by Rab Bruce’s Spider

Where to start? So much has been happening, so much has been said, and it’s all making me very angry.

From Tories spouting lies to BBC journos repeating those lies without making any attempt to challenge the mendacity; from lack of reporting of the arctic Circle Convention taking place in Scotland to Poppy Scotland allowing Ruth Davidson to turn what should be a sombre symbol of sorrow and reflection into a happy photo-shoot opportunity; from Jeremy Corbyn over-ruling Richard Leonard on whether to suspend Kezia Dugdale to the same Jeremy Corbyn telling his MPs to support a hard Brexit instead of opposing the disaster; from David Davis insisting on being given private flights to and from Europe for his Brexit discussions to the EMA and EBA moving out of the UK; from the covering up of MPs’ involvement in sex scandals to election fraud involving overspending or the influence of Russian Bots; from petty outcries over Alex Salmond allegedly supporting Putin by having his new show on RT to the British media failing to report on anti-Food Bank protesters outside Downing Street; from assertions that the UK Government has undertaken Brexit Impact Studies but will not release them because the results are so appalling to the astonishing claims that the Government didn’t actually bother doing any Brexit Impact Studies after all; all of these things are enough to drive you to despair.

The UK is a mess. Its politics are corrupt to the core, its media no better. If Nicola Sturgeon can’t make the positive case for independence now, when will she ever be able to do it? Yet, as usual, all we hear is that the SNP are preparing detailed plans on how the economy of an independent Scotland would operate. If the past couple of years have taught us anything, it is that the majority of voters don’t care about the economy when it boils down to putting their cross in a box. They may say they do, but Brexit has shown us that far too many people are happy to accept a massive slump in the value of the pound, failing public services, rising inflation, rising interest rates and the worst Growth forecasts of any western European nation as long as they can vent their xenophobic anger at foreigners.

As if this wasn’t bad enough, most people seem more concerned with Strictly Come Dancing or the weather than the state of British politics and the economy.

How much longer can we put up with this? The positive case for Scotland certainly involves a brighter economic outlook, but that will come about through proper management of Scotland’s wealth of natural resources. The real positive case must surely be about the sort of society we want to live in; a society where the poor, the disabled, the elderly and the unemployed are properly cared for, where ex-service personnel do not need to rely on charities, where foreigners and refugees are welcomed and encouraged to participate in society and, most importantly, where any Government which does not live up to the aspirations of the people can be voted out and replaced. If you want any of these things, you aren’t going to find them inside the UK.