Politics - the Labour leadership contest and Scottish independence
So, at least two Labour leadership contenders (Phillips and Nandy) have come out against allowing IndyRef2 - and just yesterday, on the Andrew Marr programme, Ian Murray stated that he agreed with them 100%. All three stated that the way to beat nationalism was to elect a radical, left wing, Labour government to Westminster. Two points to make on that view.
Firstly, the N in SNP stands for NATIONAL - not NATIONALIST. There is a difference. Nationalist movements are, on the whole, ring wing and racist (promoting the rights of the indigenous population at the expense of incomers). Neither label can be applied to the SNP (although there are those seeking Scottish independence who hold such views - but they are a minority and the SNP quickly shut them up when they expound on such views). The SNP seek to remain, or rejoin, the EU and actively seeks people from anywhere in the world to move to Scotland. The SNP hopes for a left of centre Scottish government which will forever reject the right wing Tory policies too often coming out of Westminster. The SNP seek to take ownership of all of Scotland's problems so that, with full fiscal control, the country can start to address these. None of the above fit the label that Phillips, Nandy, Murray and all unionists try to pin on the SNP and the struggle for Scottish independence. The SNP is not a nationalist movement but, instead, a movement which seeks to see a fairer, socially just Scotland (which seems most unlikely while a part of the UK - and the recent general election only confirms that last point).
The second point is that electing a properly left wing, Labour government to Westminster does not look at all likely - and if that was to happen it is unlikely that they would stay in power long enough to bring about the changes to how the UK operates such that a Scottish government would be sufficiently empowered to fully deal with all those problems. The Labour Party has, time and time again, promised radical changes - and totally failed to deliver (apart from, that is, the Labour government which created the NHS and other major social changes). There is no guarantee that an independent Scottish government would fix all those problems - but it would stand a far better chance of doing so when freed of the constraints applied by Westminster.
So, for those in Scotland the choice is clear: Stick with, or revert to, the Labour party and see nothing change for the better, or support the drive for Scottish independence - which at least offers real hope for the changes most of us in Scotland want to see.
Firstly, the N in SNP stands for NATIONAL - not NATIONALIST. There is a difference. Nationalist movements are, on the whole, ring wing and racist (promoting the rights of the indigenous population at the expense of incomers). Neither label can be applied to the SNP (although there are those seeking Scottish independence who hold such views - but they are a minority and the SNP quickly shut them up when they expound on such views). The SNP seek to remain, or rejoin, the EU and actively seeks people from anywhere in the world to move to Scotland. The SNP hopes for a left of centre Scottish government which will forever reject the right wing Tory policies too often coming out of Westminster. The SNP seek to take ownership of all of Scotland's problems so that, with full fiscal control, the country can start to address these. None of the above fit the label that Phillips, Nandy, Murray and all unionists try to pin on the SNP and the struggle for Scottish independence. The SNP is not a nationalist movement but, instead, a movement which seeks to see a fairer, socially just Scotland (which seems most unlikely while a part of the UK - and the recent general election only confirms that last point).
The second point is that electing a properly left wing, Labour government to Westminster does not look at all likely - and if that was to happen it is unlikely that they would stay in power long enough to bring about the changes to how the UK operates such that a Scottish government would be sufficiently empowered to fully deal with all those problems. The Labour Party has, time and time again, promised radical changes - and totally failed to deliver (apart from, that is, the Labour government which created the NHS and other major social changes). There is no guarantee that an independent Scottish government would fix all those problems - but it would stand a far better chance of doing so when freed of the constraints applied by Westminster.
So, for those in Scotland the choice is clear: Stick with, or revert to, the Labour party and see nothing change for the better, or support the drive for Scottish independence - which at least offers real hope for the changes most of us in Scotland want to see.
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