Another day another example of the SNP being trapped by its own devolved mindset:
Swinney defiant as doctors call opposition to cuts ‘naive’
Says The Herald in another headline contribution to its Holyrood unionist propaganda campaign. The Herald you see, wants to paint 'cuts' as inevitable. 'Austerity' is not inevitable for a start (in economic terms) but wasn't The Herald the same paper who passed off 'fiscal stimulus' as a form of religion, unquestioned, when Brown was blowing all the money that we're being told the ordinary punter has to pay for in terms of cuts now?
Apart from a purely economic argument there is also a constitutional argument. Scotland is in surplus and so in an independent Scotland cuts would not be required at all.
Yet Swinney leaves the goal wide open to all sorts of unionist conmen by playing their game of 'balancing the block grant'. If the SNP had ran a 'Bankrupt Britain' campaign before the general election they could now say 'I told you so' and argue that independence is the remedy to cuts in public services not 'austerity'.
But no, the SNP don't like the word independence and pointing out the truth about the British economy would be frightfully negative. Orwellian devoSpeak or what?
So, not only do unionist organs like The Herald get to paint the SNP as being naive for resisting cuts but but they also get to contort reality by simultaniously painting the SNP as the cause of the crisis. Maybe the SNP are naive..
It seems that the SNP is increasingly adrift from reality. At the very point when their key objective can be clearly demonstrated to wipe the floor with its unionist opposition, it is thirled to the idea of managing devolution and getting slaughtered in the process. They can't win with DevoSpeak - ultimately it is not the SNP's language. When will they finally realise this? What will it take to get them out of the Holyrood tearoom and rediscover their soul?
There are economic arguments against Austerity - it is clearly going to make things a lot worse; When people lose jobs the tax take shrinks further. There are plenty of examples, just look at Ireland. The SNP were dumb enough to follow the 'stimulus' mantra. They would be correct to challenge the new mantra of 'austerity'. On top of that they can argue that Scotland never needed either.
Instead, out of vanity, they are committing political suicide.
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22 comments:
Absolutely correct. They should be pushing the independence message at every opportunity and when the Unionists shout about RBOS, tell them that they are a British Company which has been paying taxes to the British treasury since 1707. We produce more oil than Quatar and the latest discovery in the 'catcher' field is worth at present calculations 350 million barrels, a huge boost to the Scottish Economy if we had proper one.
@DL,
It's better than that. There was no need for bank bail-outs. Those are the reason we have all the debts that are now forcing 'austerity' upon us. Instead, we could have put the companies into administration. However that would have screwed the shareholders and bondholders (who were the ones bailed out) and who are almost entirely based in The City of London.
We could have protected the depositors and not put the nation into massive debt which will now have to be repaid.
That was Gordon Brown buying votes at the expense of the workers! Fully supported by the unions btw. Yeh, now the poor are going to have to take it in the neck.
We should take the bail-out money back, burn the quantative easing money, put the banks into administration and forget about all this austerity nonsense.
Problem is that neither Labour or the Tories want to upset the rich!
Alex, every grass-roots member of the SNP that I have spoken to feels exactly as you!
I sometimes think we are lions led by numpties.
AS and his cabinet need to ditch the focus groups and remember what their heart's desire should be - Independence.
I have never missed a branch meeting since becoming a member, but to attend and hear the same old 'softly-softly' approach makes my blood boil. The headquarters crowd just don't get it.
They are content with devolution - in my view this is a betrayal of all the SNP stands for, and worse, a betrayal of Scotland and the Scottish people.
Curley Bill
the snp took the poisoned pill of devolution and swallowed it whole(Gulp!) and now it has killed them....
what did they think it would do
'managing devolution and getting slaughtered in the process'
it was alway meant to do just that
The SNP have wasted their time in power. Too busy kissing the EU's ass and building windmills to get with the real programme of Independence.
Alex, you are right and I have posted on your blog several times to the effect, that the SNP seem to have lost the plot.
The Scottish National Party is nothing if it is not pushing for independence. It is being bound up in the treacle of administration.
Eck and his team may be playing the long game but, just how long can it be before they run out steam and are absorbed into being another form of the Establishment; unable to be radical and self absorbed in the minutiae of administrations,with all its attendant comforts.
"Devo Happy Clappy" will never lead to independence because the MSM ( Daily Retard, Herald Hootsmon and EBC) will not permit it. It will be screened out of rediffusion.
The key is the MSM and breaking their monopoly of received wisdom.
Only when that hegemony is broken can the West of Scotland lair of the Labour Party be tackled and the independence cause advanced.
