by Rab Bruce’s Spider

The SNP seem to be having some debate as to whether a UK General Election is a good thing or not. Nicola Sturgeon says she wants one, but Ian Blackford, the SNP leader in the House of Commons, seems less keen on the idea of having an election in December.

Quite honestly, I’m not sure what good it would do anyway. Yes, the SNP seem to be on track to win most Scottish seats, but they’ve done that before and nothing came of it. I’m not sure why they would expect it to be any different this time. Indeed, the polls suggest that a most likely outcome is a Tory victory, perhaps in coalition with the Brexit Party. If that happens, Brexit will go ahead no matter what the SNP say. Of course, that could be part of their strategy, to have Scotland dragged out of the EU against the wishes of the Scottish electorate, but if their only plan is to politely ask for a section 30 Order, then it seems doomed to fail. There is no way Boris Johnson or any of the other extremists in the Tory Party will allow Scotland to have another referendum if the Tories hold a majority in Westminster. There is some speculation that there may be a way of circumventing this via the Courts, but that is likely to be a long, drawn-out process, and a lot of damage will have been done by the time we are able to become a normal country.

If, on the other hand, the SNP are hoping that Labour will win enough seats to allow them to form a Government with SNP support, that seems to be an even more risky strategy. If Labour need the SNP in order to form a Government, why on earth would they allow another IndyRef in the knowledge that Yes is far more likely to win than it was last time? If Scotland became a normal country and the SNP MPs were withdrawn from Westminster, Labour would lose any slim majority provided by the SNP support. I can’t see them going for that.

Above all, Boris Johnson wants another General Election. That should warn everyone that it may not be the best strategy. If Johnson wants something, then you should think very carefully before letting him have his way.