A Guest Post by Neil Mackay
I will not be voting for the SNP. I am traditionally a SNP voter, having voted for the party at every election (Westminster, Holyrood and Council) however I refuse to give the party my vote on 4th July.
This is because the SNP has been given umpteen democratic mandates by the Scottish electorate to advance the cause of independence, but successive leaderships have done nothing, have not used the mandates, but have instead divided the independence community, stagnated the movement and scunnered masses of people accordingly.
As such, continuing to vote SNP will only perpetuate this problem, as the leadership will continue to have a non strategy to secure independence by continuing to humiliate the people of Scotland by asking for permission from the Westminster Government so we can exercise our right of self determination; a humiliating perpetual performance of nothingness which ridicules the people of Scotland’s inalienable right to self determination.
Therefore I will not vote SNP on 4th July, and won’t be changing my decision due to the fear-mongering ploy being punted that the alternative will be much worse, as having a Labour MP will not be much worse than having a SNP MP. For sure on the constitutional issue, on whether they are for or against Scottish independence, there is a clear difference. But that difference is symbolic, whereas in practice, in reality, our lives won’t improve or get worse if we have a SNP MP or a Labour MP. Neither will advance the cause of Scottish independence. Both are for the status quo.
What SNP MPS do is say a few words in that foreign chamber and get derided, mocked and ignored. And so what that they get votes to take symbolic stances on matters, whether it be against Brexit or against the war on Palestine, for sure that’s something especially if for a noble cause, but none of this symbolism advances the cause of independence. None of their regular articles in the National makes a jot of difference, nor their sound bytes cranking up that grievance machine. And don’t tell me that the way SNP MPs are treated in Westminster grows support for independence, as that is utter nonsense as support for independence hasn’t shifted in the last ten years and it will continue to plateau in this way for another decade unless we see revolutionary change in Scotland.
The SNP have become far too comfortable and will continue to take independence supporters votes for granted until they realise that they can’t get away with it anymore. I had hoped the leadership would have come to their senses by now, and I still hold a thread of hope they might wake up, but it seems established that the party is not for turning and that it’s just business as usual from them and so, like an arrogant football team that have been on a long winning run taking their fans for granted, they face defeat.
Thankfully the SNP as a political party is not one and the same as the cause of Scottish independence, the former being a party vehicle and the latter being the overarching age old cause itself. Thankfully we also have other Pro Indy parties and a number of independents standing. Certainly I will not be voting SNP on 4th July at the UK general election, but neither will I vote for any British Nationalist Tory party.
Labour will win this election and Sir Keir will be PM. The SNP will lose a great number of seats, and the blame of this is absolutely, 100%, categorically the responsibility of Nicola Sturgeon and her acolytes, and those who form the leadership now and who continue to offer nothing but a charade to the Scottish people. Your time is coming to an end, and you’ve done this by your own hands. Revolution means out with the old and in with the new. First the old must go, and although this may lead to a temporary symbolic victory for the Tory parties this process will give rise to our New. Scotland shall be an independent country, and nothing and no-one is going to stand in our way.
We need
1. a united front
with
2. a determined leadership
and
3. a practical plan and process for realising Scotland’s Cause
in order to restore this country’s full self-government and independent statehood.
At the moment we have none of these ingredients.
Sadly, true
Neil Mackay sums it all up correctly. Personally I will be abstaining because I want to see the lowest turnout ever in Scotland at a general election. I want to see the people of Scotland sending this message to all players in that unionist pantomime called Westminster: You can stuff your English parliament and you can stuff your so-called United Kingdom.
Can I encourage you to go to the polling station and write Not My Parliament on your ballot?
Sorry, Roddy, I will abstain for the reasons I stated above. Unless I’ve got it wrong and writing Not My Parliament on the ballot means it will not count as a “turnout” by me? I believe the britnat media will take more notice of a very low turnout rather than the Not My Parliament strategy.
Ideally I’d like to see a repeat of the Rutherglen and Hamilton West by-election but on a national level.
To quote the BBC scum: “Turnout [at the Rutherglen and Hamilton West by-election] for the vote was 37.19%, a dramatic fall from the 66.5% recorded at the last general election”.
It would be fantastic if that turnout figure was replicated. Anything under 50% would still deliver a strong message.
Watch Prism on Wednesday before making a final decision.
I’m not wasting my vote but neither will I be given it to a party who’s been crying wolf on Indy at every single election since the SNP leader became FM Sturgeon, Humza and now Swinney. Hannah Bardell is my MP and I’ve decided that I will be voting for anyone who has the best chance of chucking her out on her ear. To be honest I’m actually looking forward to the SNP demise, I feel excited and can’t wait until Independence form the SNP on the 4th of July. I hope the rumors are true and the party is really struggling for funds as someone who used to given regular £25 to fund the SNP election campaigns towards a MP re-election and hope no one is daft enough to fund the lying SNP Westminster campaign. On the 04.06.24 as every single SNP MP falls to a Independent or Unionist party I will have a toast and a glee in my face and I’ll be unable wait for another SNP MP who’s just round the corner about to be chucked out on their ear, I really am excited and can’t wait.
