They say if you lie down with dogs you get up with flees. This was so much in evidence on Question Time 5 March 2015 watching Danny Alexander squirming with the concept that his party and in fact his seat is marked for demolition. I have no sympathy for the LibDems. They had their chance and they blew it. They had an opportunity to secure their place in political history in 2010 but they allowed the ambition of Nick Clegg to overtake their common sense. In my blog ‘The Clegg will be bitten‘ I explained my view on how they should have handled the opportunity … but there you are. Their supporters are marching in their direction with the pitchforks.
I don’t know what was less palatable? Kezia Dugdale trotting out the Labour wing of the party in Scotland’s mantra. Thank goodness we remain in the union – the Chelsea pensioners can contribute their mansion tax to fund more nurses in Scotland. Even the BBC audience winced at her sillyness – how embarrassing. If she had ever had a real job or any commercial sense she would realise that the mansion tax is the Emperor’s New Clothes.
A wise man/woman learns from their mistakes, but it takes a bit of genius to learn from others mistakes. This is the point where I would appeal to the SNP to learn from the mistakes of the LibDems. All this talk of deals with Labour makes me cringe. The thought of Ed Miliband or even David Cameron in power for 5 years fills me with horror. Every time I hear a politician, political pundit or commentator trot out the rhetoric that the next PM will be Cameron or Miliband I shake my head in dismay. Are we that stupid?
So, here’s the thing. Either Cameron or Miliband will be the next PM, for sure, but that is very different from saying that either Cameron or Miliband will be in power – neither will be.
On 7 May we will find out just well the predictions have played out and how many seats the SNP have taken. I suspect it will be a wipe out – I suspect that is inevitable. In general the YES voters will vote for the SNP. But also, many NO voters who felt that independence was a step too far will give the SNP a chance. By contrast, the Conservatives, LibDems and Labour in Scotland are very far from united – and as such have slipped into the vast minority. Remember, Conservatives and LibDems stuck to their Westminster roots and sided with Better Together. Labour in Scotland abandoned any principles they had and became Red Tories, standing shoulder to shoulder with the Tories. Of course there is a reason for that. With Independence came the demise of New Labour – that is why they were in a frantic mess over the Referendum. But even as New Labour is in its death throws, the green shoots – or is that the red shoots of traditional Labour are beginning to grow.
But don’t let’s run away with any impression that the General Election is a re-run of the Referendum – it is not. It is a chance for the SNP to show their mettle, not just to the people of Scotland, but also to the people of England.
The broadcast media will have us believe that there is a Scotland/England divide – they just love to find divisions where none exist. If there is a divide it is the ‘haves and the have nots’. The SNP have an opportunity to demonstrate to the people of England that they stand for social justice. I think the people of England are ready to embrace that concept.
The SNP will fight for social justice for the people of Scotland. However, while we remain the United Kingdom that social justice will apply equally to the people of England, Wales and Ireland. In the future I see the emergence of a proper English National Party that fights for social justice for the people of England. Wales already have Plaid Cymru and Ireland is a wee bit more difficult. However, they have been steered into the politics of division by their politician and they are the same people as you and I. In fact, Ireland has probably come further than any of us on the road to social justice, because they started so far back.
So back to the main point. When people vote SNP they are voting for the SNP – not the SNP doing deals with Labour. Westminster Labour and especially their branch in Scotland are not remotely the original socialist party of their roots. As long as Blair and Brown and many other of their influencers are around they will not change – as such they are unelectable. So why would the SNP want to do a deal with Labour? This is a POISON CHALICE.
Regardless of who is in the PM seat, if the SNP hold the balance of power, without any deals, they get to chose or influence the policies that deliver social justice, regardless of their source – IT REALLY IS THAT SIMPLE.
They will pick up the credit for the things they get right – but they won’t be the scapegoats or whipping boys for the bigger (for now) parties.
So, I have a new motto for the SNP that I believe will sit well with the people of Scotland and the people of England:
NO DEAL
And here is a little after thought. If the countries of these islands operated on the basis of real social justice and not the politics of a dying empire, Independence would not be such a big deal. If Scotland wanted to become Independent the rest of the UK wouldn’t bat an eyelid. In business we call it Novation. We have seen it so often, a company changes its name, paints its vans a different colour and carries on as if nothing had happened.
There is a reason for this. All these political labels that we hear and are given are really just sticks to beat us with. We use them to mark out our boundaries. Give people social justice and all the boundaries become meaningless.