Earlier this week it came to light that an SNP branch has sent the party’s conference committee a very interesting proposed motion for the members to debate and vote upon, the motion calls for the party to treat the next UK General Election as a de facto independence referendum.
The SNP conference is set to go ahead in Aberdeen in October; members have submitted a draft resolution which reads: “As the UK Government has rejected the Scottish Government’s request to promote an Order in Council under section 30 of the Scotland Act 1998 (as amended), conference directs the Scottish National Party leadership to immediately negotiate with political parties and the wider independence movement to prosecute the next UK general election as a plebiscite election to leave the union.”
Those of you that follow this blog or watch the podcast know this is exactly what we have been promoting for five years now. We applaud the SNP members and branches supporting this motion. It is exactly the course of action that is required to reignite the movement out of its apathy.
We have constantly chided the SNP for a lack of action since November 2014. It has been noticeable that since the referendum of 2014 support for independence has never been lower than 45%. Over the past several years it has been the norm to be over the magical 50%. It is all the more amazing when you think that there has not been any form of independence campaign by the SNP, since 2014!
However, this advantage has not been exploited by the party. Indeed, from the high of 2014 and the 1.6 million votes for independence, the numbers at the ballot box have slipped. At the recent Holyrood election, the SNP received 877,077 votes in the constituencies and just 625,949 votes on the regional lists. Nearly half of those who support independence stayed at home.
This pattern has been evident ever since the landslide victory of the SNP at the 2015 UK General Election. Everything related to the independence movement since those halcyon days has shrunk. Not just those supporting the SNP. Those that attend AUOB marches and rallies they are now just a shadow of what they were. The number of pro-independence bloggers has shrunk dramatically. The number of people reading those blogs, too, has declined. The SNP membership has more than halved in that time from a high of 125,000+ to around 50,000 today.
The numbers attending conference and national council have fallen away to the payroll and the hardcore members. The turnout at by-elections has become laughable, averaging around 25% of the electorate at council elections. Indeed, one recent by-election managed to see only 13% turnout.
The one thing that has grown is the number of people who see independence as the only sensible way forward for Scotland. When you consider that in 2014 we began the campaign at 28% and got to 45%, it is easy to imagine what % we could reach if our starting base is 45%!
Therefore, we support this attempt by the SNP members to bring their party back to its raison d’etre. Our concern is that we are worried that this motion never gets to the conference floor.
Those of you who have been involved in party politics know there is a difference between submitting a motion and it being approved by the hierarchy of the party for debate.
Some will tell you that the conference committee is an independent group, free from outside influence. To that let me say this; bollocks! We have all witnessed firsthand the machinations of party leaderships; if a motion that could in any way embarrass them or question a pet policy is submitted, the pressure and coercion from above are not far behind.
So we will watch and we will hope that the ordinary members get their day at conference to try and get our movement back to battle-ready status!
There are some who read these blogs and watch the podcast that get very upset when we suggest that the SNP are included in any way with our march to freedom. While I understand and share the same frustrations of others, I also know that without the votes of the SNP supporters and members we can never realise our independence.
The SNP Party, members and voters are not the problem. The leadership and the grifters are the roadblock to self determination. That is why I believe it is important to apply pressure to that leadership by supporting the ordinary members and this proposed motion.
To do otherwise does not advance our cause one iota. Believing that some court or institution or some silver bullet initiative will ride to our rescue and grant us independence is foolish.There are only two ways to gain our independence, through the barrel of the gun or through the ballot box, I choose the latter.
Should anyone have an alternative route to independence I would be delighted to hear about it. I can assure you if it is credible it will have my 100% backing. I have heard people saying “this is no good or that won’t work or I don’t like so and so” what I have never heard is a credible road to secession that does not involve the ballot box or the gun!
This is the main topic of this week’s podcast; my panel this week consists of Terry Howson, Eva Comrie, and Phil Boswell. They give us their thoughts and opinions on this and several other events of the week. Those include AI Data Centres—– should there be a moratorium while the people give their views on this very controversial scheme? The lies of the Labour Party over GB Energy jobs for Scotland. The Labour Party branch manager joke election and the ongoing burden of PFI as ably shown at the end of the Edinburgh Royal Infirmary contract. More City of London asset theft!