Over the years I have had minimal interest in
council elections. I simply want whoever runs the council to do their job as
cheaply and efficiently as possible. Ideally I would like as little party
politics as possible involved in how local services are run. I would much
prefer it, for instance, if I put all my rubbish in one bin and that bin went
out once a week. I don’t want my council to try to change the world. In fact I
want them to do as little as possible, do that little well and charge me the smallest
amount the can.
However, in Scotland all elections are different. Every election is an expression of public opinion about the only political
issue that matters to all of us. That is their importance and the reason why I intend to first write about the local election and then at a later date turn to the General Election.
So long as public support for the SNP remains high the issue of Scottish independence will always be on the agenda. The key task for Pro UK people is to gradually whittle away at that support. The goal is first to create a strong opposition and then to take power away from the SNP.
So long as public support for the SNP remains high the issue of Scottish independence will always be on the agenda. The key task for Pro UK people is to gradually whittle away at that support. The goal is first to create a strong opposition and then to take power away from the SNP.
At present Theresa May has said that there will be
no indyref2 any time soon (always use indyref2, the SNP don’t like it as it
reminds them that they lost). The SNP will have to wait at least until Brexit is
finished and we all have had a chance to see how it works in practice. This
gives us some time. The ideal situation is to make the SNP go into the next
Scottish Parliament elections in 2021 having to campaign explicitly for
indyref2. Let all pro-independence parties make a clear, unambiguous manifesto
commitment to indyref2 and see how the electorate responds. For too long the
SNP have been pretending that a particular vote, in a General Election, or for
the Scottish Parliament, is not about independence. They then later decide that
it in fact was about independence. In fact all votes in Scotland are always
only about independence.
Theresa May can only maintain her “Not yet” strategy
so long as Scottish public opinion allows her. It is crucial therefore that we
take every chance to demonstrate that we agree with her. This is where council
elections become important. They are not about bins, they are about the future
of our country.
The council elections in Scotland will take place on
May 4th. The method of voting is by the Single Transferable Vote. This means
that you can put a “1” in the box next to your first choice, “2” in the box
next to your second choice etc. It is possible to have only one preference.
Alternatively you can vote for as many or as few parties as you like.
I don’t believe in negative campaigning, nor do I
believe anymore in voting tactically in a First Past the Post General Election.
I think voters should always vote for the party they support. I think campaigns
to vote tactically against the SNP perversely help the SNP. The reason for this
is that such campaigns are inherently negative and they get SNP supporters backs
up. This encourages a “we will show them” mentality. At the last General Election
I supported tactical voting. I was wrong. I think it contributed to the SNP
winning nearly all the seats.
I know that some people I like and respect will disagree with me about tactical voting. To an extent it depends on where you live. If a constituency is a marginal where only one of the Pro UK parties can challenge the SNP, then voters will naturally vote tactically. But elsewhere the vast majority of voters will not vote for a party they disagree with and rightly so. There is something dismal about it. Better by far to vote for a party you believe in. At least your choice is positive.
I know that some people I like and respect will disagree with me about tactical voting. To an extent it depends on where you live. If a constituency is a marginal where only one of the Pro UK parties can challenge the SNP, then voters will naturally vote tactically. But elsewhere the vast majority of voters will not vote for a party they disagree with and rightly so. There is something dismal about it. Better by far to vote for a party you believe in. At least your choice is positive.
However in a Single Transferable Vote context it is
perfectly reasonable for me to express a preference. This is, after all, what
this sort of voting is designed to show. Well I will be campaigning for the
Conservatives, both locally and nationally. They will be my number one choice. I hope that they will gain
the maximum number of council seats in Scotland. But I will use my 2nd and 3rd
preference votes. The reason for this is that I want to maximise the Pro UK
vote. These two preferences will go to the Lib Dems and Labour. I would far
rather see Lib Dem and Labour councillors than those who support the break-up
of the UK. Obviously if you support the Lib Dems or Labour, you might consider
doing something similar with your party in first place and the other Pro UK
parties in second and third.
If there are any minor Pro UK mainstream parties
left on my ballot paper I might put them as my 4th or 5th choice. This would
depend on them being moderate and sensible. Also if I know for certain that an independent councillor
is Pro UK such a person might be worthy of my vote.
But above all it is vital that Pro UK people don’t
vote for independence supporting parties at all. Better by far to leave a blank
rather than add the SNP, the Scottish Greens or one of the far left
independence supporting socialist parties.
The Scottish Greens I think gain a certain degree of
support from the fact that many voters are concerned about environmental
issues. Because of this they think it won’t matter if I vote for the Greens.
