May’s contempt is risky
GIVEN the state of play between Nicola Sturgeon and Theresa May, it was inevitable their meeting on Monday would be frosty.
But the picture of the two, sitting awkwardly in a Glasgow hotel room, produced what they call bad optics in the image trade.
Sitting on the edge of the shot was the PM’s closest adviser Fiona Hill. Her role in the future of Scotland should not be ignored.
Hill, born in Greenock, appears intent on bringing Sturgeon down a peg or two. Forcing the First Minister to a meeting in a hotel, refusing the offer of Bute House or Scottish Government offices, was a deliberate strategy to deny Sturgeon control of her own space or her projected image.
The timing was about denial of status too, the PM making it clear at the last minute that she could only fit in talks between a speech, an anti-terror briefing and meeting the PM of Qatar.
Hill is the driving force behind May’s refusal to countenance a second referendum and her increasingly hard line against the SNP. Conversely, Downing Street’s joint chief of staff will have May deploy the threat of independence as a handy tool to keep cabinet Brexiteers in line.
Mind games are fine but contempt is a double-edged sword and can cut those who wield it deeply too.
For her supporters, Sturgeon is the embodiment of their dreams and if May is seen to be insulting Scotland, she’d better look out.