Another poll, another distraction from Nicola Sturgeon's dreadful government
Glasgow student and Secretary for the Renfrewshire and Inverclyde Conservatives and Unionists, Madeleine Murphy tells you all you need to know about that recent Indyref poll.
“It is coming”, sneered SNP politicians yesterday after the release of Lord Ashcroft’s latest poll which showed, for the first time since 2017, a lead in support for Scottish independence.
Sadly, when referring to what ‘is coming’, it is not surprising that they didn’t mean education reform; nor did they mean an investigation into rising drug related deaths. Neither do they promise a plan to draw needed attention to a seeming Scottish incompetency to build hospitals that can function without opening delays or ward closures due to the spread of viruses. However, lucky for us Scots, what is coming is of course the continuation of a delusional romanticisation of an independent Scotland and the disastrous separatist agenda.
The SNP can bang the drum all they want about independence, but their record in government is shameful.
With Sturgeon leading the initial reaction by hailing the 46% lead as ‘phenomenal’, Scottish nationalists alike immediately flooded twitter with their ‘are you yes yet?’ tweets and anti-English remarks. On reflection, I struggle to understand what the phenomenon is; and likewise, why this poll would turn anyone towards supporting the separatist agenda.
The SNP claim that this drive towards independence is a direct result of Brexit- which may be true. However, how can anyone be ‘yes yet’ when following the Brexit referendum, all the SNP have offered Scotland is an agenda based on targeting the Conservative party and being anti-English, and have offered absolutely no substance to potential negotiating strategies or economic plans for a potential independent Scotland? They offer words, and not actions. Scottish nationalists are too blindsided by this fairy-tale Braveheart fantasy that the SNP portray to notice that the Scottish government has driven Scotland into the dirt, and that this would only but become worse following independence.
However, there is one very important thing to take from this poll: that is all it is. It is nothing more than numbers which may or may not have meaning- though they certainly have made for a great nationalist show. At the end of the day, what we need to see now is a push that makes the case for the union, and not just for Scots – but for the English too. We need to get the country united and ready to deliver Brexit, we need to ensure the Conservative party is united and squash tensions over potential Brexit outcomes, and while doing so independence should remain firmly on the backburner.
So, to the SNP politicians who claim that there is something coming: there is. What that is, is not independence, but Brexit and a united Conservative party that will do something that the SNP after years of power have yet to grasp – deliver for the country. While the rest of the country gets on with this, Sturgeon can go back to what she does best- govern by opinion polls and do everything that it takes to divert attention away from their ‘phenomenal’, disastrous record.
Madeleine Murphy
"First Minister Nicola Sturgeon" by Scottish Government is licensed under CC BY-NC 2.0