I have had a few debates this last week with Nicola Sturgeon loyalists and the bothvotesSNP crowd regarding my belief that Nicola Sturgeon and the SNP are now the devolution party and that she has no plans to hold another referendum anytime soon, I have been called a few things, not all nice. My son has had the same as he now calls the SNP under Nicola Sturgeon a cult, and after seeing the election broadcast it is hard to disagree anymore.
In an interview yesterday Nicola Sturgeon said ” a second independence referendum will be delayed” and that “this timetable is dependent on taming the virus: “I’ve said the starting point for me in terms of timing is after we’re out the pandemic. People say ‘what does that mean’ – that will be a question of judgement as we go through this pandemic.” (Daily Record) She also went on to say that “she would not speak to Alex Salmond after the election and criticised his refusal to blame Russia for the Salisbury poisonings in 2018”. More deflection more smearing, what is it that the SNP loyalists can’t or won’t see in all of this, you are being played for fools and she is not even hiding it anymore because she is that confident that Scottish voters will return her in a majority and she can drag this on and on. I have said that Nicola Sturgeon will ask for the next mandate in 2025 and 2026 UK and Scottish Elections, nothing I have heard from this charlatan has made me think any differently.
Compare what Sturgeon is saying to that of Alex Salmond, ” negotiations for independence should start on the first day of the new parliamentary term if there is a supermajority for independence”. Tell me again who wants independence here because I know who I think does and it is not Nicola Sturgeon. She goes on in her interview to state “You can vote for somebody that is offering serious leadership, recognising that you have to do the hard work to overcome challenges, or you can vote for folk who want to offer deceptively simplistic soundbites to actually quite complex challenges.” There you have it folks, that is what she thinks of those people who advocate for independence as soon as possible, they are simplistic and full of soundbites, the contempt this woman shows for many of us is unbelievable yet like her hours of non answers in the Harassment Enquiry she continues to this day to show nothing but contempt for all of us and the loyalists get taken in, or maybe my son is correct, the cult members.
Alex Salmond said: “Independence supporters who are already underwhelmed at the lack of progress towards Independence over the last five years, despite their being a majority in the Parliament in favour of it, will be taken aback at the apparent lack of urgency towards Independence in the next Parliament”. Alex Salmond is not wrong is he and if you don’t agree with him on the lack of action on independence in the last 6 years then I am sorry it is over. There is sadly a part of me that see’s independence slipping away from Scotland more and more each day that Nicola Sturgeon remains leader of the SNP, both votes SNP is self-harm of the worst kind and when she let’s you all down, and she will let you all down, how many will walk away for good from the fight to restore Scotland’s sovereignty.
Some loyalist will bang on about me blogging about this again but I will blog about this until I am blue in the face, both votes SNP is a vote for the Union and a vote for the Tories end of.
grumpyscottishman.wordpress.com 
How many time have we heard her condemn WM sleaze and corruption? She is making Alex Salmond the enemy. I wonder why.
Brian
Spot on, Sturgeon is the new saviour of the union that is for sure. She doesn’t mess with the unionists and they don’t mess with her including their media.
Thanks for commenting. Bruce
________________________________
“how many will walk away for good from the fight to restore Scotland’s sovereignty.”
That’s my concern also Bruce.
I will not feel let down – Nicola Sturgeon achieved that with respect to myself some time ago and my expectations of, and from ,her are on the floor.
Given her personal behaviour as regards the whole affair with Alex Salmond there is nothing that I can conceive of that will restore her in my estimation. To say she is beyond the pale just doesn’t cover it.
My only hope is that the current investigations regarding the missing ‘ring-fenced’ SNP funds and the August 2018 Scottish government leak to the Daily Regard regarding the Salmond allegations as well as the upcoming case against Leslie Evans will uncover things that force regime change upon the SNP.
Duncanio
That is my hope also that she gets found out as she has set independence back 10 years and I really am starting to get all tin foil hat and think she is a plant. She will not deliver a referendum, I would genuinely be shocked if she does, she will use every excuse in the book to delay during her time in office and her behaviour with the non stop smearing is a disgrace. She never goes after the unionists any more she only goes after some yes voters and women so we have to fight back to try and get the message out there. Bloggers, far bigger and better than myself, should be taking the fight to the unionists and the worst Tory Government in history but we are not we are having to fight our own side to keep independence a priority, you just can’t make this up anymore.
Thanks for commenting. Bruce
________________________________
At the end of 2014 she was on the grant tour of Nicola Sturgeon and the messiah of Scotland because she wanted to be leader of the SNP, then in 2016 she was the messiah of protecting our pace in the EU, then in 2017 She was the messiah of Scottish Independence again, all of these issue she walked away from and we have allowed her to do it.
