“But Tom…” they say, looking as if they’re about to unveil the iPhone 10,
“… the SNP want to break up Britain”.
If I had a pound for every time I’d been enlightened on this issue I’d be close to covering Scotland’s fiscal deficit on my own. It’s the first of only two aims in the SNP’s constitution. It’s at the top of the front page. It’s not a secret.
Now I happen to think that the UK is worth keeping. Yes, the House of Lords is an embarrassment, the centralisation of government and national institutions is wasteful and divisive, England needs to get its own national anthem, and we need to build more bloody houses, but there’s lots of good stuff that more than balances that out.
So I disagree with the first aim of the SNP but I think that they are an important part of our democracy. For as long as they do not kill the UK they make it much stronger. They inspire much of the country to challenge London’s self-serving dominance, they hold a mirror up to the unpleasant nationalism of much of Britain, and they offer a much-needed pro-European, humble, competent, welcoming, albeit sometimes drunken, brand which we can present to the world.
Barring a huge surprise the SNP will be the largest party in Scotland for at least a decade. Their aims will continue to be as stated, to prepare the country for independence. They will direct their civil service to that aim just as the British government directs its civil service to its aims. Whitehall successfully preserved Scotland’s status within the UK and unsuccessfully preserved the UK’s status within the EU. It was not unbiased in either pursuit and we should not expect the same from Scotland.
Most importantly, because the SNP know that it was a deciding factor in their failed attempt to gain independence last time, they will try to put Scotland in a position where leaving the UK would have as little negative impact on their economy as possible. The SNP are severely restricted in what they can do to achieve this. They cannot, for example, manage their own immigration system. Scotland is more welcoming and builds homes much better than England does and yet it is not allowed to invite young Europeans to fill them and balance its ageing population.
Instead the SNP will try to create and retain as much talent in Scotland as they can. They will similarly try to grow and retain the institutions that are the basis of much of Scotland’s prosperity. They will often do this by fighting against their English equivalents in London. This doesn’t mean that they hate England. It means that they prefer Scotland.
And of course they will also try to do cheap things, sometimes nasty or ineffectual, that make Scotland feel different to its neighbours. A tuition fees policy that is effectively a bung to middle-income families, an NHS prescription policy that takes from the poorer young to give to the wealthier old, and fights with the BBC to represent Scotland better are just a few examples.
The SNP has a second aim, to further all Scottish interests. It believes, honestly and openly that Scotland’s interests are best served by independence. I know. You do not need to keep reminding me.