Nine thousand days
Every day Scotland remains under the heel of the Union is a day the SNP has failed. Pete Wishart has been an SNP MP for more than 9,000 days. It ill behooves a man whose proudest boast is more than 9,000 days of failure to lecture Scottish nationalists on how to “move our journey to independence forward”.
He is correct, however, in dismissing the plethora of ‘cunning plans’ devised with a view to wangling a seat in the Scottish Parliament with all its attendant rewards. Those advocating for these ‘voting strategies’ should reflect on the fact that even the clown who insisted we should await the “optimum time” before making a move is able to see through their devious devices.
Anyone who recalls Wishart’s 15 February 2018 blog entry titled ‘Timing is everything’ will understand how tempting it is to dismiss this man as a fool. But if a fool he be, then we might all wish to be so foolish as to spend approaching 25 years in a handsomely remunerated position whilst maintaining a perfect record of failure to deliver on the principal promise that got him appointed to the job.
Wishart’s latest “musings and mutterings from Perthshire” does confirm that he supposes the rest of us to be as slow-witted as one would have to be to fail to recognise the pointlessness of arguments about which party to vote for when all of them are as clueless about how to restore Scotland’s independence as Pete Wishart has spent 9,000 odd days proving himself to be.
Though it pains me to say it, Pete Wishart makes some fair points:
With respect to advocates for the micro ‘pro-Independence’ parties who are campaigning for a ‘super-majority’ he says
“Parties which, until an election appears on the horizon, have shown nothing but hostility and contempt towards the SNP suddenly plead with our voters to back them.”
Wishart is correct, as it is inarguable that the advocates for Alba Party and the Liberate Scotland grouping have spent the last 5 years slagging off the SNP whilst simultaneously begging them to encourage their voters to vote for them on the regional list ballot. That is a self-defeating exercise if ever there was one.
Regarding differential voting across ballots because we ‘know’ that the SNP will win the constituency seat Wishart says that
“The idea that you can predict or determine an election result before a single vote is cast is strictly for the birds. Absolutely no-one knows what the outcome will be, and political predictions have a habit of blowing up in your face.”
Again, this is correct. At the very least you would need to have very good local knowledge before you could be sure that split voting is risk free and that you don’t end up with both votes achieving neither desired outcome on the constituency and regional ballots.
Wishart demonstrates a conceptual understanding of the Additional Member System of voting used in Scottish Parliamentary elections when he says
“Attempting to deny Unionist parties representation by gaming the proportional element of the system risks denying the Scottish people their legitimate democratic choice.”
That is surely correct, as this undermines the system’s goal of (approximate) proportionality and, in effect, is an attempt to convert the AMS into something more like a first past the post contest.
Finally Wishart says that
“Even if most of the 29% who currently intend to vote SNP on the list were to switch to another party, it would not create another single additional independence supporter”.
This recognises the need to gain majority popular Independence support in the country at large rather than in parliamentary representation in the Holyrood debating chamber.
Of course, Pete Wishart being Pete Wishart he goes on to ruin the foregoing by spinning the SNP line that
“The better course is to stick to the plan. We have a very real chance of securing the 65 SNP MSPs that would mean a majority, and replicate the conditions which triggered the last independence referendum.
That remains our best opportunity to secure another referendum and to move our journey to independence forward.”
With SNP voting intention according to polling stuck at 35% on the constituency and under 30% on the list the “very real chance” of a majority is about as likely as successfully building a snowman in hell. And his suggestion that this is the “best opportunity to secure another referendum” is risible given that the British have already given a pre-emptive knock back to something that wouldn’t restore Scottish statehood in any event.
So, to misquote Muhammad Ali in respect of Pete Wishart, he’s not as dumb as he sometimes sounds.
A clown? No.
A chancer? Definitely!
Agreed.No argument with anything you say. However from my viewpoint they are ALL in the scam...from the top down.And that appears to be one of the problems Scotland suffers from..no-one seems to be bothered enough to oppose our dead end policies or 'secret plans' to bring back Scotland as a nation again. Too concerned with holding onto their sinecures and making sure they get their payrise on time...than fighting tooth and nail for our freedom from another foreign nation.
Meantime the cesspit is tearing itself apart..the perfect opportunity for Scotland to say ..'Now is the time Cato!' ( ref : The Pink Panther)But no...they fight amang themselves..
What causes this inertia..lethargy...?Is it.....
1. The Scots are a lost cause..300 years has taken its toll.
2. Too many foreign english embedded in our country ...Jo Farrell (foreign english sh*te ). head of Police Scotland.
3. Too many immigrants dumped in our country ( by the afore mention foreign english...) who huvnae a scooby aboot independence..
4. And finally ..DEVOLUTION..the biggest scam of all. Scotland 's hands are not on the levers of power..'it's none of your business who we the english decide to allow to use your land to attack others ..and we don't have to tell you'..(you stupid little colony)
I always advocate violence..the people rise up and frighten the sh*t out of those who would stand in the way of Scotlands freedom...unfortunately too many Scots are busy eating and drinking crap while watching Netflix..whatever that is...
We are long past chatting and discussing in a friendly jocular way with the sh*te south of our border....many of them now in our country..(270,000 slithered in last year... ref Believe in Scotland)
Might be too late.
For OUR Scotland and her colonised weans....except me and hopefully YOU. Hope springs eternal..