As far as i’m concerned the SNP isn’t fit for purpose and I’m glad Mr Salmond is back and has started the new Alba party, I feel that more hope now than I have done in years.
I’ll have my finger crossed that the labour leader will beat her and she gone for good in May.
All these MP & MSP and all these within the SNP you have got to question there loyalty to Scotland because there isn’t one of them challenging Nicola Sturgeon why?
100%YES
I agree, she has to go and go soon. Sturgeon has betrayed us all and I even people denying she said what she said yesterday, I just could not believe it, it was the journalists making it up. The SNP really is a cult now, they will never ever see a vote from me again. Alba on the list and ISP in the next council elections if there is no Alba but we have to keep Alba in the light as it really is ot about this year it is about 2026 and building momentum for then. We need Alex Salmond to keep building that and getting a proper indy leader in place for the 2024 and 2026 and the final push because Sturgeon will do nothing but betray us all again. I haven’t even had one leaflet for the election yet. Had a few from the unionists but not a thing from the SNP, she is taking the voters for mugs.
Thanks for commenting. Bruce
________________________________
You son is right, the SNP is a CULT, it has been since 2015.. And we all know how deeply CULT followers get involved, changing their mindset is not the same as changing the mindset of an ordinary voter, who even on maybe over hearing a conversation about the voting system, might think again.. This NEW SNP CULT. With it’s LYING cowardly TRAITOR of a leader, has destroyed a once great party. Now we are onto phase2 which is to destroy the country.. I often wonder at what age they turned her, was it when she joined the party aged 16yrs old, OR when at UNI? But TURNED her they certainly did..
There is just one person able to fight these UNIONISTS & Take on WM, but they used her to destroy him too, with of course all the help in the world from the BRIT NAT MEDIA.. If the Scots who truly want INDEPENDENCE can’t open the eyes of this SNP CULT that believe they are being led to the promised land. Then Scotland has NO chance.. I am just so full of despair. My biggest regret is I never left this country when a younger healthier woman. As it most definitely no longer feels like HOME to me. Nor does it feel like a place worth fighting for anymore.. and
KuriKat
I get how you feel, when I was reading her crap last night and double checking it, then getting into debates with Sturgeon followers you do feel some resignation that some of that hope is gone but we have to stick it out to pick up the pieces because once Sturgeon lets them all down again, and she will, they are in for a big fall and we will need to help them to pick up their spirits and get behind a proper indy party. I have said for a while now my focus is more 2026 than now, we do need to get as many Alba into parliament as possible and for me 3 would be a success and if one was Alex Salmond even better as he will rip her to shreds and she needs to be found out and in the parliament she can’t hide, she can smear but that will only take her so far. This battle, and I hate using those types or words, is far from over it is just sad it is against our own side just now but then I am starting to go all tin foil now and accept that Sturgeon may well be a unionist pant.
Thanks for commenting. Bruce
________________________________
But who knows what dirt the establishment may have on her? I.e. It’s far too early to judge her motives, which is not to say we should believe a word she says now.
Marconatrix
If her lips are moving I assume it’s a lie now and nothing will change my mind on that one. I tried to give her the benefit of the doubt but the more I learned the last couple of years the more I started to despise her lies and continued smearing, she is an awful politician now and out of control in my opinion and the sooner she is gone the better for everyone.
Thanks for commenting. Bruce
________________________________
Indeed, when AS and Alba popped up, I could see a perfect double act with AS pushing on towards indy while NS was minding the shop. So what forced me to re-evaluate the whole picture was her determined and immediate hostility to Salmond’s gambit. It left me gob-smacked. I just hope it has the same effect on many other SMP supporters. But how best to get the message through to them without raising hackles? That surely is the question that needs answering and answering quickly in the few weeks remaining.
Marconatrix
I am having debates with the loyalists and no matter how much information you give them about both votes SNP they won’t budge, by listening to Sturgeon they are by default electing unionists, electing Tories, and my thoughts are many of them are going to have to be let down the hard way before they see Sturgeon for what she is, sad but true.
Thanks for commenting. Bruce
________________________________
And after the pandemic it’ll be, “All talk of independence has to stop until the economic impact of rising sea levels has been dealt with…”
She’s a fraud. Tony Blair with eyeliner. Took me a while to see through her and now I can’t stand the sight of the woman.