Radicalism is needed not cotton wool. Boots not slippers.
On the bank bail outs, I think we both agree that the Norwegian solution would have been the chosen option.
Guarantee private depositors, nationalise the banks and let the casino bank ends go under. It is a fundamental part of risk capitalism. They gambled, they lost, they pay.
From Thatcher forward to iDave, all have needed the casino that is the City because it was driving London's wealth; precious little we saw of it in Scotland. So, why did we have to pay for it when it went down?
Because Brown et al needed their support for the political classes lifestyles and future retirement plans. The political classes future, not ours.
Excellent blog by Ian Hamilton which shows the trap of devolution with no financial independence.
http://www.ianhamiltonqc.com/blog/?p=436
@Curley Bill,
Do you go to constituency association meetings or conferences? Interested to know how widespread the discontent is!
@Mr. M,
I think devolution offers the SNP opportunites but they seem hell bent on not taking them. Dunno if it's a poisoned pill or valium but they are suffering from zombification.
@SNP, oxygen,
Salmond wants to reach out and make friends which to some extent is a good way to go about things. I do think though that the whole EU issue should be a position of neutrality to be decided post-independence by referendum.
@Bugger,
Yeh, Hamilton isn't pulling his punches. Not sure I agree with resignation although it's certainly a better option than being a sitting duck! They'll probably move position once the heat is really on and then it will be in desperation and disarray..
So true about the establishment!
We need another Sillars!
Alex, I know elected officials of the SNP who feel the way I do.
If the high heid yins don't get their act together come the day after the election in 2011, we'll have Gray as FM - and some people in the party have told me that is their preferred option.
Also, local SNP councillors and MSP's have said to me on different occasions that we've lost sight of who we are and are 'devo-happy'.
Talk flows more freely at CA meetings - at the conferences I've attended up till now there is very little dissent, a united front being the order of the day.
Still, I think the next one will be more lively.
Curley Bill
@Curley,
Seems that the party is getting hungry for some leadership. It's a long time since I was at branch meetings and conferences. I wonder if some MSPs could be about to breaks ranks if the party loses Holyrood?
Anyway, it't not too late for the party to get a grip - let's hope it does!
Slainte
Has anyone thought to post a link of this and send it to the likes of AS rather than leave it too late show them the thoughts of grass roots members ?
scrub that Ive done it myself :)
Let me know if the party gets back. I had heard that they were trying to take the sting out of post-election crit by pretending to be canvassing opinion of members.. Seems that it's business as usual though!
well I had a read receipt because I sent the email that way but no reply.
I spend a bit of time listening to blog radios and videos on various sites, yet there is not one specific to Scotland in the ilk of say Newsnet Scotland ie a balanced independent Radio Scotland, Im looking into it just now :)
@anonymous,
Let me know what you come up with. You know, I think a comment forum related to daily news stories/features, guest articles and a weekly youtube video would not be so hard to set up. A video interviewing different commentators once a wek (to begin) would help in opening up information away from the stifling Scottish mainstream media. Some bloggers may help by having site access and posting daily news stories and prompting stimulating debate. Information would relate to good stories about economy, banking, oil and so on and the stories would be largely about propaganda, international and Scottish focus etc. My only problem with having a go is not knowing about how to get the web space and the know-how to set up a message board.. Subrosa suggested asking people on the Brian Taylor blog.
If you have any suggestions I'd be glad to try and set up an embryonic site for this end..
Oh, I was thinking about a site along the lines of www.maxkeiser.com
check it out and tell me what you think.
Max's site is wordpress with a few mods, I did look at the blogtalk radio software which looks great but then you have the problem if you did a live show and people from Scotland phones in they would be charged international rates, so I'm looking at simple first with a shoutcast server to broadcast and it wouldnt be too hard for the interviews to be done via skype. Ive got spare hosting could set the barebones up and let the collective contribute , as if I did it , it would be 500 words with not punctuation of rants and a radio show that would make me sound like the MacGlashan character in Absolutely :)
@anon,
Is that Curly Bill?
Never seen MacGlashen - just looked him up now ;)
Ok, if you have the server space and can organise site maintenance, I can look into production. Skype sounds like the best way ahead for interviews in terms of zero budget.. I think the Kaiser site is a good model for attracting a community, no?
That would be the technical side taken care of.
If that sounds good to you then we can agree on the general mission and content and head towards take off.
You got an email? Mine is alexporter69 @ gmail.com
I'm heading off in the morning to Rome for a break for a few days!
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