party capable of winning seats in a first-past-the-post election. By all means criticise the SNP for their infantile actions last night, as I have done, but it's a very poor reason for tossing independence out of the window.
Truly truly unbelievable.
DeleteAfter years of the SNP complaining about the Britnats deliberately walking out en masse when they get up to speak they just did that to Kenny MacAskill, Alba MP when he started to speak about the theft of Scotlands resources. You would think the SNP MPs would want to take part in such a debate. Nope most of them were probably getting pissed in the multitude of bars in that vice den called Westminster with the other unionists and they sent a number of SNP MPs to the chamber to walk out specifically as MacAskill rose to his feet. Oswald was one of them who walked out. Nothing will make me vote for her again - nothing. Traitors to the cause of Scottish independence. Hypocrites and traitors.
I think it's time to kick one or two selected lndividuals into the long grass by concerted campaigning for independent candidates. Just as a wake up call of course because its pretty obvious many are taking the piss out of Scotland.
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