Province’s politicians playing to our crowd
long-standing supporter of Israel and is respected for defending the Jewish state in the face of a hostile Scottish establishment.
While the Tories are the most consistently pro-Israel party in Scotland, their efforts to take East Renfrewshire in June will require the toppling of incumbent Kirsten Oswald.
A moderate within the SNP, she was part of a 2016 SNP delegation to Israel and the Palestinian Authority, the first official visit by the party.
Senior figures have started to reach out to the Jewish community and hope to temper the party’s reputation as a home for cranks and conspiracy theorists. Paul Monaghan, an SNP MP, accused the “proud Jewish people” of “persecuting the people of Gaza” in a tweet during Operation Pillar of Defence. In 2015, MSP Sandra White was forced to apologise after retweeting an antisemitic cartoon. During Operation Protective Edge, and trailing the No campaign in the final weeks of the Scottish referendum, the SNP called for an arms embargo on Israel.
Attempts to set up a pro-Israel group to counter the powerful SNP Friends of Palestine were met with animosity. Alex Salmond headed an SNP delegation to Iran in 2015 and urged closer ties between Scotland and a regime notorious for its human rights abuses.
East Renfrewshire will be a test of whether Jewish voters trust recent warmer words, such as those from deputy leader Angus Robertson.
It will also measure what, if any, future Scottish Labour has. They lost 40 of 41 seats in 2015 and have been squeezed out by Scotland’s shift from left-right politics to nationalism versus unionism. Kezia Dugdale, Labour leader, is bright and hard-working but her efforts to rebuild Labour have been undermined by Jeremy Corbyn, who is as toxic in Midlothian as he is in the Midlands.
Scotland may not be political box office these days but the election could see a star turn from Ruth Davidson.
The plucky Fifer looks set to do the hitherto impossible: humble the SNP and send Theresa May a clutch of new Scottish Tory MPs.
Stephen Daisley is a columnist for the Scottish Daily Mail
THERE IS a joke doing the rounds — in Northern Ireland polling stations occasionally get used as schools and community buildings. The general election will be the fifth province-wide vote in around 18 months. There might be a sixth if Sinn Fein call for another Assembly election. Maybe a seventh if their call for a border poll to determine whether Northern Ireland remains in the UK is accepted.
The Jewish community is extremely small — around 80 members, and spread out across a number of constituencies. In the former heartland of north Belfast, where I grew up, there are now only about 30 members living off the Antrim Road.
Even if each Ulster Jew voted a dozen times they would have very little electoral significance. Which makes the concern of Ulster’s political parties for Jewish-related matters all the more surprising.
Nigel Dodds, veteran North Belfast MP, is a highly-respected
The DUP’s Nigel Dodds member of the All-Party group on British Jews. The last Parliament’s antisemitism inquiry called on five Ulster MPs, both Unionist and Nationalist, as vice-chairs and members.
I struggle to think of a major Northern Ireland politician who hasn’t visited Belfast’s synagogue or spoken at a Jewish-related event.
The main parties fielded senior teams to meet the Board of Deputies when it lobbied Stormont.
But it is the issue of Israel which provokes partisan engagement. DUP MPs and Ulster Unionists speak out regularly in defence of Israel.
On the Nationalist side, the SDLP argue the case for Palestine — following Sinn Fein, who as Irish republicans do not take their seats in Parliament.
All eyes will be on whether Sinn Fein will build on its strong showing in the recent Assembly elections. But Stormont itself remains in paralysis with the parties unable to agree a way forward.
Many commentators believe — irrespective of the number of elections — the province is heading towards a period of direct rule from Westminster.
Steven Jaffe co-chairs Northern Ireland Friends of Israel