The most disappointing things of Sturgeons time in charge

The most disappointing thing – about Nicola Sturgeon’s time in charge for myself has been the total lack of moving independence forward in the face of the most perfect set of circumstances that any SNP leader has ever had.

Joanna Cherry MP has said  Nicola Sturgeon had left behind “some major policy headaches”, including around her gender reforms, the NHS, and education. She said: “On our raison d’etre, I think Nicola will be remembered for reversing the vehicle of independence up a blind alley and then leaving it without a driver.”

Nicola Sturgeon was given on a plate Brexit, Theresa May, Boris Johnson, Liz Truss, and Rishi Sunak. She was handed the most right-wing incompetent corrupt colonial Tory Government in history. She was handed the UK internal markets bill which rolled back devolution. She was handed illegal Downing Street parties during Covid-19 lockdown restrictions. Record avoidable deaths, illegal contracts were given to Tory donors and MPs with vested interests in PPE purchases.

Sturgeon made that much of a mess that I totally agree with Joanna Cherry when she also says that

“she did not support fighting the next general election as a de-facto referendum, as Ms Sturgeon had advocated. She said: “The next Westminster election is going to be about whether or not people want a Labour Government, and the SNP needs to wake up to the fact that we’re going to lose seats if we don’t get our act together.

“A lot of our supporters are natural Labour voters. They are going to look at our failure to deliver independence, and our failure to have any meaningful plans for it or vision and they’re going to say ‘yeah, I’d much rather have a Labour Government for the next five years, thank you very much, as me and my family will be better off under that’.”

What choice do we have? The claim of Right is a long shot and a long-term plan. Dissolving Holyrood for a de-facto referendum given the state of Scotland would I think be a huge mistake. Now I don’t agree that voters will vote for Labour, a few may, but not as many as Joanna Cherry is implying as Labour is finished in Scotland as long as they embrace Tory policies, Tory donors, Tory economic neo-liberalism, basically as long as they remain a Tory Party.

What we have right now is a declining Scotland across the board due to Sturgeon. Education, health, the Police, Fire Service, Local Government, Social Care, GRR, energy, and bottle scheme, on top of a divided yes community and no plan for independence on top of zero preparation for the arguments ahead.

No Westminster colonial Government are going to agree to a referendum, Scottish voters right now are divided down the middle so UDI is out. I am sorry to say it but the damage done by Sturgeon means we have to –

Take several steps back.

Bring the wider yes community together under one body if possible.

Embrace the arguments from Common Weal etc where appropriate and agree on a new prospectus for independence to put to the Scottish people.

We need to get visible on the streets to put the arguments across.

We need the Scottish Government to get back to good governance, no large projects, no grand plans just concentrate on getting education results up, waiting lists down, the potholes filled and the bins emptied.

We need to challenge the unionists on their turf and disrupt colonial Westminster when we can and take no part in British Committees that have no effect on Scotland.

If we keep going as we are then independence is over for good and we might as well all go home and read War and Peace.

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