Inherited folly

I will be voting in favour of the resolution presented by our leader and depute leader, because I know that independence for Scotland is inevitable, and it is the SNP who will deliver that independence.

The words of Sally Donald, SNP candidate for Edinburgh Southern and evident idiot. Now, some words of my own.

The restoration of Scotland’s independence is neither imminent nor inevitable. The complacency implied and fostered by such notions stands as one of the greatest threats to Scotland’s cause. It is not imminent because our elected representatives have shown themselves unable or unwilling to take the political action necessary to bring it about. It is not inevitable because a very powerful British political elite is prepared to do absolutely anything to prevent it coming about. And because we don’t have political leaders who will stand firm against these efforts.

I may be accused of contradicting myself – possibly even of hypocrisy – when I say that independence isn’t inevitable. It’s likely that at least one person out there will recall me saying precisely the opposite. In March 2016, for example, I wrote,

"The first and most important thing to remember is that independence is coming anyway. Independence is inevitable. It is inevitable because any devolution measure which succeeds in terms of the aims and objectives of the British state necessarily fails in terms of the aspirations and priorities of Scotland’s people. " - EU referendum is not Scotland’s fight

I stand by those words. They are correct, as far as they go. But I now realise that the statement needs a qualifier. Independence should be inevitable. It should be inevitable for the reasons given. The fact that there can never be a constitutional settlement which satisfies the imperatives of both British imperialism and Scottish democracy should make independence inevitable. In a functioning democracy it would make independence inevitable. But Scotland’s cause is not being fought in the context of a functioning democracy. Scotland’s cause is being fought in the context of British ‘demockracy’. So called because it isn’t real democracy and because it makes a mockery of fundamental democratic principles.

The restoration of Scotland’s independence should be inevitable. But it would be inevitable only if we had political leaders who are prepared to alter the context in which Scotland’s cause is being fought. Political leaders who are prepared to step outside the context of British ‘demockracy’ in order to create a truly democratic context. Political leaders who are prepared to reframe the constitutional issue rather than meekly accept the way it has been framed by the British state. Political leaders who are prepared to confront the British political elite rather than kow-tow to them while rationalising their obsequiousness by calling it ‘sticking to the rules’.

The foregoing is taken from an article called The manner of our leaving which was published in December 2020. That's almost five years ago. I revisit the piece here not for the sake of a 'Telt ye!' moment - I have more of those than I can find storage space for - but to make the point that while I had realised the folly of saying "independence is inevitable" at least five years ago, the SNP leadership has yet to learn this. Which would be bad enough if it was only this. But it is just one instance of far too many illustrating the fact that the SNP leadership's 'thinking' on the constitutional issue has not altered since 2012.

The world and most of the independence movement have moved on. The entire political context in which the fight to restore Scotland's independence proceeds has changed dramatically since those heady days of the Yes campaign. But of course, the fight to restore Scotland's independence does not proceed. It hasn't advanced at all since the vote in 2014. Scotland's cause is trapped in a place that is forever the early months of 2015 because that's where it was when Nicola Sturgeon flash froze it and placed it in long-term storage. It hasn't advanced because the SNP leadership hasn't had a fresh thought on the matter in all that time. Neither have they entertained fresh thinking from outside their bubble of self-satisfied complacency. An obnoxious wee army of party loyalists stand guard to repel any new perspective or novel idea which presumes to approach the temple of the omniscient priesthood still doing deep obeisance before the goddess Nicola - tartan shoes concealing feet of clay.

Sally Donald may be a very nice person. She might even make a good MSP, in general terms. But she will never be a fechter for Scotland's cause so long as he outsources her thinking to insipid John Swinney and his cogitation-averse clique. Gie yer heid a wobble, hen! Start thinking for yourself! Dare to question the dogma handed down to you from the party bosses! Ask the awkward questions! Be your own person!