There used to be lots of Labour and Liberal Democrats
MPs and MSPs willing to fight for Britain. Where have they all gone?
What happened to Jim Murphy? He’s only 52. He used to
stand on Irn Bru crates and did a good job arguing against the SNP. Now he was
last heard of working for Tony Blair.
What happened to Alistair Darling? He’s only 66. He led the campaign in 2014. But has now even
retired from the House of Lords. He shows no appetite to take on the SNP again.
What happened to Douglas Alexander? He’s only 52. He
now works at Harvard and is no longer interested in us.
What happened to Danny Alexander? He’s only 48. He
works for an investment bank.
What happened to Gordon Brown? He’s only 69? He occasionally mutters something about federalism,
but otherwise does nothing to fight the SNP.
The whole Left-Wing establishment in Scotland that
gave us the Scottish Parliament has retired hurt. They thought that the
Scottish Parliament would give them power forever. No one could ever challenge
a Labour Lib Dem coalition.
Having created the condition for Scottish nationalism first
by joining with the SNP in an anti-Tory coalition and second by creating a
lopsided devolution settlement which was so ill thought out that within twenty
years it was being used to attack Britain, these people have left the mess they
created behind them for someone else to clean up.
That person is the last Left-winger standing in Scotland.
That person is George Galloway.
George is 66, but he has rather more energy than pretty
much everyone else who used to be a Labour MP. He has just become a father
again and he can still stir up Scottish politics.
I’m a Conservative voter. I support Boris Johnson and
Brexit. But just as the Left in Scotland has been ineffective in opposition so
too has the Right. Ruth Davidson did very well in 2017, but in 2019 the Conservatives
in Scotland lost seven seats and independence was once more firmly on the agenda.
We must wait and see how Douglas Ross does, but he is hardly a household name even
amongst those who follow football.
George Galloway leads Alliance for Unity. It has a
single purpose to defeat the SNP in next years Scottish Parliament election. It
will only stand in the list seats. This means that people can still vote
Conservative, Labour or Lib Dem, but we will use our second vote for Alliance
for Unity. The aim is to maximise the
number of Pro UK MSPs. A secondary aim is to put pressure on the established
opposition politicians. You must improve your performance or lose your jobs and
join Mr Murphy, Mr Alexander and the rest.
Do I agree with George Galloway about everything? No.
Some people have been coming to me with objections about
things that George has said or done in the past. I’ve never met George and I’ve
only followed his political career from a distance. But let’s take the
objections in turn.
Some people say George supports a united Ireland. Well
lots of British people of Irish descent do. It’s a perfectly legitimate
political position. John Hume shared it. I disagree with it. I hope Northern Ireland
remains part of the UK. But it’s not up to me. According to the terms of the Belfast
Agreement that was ratified by the people of Northern Ireland in 1998, the
future constitutional status of Northern Ireland is up to the people of
Northern Ireland. So, it has nothing to do with me and it has nothing to do
with the Scottish politics. So, we can all agree to differ on this one.
Some people say that George supports the Palestinian
side in the Israeli-Palestine conflict. This too is a perfectly legitimate
position. Lots of British politicians hold these views. I tend to support the
Israeli side of the argument, but this is an issue about which reasonable
people can differ. But once more it has nothing to do with Scottish politics. Whatever
happens in the Scottish Parliament election next year will have no influence
whatsoever on Israel.
Some people say that George Galloway says controversial
things about rape or other matters. Well this is exactly how I write. I try always
to say exactly what I think and use reason to defend it. So does George. I don’t
care if other people find my views controversial or if they think it is not a
good look. Intelligent people like George do say controversial things. This is
because they can think. Dull people always wonder what someone else will think
about what they write. This is what makes them dull.
George Galloway came up with the very best argument against
Scottish independence in 2014. The Left is about class solidarity rather than nationalism.
He therefore stated, “My case isn't that Scotland couldn't be independent, but
shouldn't". It would be a betrayal of the working class not merely in
Scotland but in other parts of the UK. This immediately undercuts the SNP claim
to be Left-wing.
Conservatives like me have only a limited appeal in
Scotland. Many Scots will simply dismiss us as Tories. But a real socialist
like George can undercut the SNP argument and show it for what it is. Nationalism
is always grounded in selfishness and always opposed to solidarity because it
rejects class solidarity in favour of nationality. If we had made that argument
in 2014, we would have done much better.
I am only slightly involved with Alliance for Unity. I
am still learning. We have only just begun. But don’t reject the best chance we
have of dismissing the SNP because you remember George saying something you
disagree with or remember him fooling around as a cat. George has a fine mind
and he can argue and debate. He can take on Sturgeon and beat her, because he
has a better mind and a better argument than she does. He can communicate that argument.
The SNP are therefore scared of him. That has become still clearer in recent
days. My timeline is full of Scottish nationalists insulting George. They are
not insulting any other Scottish politician.
Lend George your vote. Alliance for Unity has shaken
up Scottish politics more this summer than anyone else in years. If this continues,
we can overthrow the SNP next Spring.
