Only came across this article by Alex Massie today but when I saw the headline my first thought was, please let it be so – I appreciate this is Alex Massie, I appreciate much of what he writes, especially about Lord Starmer and Labour is wishful thinking, I even appreciate that Nicola Sturgeon says she plans on reigning supreme as long as Elizabeth Windsor did, but I can dream. Sturgeon has always been divisive as a politician, for me pretty useless sums it up better, but divisive is how the unionist media like to call it. Massie points out that
The Times last week found that Starmer had a +13 rating in Scotland while Sturgeon’s rating is +11.
Now I would not put that down to the fact that Labour have suddenly found their socialism, or they have suddenly found they actually support democracy, or have any decent policies, it isn’t that. It is more down to the fact that the Tories are so shit that any old crap will do now. Where Massie has a slight point is when he says ” The prospect of a Labour Party that can win in England, however, also boosts Labour in Scotland. A Labour Party 20 points ahead in the polls in the UK as a whole is well placed to at least match 2017’s performance in Scotland”. Wither that is true or not is maybe not really the point, more of Massie’s wishful thinking again. But I suppose it could be enough to swing some of the soft no’s, not enough to win Labour seats but enough to lose Sturgeon’s defacto referendum.
Massie writes that “Increasingly the suspicion gains ground that Sturgeon is nearing her endgame and the “de facto referendum” gambit may, if it fails, (when it fails, my words) offer her a means by which she can then make a dignified exit from Bute House. In such circumstances, the SNP could win the Scottish portion of the election with 45 per cent of the vote but find themselves in an essentially powerless position. Worse still, the nationalists would have lost Sturgeon’s “de facto referendum”. At that point, even another crushing victory might easily seem like a defeat. This is the logic of the strategy Sturgeon has so far insisted can deliver independence”.
Nicola Sturgeon is a liability now to the cause of independence; I have felt that for a long time given her strategy is no strategy at all. She will lead the independence movement to defeat, but if her so called dignified exit is after another independence defeat then we will have lost it all, so we need to all live in hope that she goes before it is too late. If, and when, she goes, her legacy will be setting back the independence cause by at least 20 years.
grumpyscottishman.wordpress.com 
Sturgeon cannot be trusted with setting the conditions for a referendum. She is a nag with way too much bad form. No one in the SNP can be regarded as sincere contenders fighting for Scotland’s cause. Punch bags, all of them. Cherry included. It’s clear that the SNP are avoiding anything to do with Scotland ending it’s present relationship with England, either that or they are extremely incompetent shite hawks, clinging on by any means possible, spinning their arses off like tops to preserve their deceitful, bland and meaningless professional existence.
I can’t imagine that Sturgeon is an innocent who has just made bad choices and unwittingly manoeuvred herself into an ineffective position. I imagine she’s as fraudulent a political entity as any you might find sitting in Westminster.
Black Rab
I have never really gone with the whole Sturgeon is a plant thing but the last couple of years I haven’t been so sure to be honest. People say she is very intelligent but the non-strategy she has embarked on is a stupid strategy at best and pretty much guaranteed to lose. I gave up on Cherry and MacNeil a long time ago as well, talk the talk but don’t walk the walk for me. The MPs are pretty much bought and sold aren’t they. Like you I don’t trust Sturgeon and given indy is not happening I hope she goes, and we maybe see at least some good governance.
Thanks for commenting.
Bruce
Who’d want her? Who ever took her place the New Labour SNP are rotten to the core and without Indy at its beaten heart watch the New SNP fall. Any decent SNP leader would resign if they lost the supreme court ruling.
I blame Sturgeon for her government failings, the failings of Indy movement and her leadership of the SNP and the present demise of Scotland.
The New SNP are having real money troubles because they keeps asking folk who left the party years ago to re-join.
100%YES
I agree. Indy isn’t happening and the SNP have been in power too long, their MSPs / MPs are of a Scottish Labour standard and their poor governance puts Scottish Labour to shame. I also blame Sturgeon for the lack of movement in the YES vote, given the basket case that the UK has become for more than 50% still preferring to stay in the UK just highlights Sturgeon’s failure all the more, and her betrayal. I left the SNP in 2015 and haven’t voted for them since 2017, Sturgeon is the main cause of that, and I don’t regret it at all. I watched some of the Alba Conference today, I couldn’t attend but what I saw was a proper party not afraid to debate and be open to differing opinions, hopefully if the sheeple ever wake up, or the ones serious about indy then they will consider an Alba vote.