They won’t win power, but at least I have shown that I care about the
environment. We have just seen how foolish this sort of thinking has turned
out.
The Scottish Greens won six seats at the last
Scottish Parliament Election. They used those seats to support the SNP demand
for indyref2. I strongly suspect that many Pro UK people voted for the Scottish
Greens, perhaps not even being aware that they would support independence. The
Scottish Greens themselves were vague in their manifesto about indyref2. They
said that indyref2 should only happen if it was clearly the “will of the
people”.
It’s time that we taught the Scottish Greens a
lesson. If their Scottish Parliament seats were spread between the
Conservatives, Labour and the Lib Dems, there would be a Pro UK majority in the
Scottish Parliament. Pro UK people must never vote for independence supporting
parties. If you do, they will use your vote to push for independence.
It baffles me frankly why the Greens should support
Scottish independence. What has it to do with the environment? German Greens
don’t support independence for Saxony. If the Scottish Greens could be shown
that supporting independence is costing them votes, then they might change this
policy. Environmentally concerned Pro UK Scots should show the Greens that
supporting independence costs them votes.
Long term I think the best chance of getting rid of
the SNP as the party that governs Scotland is to vote for the Conservatives. I believe the Conservatives are the strongest Pro UK party in Scotland and the most committed to maintaining the UK. It would be better in the end if there were only one Pro UK party in Scotland. We could all then unite behind it. That party has to be the Conservatives. They have the best leader, both in Scotland and in the UK. They have shown strength in opposing the SNP and not giving into SNP demands. They deserve our thanks rather than our opposition. It is for this reason above all that I do not favour artificially maintaining the Lib Dem or Labour vote in Scotland by means of tactical voting in a First Past the Post General Election. It prevents us from reaching the goal of a Pro UK party eventually supplanting the SNP.
If the same party ruled Scotland as the UK there would no longer be the argument that Scotland votes one way while the other parts of the UK vote another. The SNP are above all else the Tory hating party and use that hate to gain support. Pro UK people must show that this hate belongs in the 1980s and with a dead prime minister who hasn’t ruled for decades. If Scottish politics could once more be about a choice between centre left and centre right, as it was some decades ago, then we would have defeated the SNP.
Long term I want Scotland to get back to normal party politics. My goal is that independence becomes a dead issue. But to do this we have to criticise each other. This is necessary in order to avoid being entirely negative only about the SNP. We should criticise what we disagree with across the board and be positive about the party we most support. Personally, I don’t believe that Labour can be resurrected in Scotland perhaps not in the UK either. Kezia Dugdale can't quite seem to quite make up her mind whether she really supports the UK and I've heard other Labour people claim that they would prefer independence to a "hard Brexit". Labour are too concerned with winning back their voters who defected to the SNP. Their default position is to make concessions to Scottish nationalism. It is this mindset going back 30 or 40 years that has left us vulnerable to the SNP.
If the same party ruled Scotland as the UK there would no longer be the argument that Scotland votes one way while the other parts of the UK vote another. The SNP are above all else the Tory hating party and use that hate to gain support. Pro UK people must show that this hate belongs in the 1980s and with a dead prime minister who hasn’t ruled for decades. If Scottish politics could once more be about a choice between centre left and centre right, as it was some decades ago, then we would have defeated the SNP.
Long term I want Scotland to get back to normal party politics. My goal is that independence becomes a dead issue. But to do this we have to criticise each other. This is necessary in order to avoid being entirely negative only about the SNP. We should criticise what we disagree with across the board and be positive about the party we most support. Personally, I don’t believe that Labour can be resurrected in Scotland perhaps not in the UK either. Kezia Dugdale can't quite seem to quite make up her mind whether she really supports the UK and I've heard other Labour people claim that they would prefer independence to a "hard Brexit". Labour are too concerned with winning back their voters who defected to the SNP. Their default position is to make concessions to Scottish nationalism. It is this mindset going back 30 or 40 years that has left us vulnerable to the SNP.
The Lib Dems have become the Remain Party. Sorry folks this is a bit like being the Communist Party in East Germany after the Wall came down. In the end the little band waving red flags, longing for rule from the USSR, looked a little pathetic. Better by far to move on. It might in the short term bring some votes from disappointed Remain voters, but long term it is a blind alley. Campaigning to rejoin the EU, which would mean accepting Schengen, the Euro and national humiliation (Oh, please let us back, we can't manage on our own), is untenable. I also think that campaigning for a second EU referendum crucially undermines our position in Scotland. But then I have come across far too many Lib Dems who appear to prefer the EU to the UK and far too many who would like to weaken the UK's bonds still further and call it federalism.
