The SNP are back at it I see. Pretending they’ve got the best interest of Scots at heart, when really there’s only one thing driving their agenda: independence at all costs.
It’s hard to describe just how much the SNP lusts for independence. It goes beyond a belief in self-rule, it even surpasses nationalism; it’s an unbearable appropriation of politics for their ideological thirst, and it angers me.
Because deep down Nicola Sturgeon doesn’t want what’s best for Scots, she wants what’s best for her.
If she wanted what’s best for Scots she’d have spent her decade in Government fixing Scotland’s health and education systems – both of which are falling far below the standards the SNP promised – and not parading around trying to sell people a vision that won’t ever come true.
You see the arguments that people made at the last referendum, about why independence was too economically costly for Scotland, still ring true today and are perhaps even more pronounced. Falling oil prices have already hit the Scottish economy (and let’s remember that the SNP’s estimates for oil revenue in the first two years of an independent Scotland were out by £21 billion), and the country’s huge deficit – 9.5% of GDP – means it has a higher deficit than any other EU country, and that includes Greece. Does Nicola Sturgeon really think that this bleak outlook puts Scotland in a position to flourish outside of the UK? (You can read more about the current economic outlook in Scotland here in the Telegraph).
But there are other arguments that are still not answered – what currency would Scots use, how would they pay for public services, pensions, or protection without money flowing in from South of the border?
But forget about the money for a second and let’s focus on something else: desire. 85% of Scots voted in the 2014 referendum returning a decisive 55% – 45% decision to stay in the UK. The will of the people is apparently not enough for Nicola though. Of course she cites the change in circumstances as a reason for needing a new vote. But polls in the past twelve months have consistently shown that the majority of Scots don’t even want another referendum – no doubt, like the rest of us, they’ve had enough of going to the polls.
Our entire country has been torn apart in the past year and Scotland in particular has faced a prolonged period of division. Call me daft but I genuinely believe it is the role of the Scottish Government, and of the First Minister, to attempt to bring her nation back together again. But more than that, the SNP Government should also be working constructively with the leaders of all the UK nations to deliver the best possible deal for all our citizens, wherever they live. But that’s not what’s happening here. Because the SNP don’t want a good deal for the UK, they don’t even want a good deal for Scotland (see their rowing back on the commitment to stay in the EU at all), what they really want is to put a bloody great big crack in the middle of our country, cementing their own power for generations to come and splitting their nation from ours.
I campaigned during the last referendum, albeit reluctantly. It was horrible, even hateful. I’m sorry that the majority of Scots have got a result they don’t want in the EU referendum, but listen, you’ve got more in common with me and the rest of people who live in London on that issue than you have with the six SNP MPs who voted to leave the European Union. The First Minister does not have you in mind when she threatens the Prime Minister and taunts the Scottish Labour Party with the prospect of another referendum. She only cares about her own party, and she’ll trample over everyone to get what she wants.
Politics on the side 