William Hague says Sturgeon’s ‘timing is a cynical ploy’ – a week after backing a snap general election

 

Erstwhile Tory leader William Hague has jumped into print with a ‘hot take’ on Nicola Sturgeon’s plans for a second vote on Scottish Independence.

Under the headline, ‘Nicola Sturgeon’s timing is a cynical ploy to take advantage of Brexit uncertainty’, the Telegraph‘s new star columnist accuses Sturgeon of calling for a vote ‘a time of uncertainty, when the voters will be bombarded with contradictions, worries and emotions’.

Her speech, Hague adds,

“is a text written in the language of principle, but with a sub-text of cynicism, calculation and opportunism.”

Ouch! Could this be the same William Hague who used the same column last week to suggest Theresa May hold an early general election to strengthen her hand in parliament ahead of Brexit negotiations with the EU?

As he wrote, the Prime Minister and her cabinet ‘would be in a stronger position to take the country through these challenges successfully if they had a large and decisive majority in the Commons and a new full term ahead of them’.

He adds:

“An election now would follow the rare experience of a by-election gain for the government and would catch the Labour Party in its worst condition since the early Thirties, and with its least credible leader ever.”

Seeking to ‘catch’ and wipe out the opposition ahead of 2020 – a period which could certainly be described as ‘a time of uncertainty, when the voters will be bombarded with contradictions, worries and emotions’.

Talk about ‘cynicism, calculation and opportunism’!

Adam Barnett is staff writer for Left Foot Forward. Follow him on Twitter @AdamBarnett13 

See: What next for Scotland, and would Sturgeon win IndyRef2?