Write Not My Parlianent on your ballot it us still a vote SNP wont get
I hope many follow your advice Roddy- by doing that it’s repurposing the vote and not spoiling it.
BB a wee bird told me last night that Beattie has cut a deal. Just a wee rumour flying around . Not “yet” sure of its truthfulness.
I will not be voting for the SNP either. I have been voting for them since the 1970s but at this election I am looking forward to them losing a lot of seats. It will make no difference to Scotland who sits on the green benches at Westminster. What does concern me is that if the SNP continues its policy of self-sabotage we will end up with a Unionist majority at the next Holyrood elections. Change has to start now. If you don’t have a genuine independence candidate you want to vote for then please repurpose your vote and write “End the Union” or “Not my Parliament” on your ballot paper. Don’t give the SNP the chance to blame the date of the election or apathy or anything else for the results. Please use your ballot paper to vote FOR independence but AGAINST the SNP.
Find myself of a VERY similar mindset to Neil Mackay; how many opportunities, how many mandates, would the SNP seek to be granted – before they get off their hind legs, to stand up and be counted..?
Talk is as cheap as chips; in this life, the name of the game is results.. One would hope to witness ALL of the parasitic individuals who hold back ‘the dream’ – no names mentioned here, but one of the very worst currently happens to be a Perthshire-based MP – be hunted from office, and sent ‘doon the road..’
Not My Parliament that is exactly what I will write on my ballot paper most of us have a long list of grievances with the SNP from the wasted mandates to the hugely embarrassing approach to the English Supreme Court begging for a Section 30 which they knew would be cast aside also the attempt to imprison Alex Salmond which failed miserably as he was cleared by a near all women Jury. We have several of their MPs retiring in disgrace let us hope those spineless cowards can find in their weak hearts the courage to blow the whistle. Everything Neil MacKay wrote I agree with Neil is a true Patriot sadly after many years supporting and hoping for Independence the hopes and dreams of many like Neil lie in tatters he and I have seen many patriots pass away people we walked with and laughed with at every march over the past ten years, the SNP are shameless salaried traitors!
Couldn’t agree node with the comment ” not my parliament”
I would also suggest that folks consider that it is Westminster parliament with the SNP and Labour connivance that wants to enlist all our young men and women to fight in the front lines against Russia.
The proposal for mandatory conscription across the EU is now becoming a big debate.
Hungary’s Foreign Minister Peter Szijjaro has just tailed against it at a meeting with other EU ministers. Hungary he says will not concript it’s youth to fight and die and neither should other EU states. It is not Hungary’s war.
So think about what you are voting for when you cast a vote on the 4th July.
Sunak has said the plan is to concript British eighteen year olds by 2025.
When you say ‘Not My Parliament’ are you referring to the British one in Westminster or the British one in Holyrood?
Which election is on July 4th?
The British General Election takes place on 4th July.
My question remains unanswered.
Watch Prism today and hear what Eva and Sally have to say . I think you will find your question answered
I don’t see the point of exaggerating. What the Tories have actually proposed is that 18-year olds will be given the option of 12 months paid full time service with the military, or 25 days a year unpaid work service with a community service. I suspect that the vast majority will choose the latter option. No-one will be forced to join the army, far less fight against Russia, and refusing to do any national service at all will not be a criminal offence though I’m sure that some other sanction will apply.. One thing that I thought was worthy of note is that in order to pay for this the Tories will divert £1 billion from plans to crack down on tax avoidance and evasion. You can’t fault the Tories for cunning and for looking after their own.
No Scot should be forced into such choices to enlarge our imperial masters army.
I cannot vote for them either. I am at a loss unless ALBA , ISP or Independent for Independence stand in my neck of the woods. I would prefer to spoil my ballot paper with the words ‘End the Union’
I’m in a quandary. Yes, I think that the SNP need a good kicking at the polls as I see no hope of redemption for them until the old Sturgeonite lot have been ejected, and I am so angry with them as I believe that they have destroyed the genuine hope that I had that I would see independence within my lifetime. BUT…. the challenger to the SNP in my constituency is a Tory and I cannot bear the thought of me and my home area being represented by a Tory in the next UK parliament and the unionist gloating that will inevitably follow. So I may just succumb, grit my teeth, hold my nose and vote SNP. I haven’t decided yet.
What I won’t do is spoil my ballot paper which seems a futile gesture. At the end of the day the public won’t be told what was written on the spoiled papers as all wil be lumped together as “void for uncertainty” and, moreover, each spoiled paper will count towards the turnout figure. As I see it politicians, who hate to be ignored, will be much more concerned by a low turnout figure which will also convey to them and the world at large just how little confidence we have in our discredited political system.
It is the parties we want to know what is written on the ballot papers.