David
It took me a while also and I left the SNP, or they left me, in 2016 when I saw how things were going. Sturgeon is as big a barrier to independence than Johnson and the unionists are, maybe she is one of them but the truth might eventually out or she gets found in parliament if we can at least Alex Salmond elected, if we could get 3 Alba that would be great and enough to build on leading up to 2026 because if we are being honest that has to be our target now and the SNP are just a barrier like Labour are.
Thanks for commenting. Bruce
________________________________
Still so many think she is going to lead us to independence – if not for us then for the coming generations. Stuff that. I’m not knocking my pan out campaigning for something I’ll never see. If this woman isn’t out by May – I am. I’ll spend the rest of my days doing something more constructive which might have a more positive outcome. I’m sick to the back teeth of the unthinking sheep who are fine with all this – people who I thought were intelligent, thinking beings but who have become mesmerised by the cult of auld Nic If I was a younger person I’d be off seeking pastures new.
WeeChid
I’ll give it to 2026 then I will be 57 and that will be enough for me, if no movement by then I’ll enjoy what’s rest of my life and move on. I’ll shut the blog down and all my social media and I will move on to just interests like reading, going to concerts, Dundee FC (although that is stressful enough on its own)spending time with family etc. Hopefully it won’t come to that and we can figure out a way to get this woman out of politics and someone who is actually wanting indy in place. Who knows maybe the missing money and the court cases will shed more light on what has been going on and force Sturgeon out, I live in hope.
Thanks for commenting. Bruce
________________________________
Sturgeon is deliberately trying to stop the SNP getting a majority, it doesn’t suite her or the British State.
100%YES
Totally agree.
Thanks for commenting. Bruce
________________________________
But … but … all the cultists are certain they’ve got a Sturgeon surge on … hopefully they’ll be proved badly wrong!
(Btw. I must confess I swallowed the cool-aid for a while, simply because I wasn’t paying attention. So much has come to light of late that bodes well for Alba and badly for the SNP, but they do need the constituency votes for the plan to work, so SNP1 Alba2 please!)
Marconatrix
The SNP will win and might win big, Sturgeon will see that as a mandate to kick the can down the road but people will learn and she will lose some of her loyalists once she lets them down again and again. I will vote Alba on the list and decide the constituency on the day but still leaning towards a spoiled ballot as giving Sturgeon any sort of mandate makes me sick and I know it is a double-edged sword because technically the SNP are the mechanism to a referendum even though I don’t think for one minute they will deliver.
Thanks for commenting. Bruce
________________________________
The only cultists I see are those who still think this is going to happen: https://wingsoverscotland.com/the-cat-and-all-the-pigeons/
Alan
I don’t know any Alba voters who believe that is possible. The most extreme amount I have heard anyone say is 12 seats, most hope for at least 3 seats with Alex Salmond being one to give Alba the base to build on leading to 2026 and possible 2024 GE once Sturgeon betrays the yes community yet again.
Thanks for commenting. Bruce
________________________________
It is literally Alba’s only policy at the moment. https://www.albaparty.org/supermajority
Even if it hits the target of 12, Alba would still need at least 65 SNP and 9 Greens to achieve this. If you hit just 3 seats, they’d have to win nine additional seats – something like 70 and 13.
Alba supporters attacking SNP figures who wanted to wait until polls were consistently near 60% Yes need a hard look in the mirror – your party’s leadership arguably moved the goalposts to a supermajority(generally accepted as 66%!) and I have no doubt that the Tories will try to impose a supermajority threshold upon IndyRef2 as a S30 condition.
Alan
Supermajority of seats not percentage of people in the polls. Alba have been going for 11 days, first conference today which is the women’s conference with policy to be debated and agreed today, to get to 5000 members and between 3 and 6% in the polls in 11 days is some going in my opinion. There will never be 60% in the polls for independence in my opinion either unless there is a referendum under way. But please do tell me what is the point of waiting anymore, it’s Covid now, what’s next global warming, then Scotland population is too small, then something else. If it is not now time to be putting the pressure on Westminster then I might as well give up as it is not going to happen and certainly never under Sturgeon.
Thanks for commenting. Bruce
________________________________
https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/voters-back-independence-referendum-if-nationalists-win-two-thirds-of-holyrood-seats-2sdql3rfq
Paywalled but looks like they’re going to run with the supermajoritarian goalposts. The National has republished the figures here: https://www.thenational.scot/news/19225086.boris-johnson-told-force-indyref2-mid-pandemic-prevent-yes-victory/
Less ranting and raving about the First Minister(whose surname is mentioned 41 times on this page as of this comment) and more well-researched, well-reasoned arguments on why Scotland should contemplate UDI and how best to go about the entire process if Westminster persists in refusing to engage with independence negotiations would be helpful to Alba.
