No, Nicola, this isn’t the time to gamble with our future
IF there’s one thing Scottish nationalism truly excels at, it’s fostering division.
When the SNP won the 2007 Holyrood election, the party – then led by Alex Salmond – promised to govern for all Scots, regardless of their constitutional position.
But it didn’t take long for the Nationalist leader and his deputy, Nicola Sturgeon, to reveal their true colours.
They fostered a culture of grievance, setting Scots against each other, questioning the motives of anyone who didn’t share their belief that the breakup of the UK was imperative.
By the time of the 2014 independence referendum, Mr Salmond and Ms Sturgeon were leading a country where angry and intimidating Nationalist protests were described as ‘civic and joyous’.
Having managed to divide the country, Mr Salmond and Ms Sturgeon are now dividing their own movement. Once the closest of allies, they are bitter enemies, slinging mud at each other and arguing over how best to achieve their ambition of destroying a Union that has benefited people across these islands for more than 300 years.
The arrogance is breathtaking. We are in the middle of a pandemic that has cost the lives of thousands of Scots.
The vast majority of people – quite rightly – see recovery from the impact of coronavirus as the priority.
Only the most dogmatic of Nationalists thinks the constitution an issue worthy of focus, yet Ms Sturgeon and Mr Salmond are slogging it out over which direction the separation movement should take.
When Scotland goes to the polls in May, there is every possibility that Mr Salmond may be elected as a representative of his new Alba Party.
If he does return to Holyrood, we can expect his continuing battle with Ms Sturgeon to get more rancorous by the day.
And, all the while, the real priorities – the need for reform in the NHS, in our schools and in our justice system – will be ignored, yet again. During its years in opposition, the SNP often attacked other parties for their arrogance and complacency. Both Labour and the Conservatives, it said, took voters for granted.
Over time, an increasing number of voters agreed and looked to the Nationalists for a more positive form of politics.
These days, it is the SNP and Mr Salmond who are taking voters for granted.
His claim that he and the Alba Party will help create at Holyrood a ‘super-majority’ for independence assumes a great deal.
The fact is that polls show independence to be a priority for a minority.
The psychodrama between Ms Sturgeon and Mr Salmond will play out over the next six weeks of campaigning, at a time when serious politicians should be talking about coronavirus recovery.
A substantial number of Scots – some Unionists included – gave the SNP the opportunity to govern in 2007 because they believed it was time for a new politics that focused on their priorities. Few could convincingly argue that the internecine warfare engulfing the Nationalist movement benefits a single one of those voters.
Yesterday, Ms Sturgeon reacted to news of the launch of the Alba Party by saying now was not the time to be gambling with the future of our country.
If she truly believes this, she should take her plans for a second referendum off the table and commit all of her energy to getting Scotland back on a strong economic footing.