At long last, internal dissent in the SNP

THE schism at the heart of the SNP has always been between the gradualists – working slowly towards independence – and the fundamentalists, who want to break up Britain now and at any cost.

Arguably the greatest achievement – from a Nationalist viewpoint, anyway – of Alex Salmond was his ability to hold these two seemingly irreconcilable viewpoints together as he marched the country to the verge of disaster in the 2014 referendum.

Despite its defeat then, the SNP has seen vast numbers flocking to its banner. That might initially look like a good thing but the influx – largely dyed-in-the-wool separatists – is placing strain on the old fault lines within the party.

Suddenly, all the issues that Mr Salmond and his then deputy Nicola Sturgeon worked hard to play down are spilling out into the open. This is down in no small measure to the contenders for the nowvacant deputy leader’s post wooing the zealots. We have seen senior SNP figures admitting that talk of retaining the Queen as head of state in an independent Scotland was merely political expediency.

There have been admissions, too, that the party got the question of currency horribly wrong and even belated acceptance that taxes would soar while cuts would bite deep if Scotland broke away.

Now there is even criticism from within the party – practically unheard of, since SNP rules forbid any internal dissent.

Remember, this is a party infamous for its unquestioning hive-mind mentality.

Voting to extend air strikes to IS in Syria was a troubling question that saw MPs of every political hue struggling with their individual consciences.

Yet, remarkably, all the Nationalist MPs voted the same way. Tommy Sheppard, MP for Edinburgh East, confirmed he has lost none of his stand-up comedian’s touch when he declared afterwards: ‘We all just happen to think alike.’

Now Angus Robertson, imperious leader of the SNP’s Westminster cohort, has suggested the party is losing support in rural Scotland.

Former local government minister Marco Biagi has dared admit what others have known for years – Scottish education is slipping in global terms.

Kenny MacAskill and Alex Neil – former justice and health secretaries – have axes to grind, having been ditched by Miss Sturgeon following her coronation as First Minister. They, too, are making mischief, over tax and Brexit respectively.

The days when the SNP seemed able to walk on water are gone.

Shorn of its Holyrood majority, with policies from the Named Person scheme to justice in chaos, with its leader impotently wandering European capitals bemoaning Brexit, the party faces a stern test of its mettle.

The broader public want results from Miss Sturgeon but the best she can manage is yet more plotting for another independence referendum.

Critics who said we reached ‘peak Nat’ in September 2014, that the 44.7 per cent poll for independence was the best the party would ever achieve, may yet be proved right.