The historic victory of the SNP at Holyrood places the UK’s very existence in grave peril writes Marcus Booth.
By Marcus Booth, who stood for the Conservative Party in Angus in the 2001 General Election
The biggest cheer at Conservative HQ may have been for the defeat of AV, but the real story of this election is, in fact, the victory of the SNP at Holyrood. The historic result places the UK’s very existence in grave peril.
The prime minister is about to find that the ‘Scottish Question’ is going to be the defining issue of his premiership. David Cameron could be the last prime minister of the UK.
The collapse of support for the Liberal Democrats may have been a principal cause of the SNP victory (the Tory and Labour vote actually held up) and it may be the case that the Scottish electorate were not voting for separation but the shift is seismic and SNP strategy is never accidental.
This is nothing personal; Alex Salmond was the Hon President of the St Andrew’s Students’ Association when I was President. I admire Alex Salmond; he is one of the UK’s most talented politicians. I also like the SNP leader at Westminster, Angus Robertson, who is one of the finest campaigners I know and who has been a friend for over ten years. But as a one-time Tory candidate who fought the SNP machine in an area under SNP control, I learnt that we underestimate them at our peril – they are brutal, disciplined and effective opponents. Once in power the SNP ruthlessly use every means at their disposal to advance one cause – separatism. There is cold calculation behind the bonhomie.
The electors in Scotland may not have voted explicitly for separation but the SNP will now use every effort to create the conditions surrounding a referendum (including setting the rules and the question) that will deliver their desired result. Salmond will only go to the people when he knows he will win.
Those of us who oppose the break-up of Britain have a duty to prevent separation becoming a ‘fait accompli’. The dangerous cocktail that must be faced down includes:
Inertia south of the border – in particular the Tory leadership need to confront the ‘little England’ tendency of some in the Tory ranks. Short-sighted and misplaced self-interest has led some in England to think “we are better off without Scotland”. This is not the case. SNP MPs at Westminster are happy enough to encourage this misinformation.
Weakness of opposition to Salmond in Scotland – the strongest politicians of the principal unionist opposition party in Scotland (Labour) are in Westminster and many of the strongest Tory Scots represent English seats. The likes of Douglas Alexander may well be the brightest stars in the UK political sky but they may be packing their bags and heading North sooner than they intended. We need all hands to the pumps now – the Scottish political leaders of the unionist parties cannot remain detached from events in Scotland any more.
There is nothing progressive about the SNP’s so-called “Civic Nationalism”; there is nothing progressive in nationalism full stop. This is not about reviving ‘Rule Britannia’ but in acting together the nations of the UK can yet be a force for progressive values, a force for good in the world. We are stronger together.
In the coming weeks and months a new cross party group ‘Stronger United’ will be joining those making the positive argument for a modern devolved union; north and south of the border against both the ‘little Englanders’ down south and narrow nationalism in all its guises – fighting the politics of division with the politics of unity and hope.
We must work harder than ever to ensure that there is nothing inevitable about the break up of Britain.
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53 Responses to “Britain – sleepwalking to separation”
Tearlach
“Once in power the SNP ruthlessly use every means at their disposal to advance one cause – separatism.”
Wow – I’d never noticed that, even though their name is the Scottish National Party.
Thanks for the heads up. Though I think they call it “independence”.
Lawrence Mills
RT @leftfootfwd: Britain – sleepwalking to separation: http://bit.ly/iS7ibE writes Marcus Booth
13eastie
For decades, the issue of the break-up of the UK has been inextricably linked with Ulster’s future – a very emotive and polarising issue.
This is increasingly not the case in England, where ambivalence is now increasingly prevalent. Few talk of the the need for a shared political destiny or of the benefits of the union to the English, but they might now mention instead the right of the Scots to self-determination.
I suspect that it might be harder to sell independence to the Scots themselves, and for whom the risks are geatest, than it would be to the English.
A Scot
It’s a little bit insulting that this can be printed under the banner of “Left Foot Forward”. I know the Tories have softened their image in recent years, but a Conservative Party campaigner is hardly an authentic voice of the left, and he’s barely qualified to give an informed opinion on contemporary Scottish politics. Couldn’t you find anyone Scottish – whether unionist, nationalist, or undecided – to write about the implications of our election result? Booth lived north of the border for a couple of years, a decade ago, in a town known as “the last outpost of Kensington”. It would appear that English Labour supporters are so afraid of the SNP that they’d rather side with the Tories on this one. How very Lib Dem…
It’s this very same name-calling, hair-pulling rhetoric that lost Labour the Scottish elections. They were ahead in the polls when campaigning began, but shot themselves in the foot by repeating Mr Booth’s sentiments for six weeks. Instead of regurgitating this nonsense about the dangerous “other” of Scottish Nationalism, you would do well to read some of the insightful commentary that Scottish journalists and bloggers have produced over the weekend; engage with the issue seriously, and you might even start to understand why so many people in Scotland are reflexively pulling away from the Tory government in London.
Graeme
Disagreed. I don’t deny that England may be worse off without Scotland but I, as a Scot, find myself more pro independence as time goes on. If it wasn’t for Scotland the last general election would have seen a Tory majority south of the border, yet even with a measly 1 Conservative seat we find ourselves stuck with a Tory state-slashing Westminister government. The fact of the matter is Scotland and England are very different countries politically these days, with more of the Scottish people holding left leaning ideologies. I’ve lived in England and Scotland and this is quite apparent.
I believe the easiest way to a more liberal, left and most importantly green Scotland is through independence. Just compare Salmond’s faith in green technology compared to Cameron’s complete neglect of green issues.
This website is called “left foot forward” so I am slightly puzzled by a Scottish Tory writing here. This article is another prime example of the Unionist scaremongering I’ve seen from politicians and journalists alike both sides of the border. At the end of the day, although it may not be great for England, this is not a question of England’s future, it’s a question of Scotland’s future. It should be left in the hands of the Scottish people to decide and if Salmond can put up a positive argument for a Yes vote, like he did for an SNP vote, then so be it.