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.
53 Responses to “Britain – sleepwalking to separation”
Lily Powers
http://bit.ly/lbeTKy Hmmm.. Dear England, I like you, but if you will keep electing Tories we may need to seek an amicable divorce.
whiterose1314
RT @bellacaledonia: Don't Panic! @leftfootfwd https://www.leftfootforward.org/2011/05/britain-sleepwalking-to-separation/ What's 'Left' a …
Seon Caimbeul
Like almost all of the interpretations of the SNPs election success, this article fails to grasp two essentials.
It’s not just about the failure of the unionist parties. It’s about throwing off the shroud of Xenophobic English nationalism and its about the possibility of a fresh, constructive, consensual, life-affirming politics for a modern world.
We don’t like the racist, imperialist, warmongering tone of English politics and the English media. We don’t like the dawn raids and forced repatriation of refugees who want to live and work in our country. We don’t like the illegal wars of the Anglo-American terror machine. We don’t want your nuclear weapons, we don’t want your nuclear pollution industry. We don’t like the arrogant assumption that the English are born to govern. We don’t like the Engllish national ubermensch ideology. We don’t like the stupid jokes about the French, the Belgians, the Italians, the Welsh or anybody else who isn’t as English as a BBC newsreader.
We are fed up with the utter failure of the main English parties to grasp that an independent Scotland might result in a more co-operative, more consensual, fairer and more inclusive society. That is what we want. We want to break free of the suffocating anglocentrism that pervades English media and cultural life. We want to understand other peoples and cultures, learn their ways, learn their languages, trade with them on consensual terms and generally have a lot of fun. We like to sing and dance and be happy. We like to eat unpolluted food and drink fresh water. We see no reason why other people around the world should be denied those simple rights.
Nobody knows at this stage what exact form independence might take. There would have to be a wide range of treaties and co-operative iinitiatives from everything from security and defence to the provision of lavatory seats for royal arses on state visits.
Our movement towards assuming control of our own lives, our own resources, could have positive long term benefits for everybody in these islands. Call it community. Call it democracy. Call it what you like, it’s happening.
But maybe you do grasp that. Maybe you just don’t like the challenge to English hegemony. English nationalism has been the dominant force in British politics since before the union. It’s what sells English newspapers, It’s what gets English voters to go to the polls. It’s what shapes English foreign policy. It’s what produced the present ConDem coalition. English voters didn’t want a Scottish Prime Minister.
The Left and Right in England are hardly distinguishable although you pretend to have different parties. Blair, Milliband, Cameron, Clegg — all English nationalists.
We’ve just elected a national party in Scotland. It has a broad spectrum of support. It’s a braid kirk as we say.
It’s a democracy — almost. We have free and fair elections. We won’t be waving too many flags, we won’t be encouraging the Americans to bomb people, torture them and take humiliating and degrading photos to share with their friends back home.
We’ll be getting on with the business of living. And by the way — gerrit up yaise.
Gewyne
“….the benefits of mutual union are far more diverse and ideologically profound.
The proponents of unionism need to make their points much more vociferous and diverse in nature.”
I often here this but rarely see anyone put up any convincing arguments for why the Union must remain (or is the better option than a Federal UK).
As for the term Little Englander – well I prefer that than the colonising imperialist that are holding onto the last embers of the British Empire. If there were more Little Englanders, we would not have to travel the world cap in hand apologising for Britains past deeds, or told we should live in shame for past actions by our ‘progressive’ betters.
Bugger (the Panda)
What a load of Luvvies commenting on this bit of piffle.
keep it up chaps, please.
You still don’t get it.