SNP can't put Scottish independence before school violence, NHS waiting list crisis...
It will be a long five years if the SNP continue to put their own interests before Scotland’s
Since the Scottish Parliament election, John Swinney has pushed the constitution to the fore again by claiming to have secured face-to-face talks with the UK Government about another independence referendum. Not only was this contradicted by Downing Street, but Swinney’s idea that he has any kind of mandate for such talks is a highly creative interpretation of the election results, even by his own definition.
Swinney claimed that the SNP winning a majority would be a mandate for another independence referendum. In fact, the SNP did not return a majority but lost seats, and their vote share was down by almost 10 per cent. Whilst the Scottish Greens did well, their commitment to independence was buried on page 125 of their manifesto. We will never know how many voters were motivated just as much by pledges on the environment or public transport.
On a much-reduced turnout of 53 per cent and an even greater reduced share of the vote, the SNP would be hard-pressed to claim that they had a mandate – after all only one in five of the electorate voted SNP.
SNP’s priority is clear
Swinney would be well-advised to step outside the indyref echo chamber and read the latest post-election Survation polling, which found that just one in ten Scots think another referendum should be a Scottish Government priority.
Indeed, a majority think the new government should stop spending public money on planning for another independence referendum and focus on tackling the cost of living and improving the NHS.
It is likely that the first debate next week brought forward by the SNP will be on independence. That tells you all you need to know about their priorities.
Where is the action to tackle waiting lists, with thousands of people waiting more than two years? Where’s the action to tackle school violence against teachers and pupils? Where’s the urgent action to tackle the housing emergency and the 10,000 children without a home of their own? Where’s the action to tackle the cost-of-living crisis and make life more affordable?
The job of First Minister and his ministers is to deliver for the people of Scotland, not engage in constitutional battles that the overwhelming majority of the population did not vote for.
The best route to independence
Just the other day, the Royal College of Nursing Scotland’s latest workforce report warned of a dire shortage of nurses, with the number of undergraduates falling and a higher proportion of younger nurses quitting, even as an aging population relies more on their expertise than ever.
This is in part due to the SNP government’s failure to enforce safe-staffing legislation, monitor corridor care or get to grips with workforce planning, while spending millions on temporary staff. I’ve long argued that the best way for the SNP to make the case for independence would be to wield the power it has competently. To deliver on the priorities of the people of Scotland.
Yet nothing Swinney has done over the last week shows awareness of this. It will be a long five years if the SNP continue to put party interest before the country’s. They must stop the rhetoric about independence – Scotland needs a government that will focus on improving people’s day-to-day lives. On current performance, we are likely to be disappointed.
Jackie Baillie MSP is Scottish Labour’s health spokesperson
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