If you have something to say...
Say it on the Huffington Post
If you have something to say...
Say it on the Huffington Post
As things stand, the shadow cast by the SNP and Salmond over Scottish independence is so great it is hard to conceive of another party or vision challenging its dominance in an independent Scotland post-referendum.
"I have lived in important places, times when great events were decided", claimed the Irish poet Patrick Kavanagh. Some weeks, I get exactly what he means. This was not such a week.
All YouGov's evidence from the past four years is that independence is a minority passion north of the border.
The SLP has always been best when it's been boldest, such as when they brought in free healthcare for the elderly, abolished student fees and introduced the smoking ban. Unfortunately little of that boldness has remained since they entered opposition.
Over the next few years the tectonic plates of UK devolution will move and England's 1000 year existence will be challenged. Scotland's seismic decision to have a referendum on independence will bring a Tsunami of debate as to why the UK was created and it will become essential for England to unite and speak with one voice.
Amongst the many serious points surrounding our economy, defence capability, global standing and Security Council seat, one seemingly trivial problem has caught my attention. If Scotland left the UK, what would happen to our flag?
What the talking heads are missing is that the vote will have little, if anything, to do with the sporting prowess of British athletes. If anybody really believes that the flags worn by Andy Murray or Chris Hoy are as important as who is responsible for running the welfare state or the military budgets then they are mistaken.
Imagine it is autumn 2024! It's 10 years after the SNP won their independence referendum. It's also 10 years after the Glasgow Commonwealth games which was widely credited as the time when public opinion swung in favour of Scottish independence.
I can see that bickering about the question feels irrelevant to decisive Scottish residents who know how they are going to vote, but the importance of the wording of the question extends beyond the act of voting and that will make a difference to everyone.
'Your Scotland, Your Future', he tells us. Then come clean: have you received legal advice that undermines your understanding of an independent Scotland's status in the EU, or have you not even bothered to find out?
Although there's (probably) more than two years to go, the referendum on Scottish independence is becoming more of an issue. Unsurprisingly, the Olympics have played a part, and similarities and differences can already be seen between the independence campaign and the AV referendum.
There is something about the commentary on Scottish Independence (one could hardly call it a reasoned debate) that feels other-worldly. The SNP flaunts the Saltire. Those opposed to "independence" wave the Jack. It is beginning to feel like a marriage in which the man and woman talk past each other for fear of addressing the truth. Most English people think the Scots should go for it, but remain deeply Unionist. Most Scots are wary about leaving the Union, while being closet nationalists.
By any measure the level of home support for Team GB athletes has been astronomical, even watching on my TV in the living room the noise from Olympic Park, the Velodrome or the Aquatic Centre has been deafening.
It's all good fun for those of us who miss politics when sport takes over the airwaves. Will the games have any affect on support for the SNP or independence? In the short term, maybe, but not significantly. In the long term, not at all. And that's at least partly because the SNP being ungracious, sneering and negative is hardly news to Scots, even to those who vote for them.
Once the post Olympic bunting has come down what will we be left with? A bunch of empty sports venues, a £multi-billion debt and an increasingly disunited kingdom.
But burning a few bankers is not the answer. If the debate about Scotland and Europe's future continues to be cast in terms of half truths that are divorced from reality, purgatory will be our just dessert.
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