I see there are more calls for the mythical beast known as ‘Scottish Labour’ to ditch Unionism and embrace independence. Former BBC reporter Paul Mason and writer & broadcaster Lesley Riddoch are the latest.
I admire the optimism of these people. But it’s misplaced. Asking Labour in Scotland to back independence is like asking a fish to stop swimming. Labour in Scotland can’t ever come out in support Scottish independence for the simple reason that it exists solely to oppose it.
Since 2007 the Labour party in Scotland has manoeuvred every key political issue into an anti-SNP battering ram. It started off with the Edinburgh Trams fiasco, continued with the release of Megrahi and then the replacement of the council tax. Remember it was threats by Gordon Brown’s UK led Labour government that helped scupper SNP plans for a Local Income Tax.
Even the health of the nation was weaponised by Labour when the party came out against minimum price of alcohol. Labour MSPs were more interested in preventing the Nats from receiving praise for a life-saving policy than they were with the health of their constituents.
The party adopted those stances at a time when a return to power appeared feasible. These days British Labour in Scotland has sunk to third place behind the ‘toxic Tories’ and is expected to lose control of its last remaining vestiges of power – local authorities – at next May’s council elections. Labour will never again attain power in Scotland.
What the media refers to as ‘Scottish Labour’ is now little more than an anti-independence guerrilla group which wraps its uber-Unionism up in left-wing soundbites. The latest is a regurgitation of the income tax rise proposed by Dugdale at the last Scottish election. The electorate roundly rejected her idea.
Dugdale of course cares little for the Scottish electorate. We learned as much during that same election campaign when she was asked by STV’s Bernard Ponsonby if she would respect the result of the Holyrood election if it showed support for a second referendum.
He said: “Your party believes in the sovereignty of the people. If the First Minister in her manifesto seeks a mandate for it and gets a mandate for it, will you respect that?”. The Scottish Labour leader immediately replied, “No”.
The entity led by Kezia Dugdale has no purpose other than to present the pro-Union media with headlines attacking the SNP. It will advocate policies it knows would damage Scotland if those policies can be utilised in the anti-SNP/Indy narrative.
Brexit is just the latest example of something potentially very damaging to Scotland that Scottish Labour thinks is better than having independence. Listen to her as she is interviewed on SKY news as she again ignores the will of the Scottish electorate and insists we should merely accept being dragged out of the EU.
That interview emerged during the Scottish election campaign. The naïve Dugdale quickly ‘clarified’ her comments. The clarification was widely reported by BBC Scotland – another London controlled branch office.
The clarification didn’t prevent hard-line Labour supporting Unionists from moving en-masse to Ruth Davidson’s ‘Union at all costs’ Scottish Tory party. Labour dropped to third place in the Holyrood election as a result.
The ‘Scottish Labour’ party will never have autonomy for as long as the Union endures. It cannot survive without subsidies from south of the border. It has to oppose independence for itself and for Scotland if the cash is to continue to flow. It is, in every sense of the word, a colonial organisation.
As I write this there are news bulletins on Radio Scotland which inform me that Kezia Dugdale has re-affirmed her opposition to a second independence referendum. The bulletins are repeated every half hour. This is considered the key part of her speech to the Labour party conference.
There’s more chance of me advocating a No vote in Indyref2 and then going on to vote Tory in the UK election than there is of the puppet party and its puppet leader embracing independence for Scotland.
The unionist cabal in Scotland is and always has been a Westminster/establishment anti Scottish/democratic underground quizzing organization wholly controlled and payed for by the unionist establishment. They are the native foot soldiers/mercenary Londinium troops to undermine the Scottish nation. They are thugs, gangsters for the unionist cause. Their only reason for existence is to undermine Scotland’s people and steal their future.
They are the party of mitigation and double tax. A party who would use devolved powers and a set budget handout, not to further enhance or grow a Scottish economy, but legislate, tax and spend to offset someone elses legislation.
An exercise in pointlessness if ever there was one and a fine example of why the current ‘settlement’ is a far from settled issue.
If devolved government’s reason for being is to merely correct central government’s harmful legislation, then it follows that there is something deeply, deeply flawed with such a constitutional arrangement. A simple premise, but one which Labour steadfastly refuse to recognise, mainly by sticking their fingers in their ears and shouting LALALALALALALA. A time honoured strategy of Labour in Scotland. That and to to project this strategy onto everyone else but of course.
There are lots of contradictory statements left in Dugdales mouth , article 50 has not been deployed yet ,once it is she will be like a ping pong ball , back and forth continually .This sixth former and her primary school cohorts have absolutely no idea how to run a country . Don’t be fooled by Dugdale saying she is the voice of Labour for Scotland , trying to steal the SNP clothes will get her nowhere , she is British Labour through and through .
Nail on head with the flow of funds from the south being the reason ‘Scottish labour’ can never move to support independence. That and a need for Scottish seats at Westminster to have a hope of getting into government.
Genuine socialists must realise they are now better off abandoning the labour brand and looking to form a Scottish left wing party (or parties) for after independence.
One tiny-little crit; do we have to watch 4 minutes of Dugdale’s anti-Scottish waffle to get to the point? Being exposed to 4 minutes of this person’s negativity almost out-weighed the ‘positivity’ of the confirmation that she’s just a selfish, northern British Unionist.
Brilliant piece, tho’, GAP – damn-well wire-into them!
Slightly confused. Is ‘There’s not a snowball-in-hell’s chance of ‘Scottish Labour’ backing independence’ a double negative?
Do you mean there’s a snowball’s chance in hell of the aforementioned ?
If so then I would pivot and say this particular effort requires all combined efforts of those Yes to win over Labour No. Winning this argument and I believe Tommy Sheppard can and should lead the charge, has the highest chance of success and winning this will win us the country.
If British Labour in Scotland ever did ditch Unionism and come out for Independence they would be cut off financially by British Labour South of the border immediately.
Slab are an ‘anti-independence guerrilla group which wraps its uber-Unionism up in left-wing soundbites’…love it!…i must borrow this apposite description Mr P…Another brilliant analysis of this arrogant grinning charlatan and her ‘party’.
Good article, and nice to see a good analysis of the situation. This site is really producing some excellent articles- some other pro-indy sites seem to have dried up a bit with regard to analysis.
I notice that Ms Dugdale and the rest of labour MSPs were not present at Mr Corbyn’s speech today. No, the ‘Scottish’ Labour Party was wasting people’s precious time politicking with their health debate at Holyrood this afternoon. – More or less requesting that the Scottish Government ‘micromanage’ the NHS.
The Green Party has gone down in my estimation by voting with the politically motivated unionist parties at Holyrood today. – I well remember BBC journalists telling us that the SNP was so far ahead in the Holyrood election polls, that we should ‘lend’ our second vote to the Greens etc.- never again!!
Correction- it is UTC time- but still pretty smart getting the ‘negative’ article written and published.