Thanks for commenting.
Bruce
In 20 years time we may learn that she was working for London all along. It’s hard to find any other explanation for her repeated and wilful failures.
ISN
It’s hard not to feel that Sturgeon is not a plant isn’t, can she really be that bad a strategist and First Minister, even I could do better. History will not judge her well at all.
Thanks for commenting.
Bruce
I’d seen the title but could not remember where the article was published – thanks for finding it for me.
Well Angus Robertson is appearing more and more in the mainstream media so I’d say we are already in the transition phase for the new leader of the SNP.
Truss will be fired by the Conservatives on Monday and Sunak will take over. Unless he can staunch the blood loss the Conservatives are going to be booted out with an early election – probably next September after the economic chaos really starts to bite in the Spring.
An early election skewers the possibility of the referendum in October and fast-forwards the so-called plebiscite election to a point where the SNP won’t have made sufficient preparations. The deciding issue will be austerity under the Conservatives, uncertainty under the SNP or national healing under Labour – the SNP will lose badly.
So the only question left for Sturgeon is whether she bales before the disastrous result with her reputation in tatters or whether she’ll hand over the reins to Robertson and head for a sunny retirement in the UN or the USA.
Stuart
Indy is not happening; I have felt that way for a while now to be honest. I am not so sure Truss will go as quickly as Monday as the Tory Party would need to change their rules to get rid of a leader so quickly and I think they would have to have a GE straight away, appointing a 4th PM won’t wash I don’t think with voters in England. I suspect Truss will get to stay for now until they figure out what to do. Robertson will take over from Sturgeon at some point I agree, but medium term as soon as voters see that indy is dead for a long time the SNP are toast. Been in power too long and have made a total arse of it. I don’t see any party getting a majority at Holyrood but I would like to see Alba/ISP make some in roads.
Thanks for commenting.
Bruce
It will be interesting to see whether she is accompanied by a member of HM Constabulary when she finally exits Bute House and The Scottish Government.
Duncanio
Nah she has made sure she will be fine when she does leave and take her creepy husband with her. She is a disaster, and I personally can’t wait until she is gone, Indy is dead for me, so it makes little difference which incompetent party leads in Holyrood now to be honest but at the very least get Sturgeon gone either way.
Thanks for commenting.
Bruce
If Sturgeon and her gang put as much effort in to explaining the benefits of independence as they did trying to keep the UK in the EU and punting selfID then we would be independent now. I suspect the reason she tried so hard to keep the UK in the EU was for the selfish reason of keeping open opportunities in Brussels for herself. When I saw all those diddies clapping away in Aberdeen I thought we will never get independence.
Sturgeon will be happy at the ending for her Danish heroine in the series Borgen who claims she realises she has turned in to a nasty politician and resigns but in fact she has got herself a job lined up in the EU. Personally I don’t think it will make much difference if she resigns all the rest are in her image (devolutionalists) and the SNP members cannot see what is staring them in the face.
Cubby
I pretty much accepted that indy won’t happen under Sturgeon a long time ago and I can’t stand her absolute crap governance, at the very least we deserve better than her gender obsession with the vindictive going after true indy folk. I don’t care where she gets a job as long as she is gone. She has betrayed us all either through being as thick as or a plant, she has destroyed any chance at indy though and I actually don’t believe she ever really wanted it anyway. The NuSNP have been in power too long and the standard of MSP/MP just keeps getting lower and lower, I had enough of them years ago and Sturgeon as far back as 2015.
Thanks for commenting.
Bruce
Yes Bruce , although she still has the loyalty of a certain amount of people who are just too scared to realise what a liability she really is, there is a growing number of people who can see the truth and that is that she is a liability to the independence movement. Her problem is to try to leave a leadership in place that will not instigate enquiries into her time in power
Bob
The SNP are in the medium term over as people see through them and understand that indy is not happening under Sturgeon. Once that dream has died then the crap governance won’t be tolerated much longer, and people will vote for other parties or just not vote. You are probably correct about what she will leave behind, it is Robertson all the way isn’t it. Her legacy will be failure and betrayal and an indy movement back to square one and stuck in the UK for many years to come.
Thanks for commenting.
Bruce