It's the one substantive thing that has manifested from the 2014 referendum that was not available then, is that there are now several ways of thinking towards achieving independence.
Whether those groups can influence all the political pro independence parties in the way you suggest an outcome of all being on the same page come 2016 is perhaps questionable.
If the SNP government has I no interest in making its reelection specifically for the country's independence, then the whole concept is a non starter.
In many ways we are where we were prior to the 2021 election. The main difference being that we now have the experience of that election. For those whose minds are open to the lessons of that time, what is inescapable is that there is no way forward that doesn't require the SNP. The notion that we can simply disregard such a massive presence on the electoral scene is nothing short of insane. Yet that is precisely what the SNP haters would have us do.
The SNP haters fantasize about and SNP wipeout at the 2026 election not informed by any rational analysis, but entirely informed by prejudice and wishful thinking. As things stand, that wipeout simply isn't going to happen. Voter inertia will ensure that the party will not suffer the electoral disaster some so desperately want to see. Especially when you add to voter inertia the votes of the party loyalists and of those whose aversion to the SNP is outweighed by their dread of the British parties regaining control.
It doesn't matter whether you suppose it to be impossible to persuade the SNP to change its approach to the constitutional issue, there is nothing else to be done so you might as well try. It's not as if it requires any extra effort. You're going to be trying to get all the nominally pro-independence parties to adopt the #ManifestoForIndependence. Excluding the SNP would not only be self-defeating, but it would also be more effortful. In short, it would be totally irrational.
The one substantive thing that has manifested from the 2014 referendum is that the experience must never be repeated. It is most assuredly NOT the case that "there are now several ways of thinking towards achieving independence". There is only #ScottishUDI. There is all manner of side-projects which may or may not be helpful. But unless there is recognition of the fact that the only way break out of the Union is to break the rules that secure the Union, then those "ways of thinking" are mere distractions.
I constantly hear the unreflective refrain that there is more than one route to independence. That is utterly wrong and a serious impediment to Scotland's cause. There is one route to independence, but numerous ways of farting around before you get on track. All these ways of farting around eat up time that we cannot afford.
If you are genuinely intent on progressing Scotland's cause, then from this moment onwards all your energies should be invested in persuading ALL the pro-independence parties that they must go into the 2026 Scottish Parliament election with a shared manifesto commitment to specified action on the constitutional issue within a defined time.
Furthermore, there must be no attempt to make the 2026 election a de facto referendum on independence. Do that, and that's another opportunity squandered. If the election is to be a de facto referendum it must be on the question of the Scottish Parliament asserting its legislative competence in the area of the constitution. Without that, nothing happens.
It's the one substantive thing that has manifested from the 2014 referendum that was not available then, is that there are now several ways of thinking towards achieving independence.
Whether those groups can influence all the political pro independence parties in the way you suggest an outcome of all being on the same page come 2016 is perhaps questionable.
If the SNP government has I no interest in making its reelection specifically for the country's independence, then the whole concept is a non starter.
In many ways we are where we were prior to the 2021 election. The main difference being that we now have the experience of that election. For those whose minds are open to the lessons of that time, what is inescapable is that there is no way forward that doesn't require the SNP. The notion that we can simply disregard such a massive presence on the electoral scene is nothing short of insane. Yet that is precisely what the SNP haters would have us do.
The SNP haters fantasize about and SNP wipeout at the 2026 election not informed by any rational analysis, but entirely informed by prejudice and wishful thinking. As things stand, that wipeout simply isn't going to happen. Voter inertia will ensure that the party will not suffer the electoral disaster some so desperately want to see. Especially when you add to voter inertia the votes of the party loyalists and of those whose aversion to the SNP is outweighed by their dread of the British parties regaining control.
It doesn't matter whether you suppose it to be impossible to persuade the SNP to change its approach to the constitutional issue, there is nothing else to be done so you might as well try. It's not as if it requires any extra effort. You're going to be trying to get all the nominally pro-independence parties to adopt the #ManifestoForIndependence. Excluding the SNP would not only be self-defeating, but it would also be more effortful. In short, it would be totally irrational.
The one substantive thing that has manifested from the 2014 referendum is that the experience must never be repeated. It is most assuredly NOT the case that "there are now several ways of thinking towards achieving independence". There is only #ScottishUDI. There is all manner of side-projects which may or may not be helpful. But unless there is recognition of the fact that the only way break out of the Union is to break the rules that secure the Union, then those "ways of thinking" are mere distractions.
I constantly hear the unreflective refrain that there is more than one route to independence. That is utterly wrong and a serious impediment to Scotland's cause. There is one route to independence, but numerous ways of farting around before you get on track. All these ways of farting around eat up time that we cannot afford.
If you are genuinely intent on progressing Scotland's cause, then from this moment onwards all your energies should be invested in persuading ALL the pro-independence parties that they must go into the 2026 Scottish Parliament election with a shared manifesto commitment to specified action on the constitutional issue within a defined time.
Furthermore, there must be no attempt to make the 2026 election a de facto referendum on independence. Do that, and that's another opportunity squandered. If the election is to be a de facto referendum it must be on the question of the Scottish Parliament asserting its legislative competence in the area of the constitution. Without that, nothing happens.