Stuff like the Common Green’s library.
Bang on Bruce. My instinct tells me the cult are in a tiny minority. My hope lies with Independence supporting punters eventually seeing through the pish they are presented on TV.
I do not believe gaining our Independence will be easy. it is definitely achievable with good will, sound planning, and an approach that involves the wider movement. Strangely the ‘I am with Nicola’ types that I know seem to think its a done deal and we just need to leave it all to her. This is the cult of personality as I understand it. It has developed in some Independence supporters but it runs counter to my understanding of what achieving Scottish Independence actually means namely the restoration of national sovereignty to the Scottish people. You can add the lack of planning for the structures we will need from day 1, strategy, corruption, the fit ups, the political persecutions, CO malicious prosecutions and the conversion of the SNP into a political and financial vehicle for the advancement of Nicola Sturgeon. I don’t think the punters want king Alec or Queen Nicola. I don’t. I want the Scots to have their national and civil rights restored.
On the subject of the last two SNP leaders I’d say this. Both are guilty in my view of taking too much on themselves but only one of them believes in Scotland, its people and its law. The other is a nasty bastard.
AB
I don’t really call them a cult but I do see where my son is coming from when he does. I never thought gaining independence would be easy, not when you understand that England without Scotland really does become insignificant on the world stage, they have zero resources and don’t make much of anything anymore, they will fight tooth and nail to keep Scotland colonised and we need to understand that but we won’t get independence if we don’t try and Sturgeon is doing everything in her power to delay the fight for as long as she can and you’re correct too many of the loyalists actually do believe that Boris Johnson will cave, there is no way on this planet he will cave. There will either have to be a plebiscite election which Sturgeon won’t call or UDI which no one really wants, Westminster will happily put up with all the Blackfords and Sturgeons in the world because they know they won’t do a damn thing about it, even as powers are removed from Holyrood they will send in bluster Blackford and the Tories and the other Tories will sit back and laugh as they do now.
Thanks for commenting. Bruce
________________________________
The vital thing is for Sturgeon to be removed and the rot to be cut out of the SNP. There are some saying we must dispose of the SNP. I don’t see it that way because I don’t think its something we can do. They are a vehicle for Independence or they are a vehicle against independence. If we don’t get the use of this vehicle the British state will use it. I think there is a fair chance that is what is happening now. I don’t know if that is the case but the effect is the same. I would imagine if Sturgeon turned her attentions genuinely to making the case for and building the institutions of an Independent Scotland the press would turn on the SNP and her personally. I also expect that the crown office would find a way for the evidence they have been withholding to see the light of day.
AB
I think most people would be happy to go back to supporting the SNP if Sturgeon and the leadership/Murrell were removed but that is just not going to happen soon. Some people think she will step down in 2 or 3 years if Robertson is elected to Holyrood but time will and tell and you are probably correct that the media would go for her if she was actually fighting for independence but she is not so is their darling now. Total mess and so sad that things have turned out this way.
Thanks for commenting. Bruce
________________________________
I agree with you that Sturgeon seems to be treated pretty well by the press, and yet I have SNP / Sturgeon loyalist friends who say she’s being given a hard time by the unionist media – and that Salmond has found “new friends” in the UK media. I mean to be pounced on by the BBC using the predictable accusation of being a Russian sympathiser because he uses that platform to broadcast an independently produced programme is hardly being treated with kid gloves. I think the Cult Nicola brigade are ironically the un-woke ones. They will not see the truth that Sturgeon has turned the SNP into a dictatorship and all signs of Sturgeon / SNP corruption are merely a false conspiracy. I feel that folks like us are a tiny minority going by my experiences on social media of late. I’ve been feeling pretty lonely here lately when it comes to the political debate in this country!
Bill
I think Sturgeon is tainted and it gets worse the more information that comes out. She gets an easy time in the press because they know the union is safe with her. Two weeks ago it was SNP to get a referendum in 2021, well that is now we won’t look at this until 2024, so when is the actual referendum because it will probably take a couple of years going through courts by which time the Sturgeon loyalists will have been asked for mandates in 2024 and 2026. What is it that people can’t see here, has our education system failed so badly that there is no thought now or has the SNP become a cult where people must follow their emperor. I cannot believe the levels of denial now in so many people and I genuinely do worry for the future when those people find out they have been taken for mugs. You are not alone, we are not alone and when those people are let down we won’t hold it over them we help pick them up and support them to get back in the game supporting a party that actually wants independence.
Thanks for commenting.
Bruce
Sent from my iPhone