The lessons to be learned from destruction

IT may sound oxymoronic or even masochistic, but destruction – or at least a little pain, suffering and setback – can often be the greatest catalyst for growth, change and creativity. Take the right-wing London press as a case study. It heaped hate and calumny on Jeremy Corbyn – throwing the kitchen sink at him when it came to attempted character assassination, and it was all for nought.

Where once these monstrous caricatures of journalism could claim it was they “wot won it”, today they mean nothing. They don’t decide elections anymore, if they ever did. They are on the wrong side of history. Their day is over, or certainly approaching twilight. The people want honesty in journalism. Readers do not object to a newspaper holding any political position – after all that is a long and cherished part of the rambunctious nature of the press on these islands – but what they do object to is being peddled falsehoods and hate under the cover of political reporting.

So, perhaps, after its wounding, the right-wing press will find a new way to communicate that is not dependent on treating its readers like idiots to be manipulated. Perhaps. One hopes.

The SNP has also been wounded – and perhaps there is some hope to be found here too. Let it first be said though, that the wound is not as bad as the party’s enemies would make out. Taking more than half the nation’s seats would be cause for celebration were it not for the previous landslide the party commanded.

However, it is indeed a serious setback, and should be used as a moment for Nicola Sturgeon to take stock of what her party really stands for in Scotland. Let it be said clearly: it cannot be simply about independence – at least in the eyes of progressive voters who have lent the SNP their support for many years now. Progressive voters saw independence as a way to achieve a better, more fair and equitable world, not as an existential cause in and of itself.

This paper has always supported what is broadly called “progressive politics” – one of the reasons why we applaud the success of the Labour Party under Jeremy Corbyn in England and Wales. The Labour Party in Scotland however – by its ridiculous and self-harming opposition to Corbyn – hobbled itself when it came to the progressive vote. It allowed the Tory party in Scotland to dominate the opposition landscape and turn the debate into a two-horse race between Conservatives and the SNP over the constitution.

In Scotland, this election should have been about progressive policies. Corbyn put daring and radical ideas on the table and the electorate in England and Wales responded. The SNP should have done the same. It allowed itself to be painted as fixated on independence, and its addiction to the status quo meant it could not put progressive success stories before voters to show that in Scotland the SNP stands for real radical change when it holds power. The party can no longer rest on its laurels – on its past progressive successes, such as scrapping tuition fees and free prescriptions. These happened a long time ago, and are now policies embraced by Corbyn’s Labour (ending tuition fees) and the Scottish Tories (free prescriptions).

One feels the SNP needs to get radical or die trying. For example, the Sunday Herald was not a paper which decried baby boxes – it was a good-hearted gesture – but when a baby box is set beside a policy like Corbyn’s National Bank or renationalised railways, it feels a little wishywashy to say the least.

The SNP was also punished for its record, particularly on health and education. That can only be a right call by the electorate, and a shift almost destined to happen after a party has been in power for 10 years. The party had also collected a number of MPs who were not suited to the post. It is hard to feel democracy will suffer for the loss of a politician of John Nicolson’s stature for instance.

And so in the aftermath of its wounding, the SNP’s healing process should entail a great degree of self-analysis and brutal honesty. The Tories in Scotland have made remarkable gains, and despite this paper’s antipathy to their policies, their electoral success must be acknowledged. But with the Labour Party in Scotland still adrift in a sea of its own outdated and Blairite making, the SNP has to have the courage to offer to voters in Scotland a real progressive vision, such as the one offered to voters in England.

On final point on the lessons we can learn from destruction: in any sane democracy Theresa May’s political career would be over by now. In retreat, she has opted for the scorched-earth policy of using the DUP – a tainted and toxic party if ever there was one – to prop her up. So in this case, we hope that the pain of destruction leads not to creative rebuilding, but to a solid final moment of political implosion.