Tag: SNP

A Second Chance

Hamar WilliamsLeave a comment

Lockdown 2.0 is coming. France and German signed up last week. Athens will this week. England will be joining the club in the coming days. Scotland is persevering with it’s tier system instead with no regions currently in tier four and lockdown but it’s likely a watch this space thing. Politically if Scotland’s approach doesn’t work it will have a lasting effect on the Scottish elections in May next year but equally that is a long time in politics. As this most remarkable of years has shown; a lot of the unexpected can happen in a short space of time. Nicola Sturgeon, the Scottish First Minister, met with Micheal Gove the other day, along with the leaders of Wales and Northern Ireland to discuss the differing approaches and the potential financial aid necessary. He suggesting the government were listening and would give it some thought. Gove the ultimate in parodies, giving the perfect non-committal politician response. Issues have started to arise as it appears funding to prop up jobs UK-wide only seems to be on offer when the English in the south-east start to find themselves in need. The Tory government propping up their heartlands. It is an easy accusation to make but equally a very believable one on which they have form.

How then are people planning on experiencing these lockdowns. Boris Johnson says it’ll be only for four weeks but the previous one was only supposed to be three weeks and it ended up being three months. If people living in the Arctic circle can not just endure but actively enjoy a few months of winter darkness then surely we in the UK can survive some bleak skies for a bit. Apparently one method they have for remaining happy in these long winters is to find excitement in the things they can do instead which they can’t in summer months. They ski, they make fires, they go for night walks, they do indoor things. In Scotland because the weather can be so volatile it has always felt necessary to make the most of good weather and complete outdoor tasks, or even just enjoy the outdoors. When it’s raining and cold we do the jobs we have put off inside the house. It may not be the most exciting prospect but it creates a wealth of opportunities. With many having already experienced one lockdown in Spring they will be either daunted and fatigued by the prospect of a second or excited at being even better at their second attempt. What didn’t we get to learn in the first one, what didn’t we manage to watch on Netflix, what books didn’t we manage to get through and so on. Modern life has meant people rarely get to spend lengthy periods of time with themselves but it is crucial in our self-development as people. Aren’t we lucky we get a second roll of the dice. A hard six perhaps? What a glorious opportunity we have.

Educating Irony

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Although the exact wording now alludes me, and with my lack of desire to look back over previous posts, I shall paraphrase myself. “The Scottish government made a total tits up of the exam results, surely the Tory government will see their mistake and avoid doing the same thing”. There was more, I mentioned the imbalance between affects on those attending state schools and those attending private schools, and how this was the perfect opportunity for the Tories to twist an easily insertable knife into the SNP. Well it looks like they couldn’t find the knife, or perhaps they didn’t quite understand what went wrong with the SNP. Gavin Williamson, the Education Secretary, has exposed another Member of Parliament for not having a clue what they’re doing and having absolutely no understanding of their area of ‘expertise’. He only went and lowered loads of English students grades, the very thing the SNP went and did a week early with dramatic failure. Not only that but it appears he hasn’t exactly lowered many grades of students going to private schools only the poor kids who have less opportunity for recourse.

Admittedly Gavin Williamson wouldn’t have made this decision. This is a political one and he simply does what he is told to do by someone higher up than him. He is the face of this department though so it’ll be his head on the chopping block. The day before the results came out the government released news of some triple lock that would secure kids from having anything lower than their mock exam results. Unfortunately the next day it appeared the lock was non-existent and thousand of kids have now had their futures inexplicably altered. But it is explicable lets be honest. For political purposes they couldn’t be seen to be having much higher grades than normal across the board, so they devised a formula and lowered some. In the process they undermined the teachers and called into question their professionalism and abilities. What is the point of taking months to devise a system if at the last minute you change it because it doesn’t suit your narrative.

There are many things we could discuss in this, there are most likely details I don’t know and have overlooked, but ultimately these things are simply affirming details. Despite the Scottish warning signs these idiots have shown themselves up once more for being utterly inept at doing their job. Or maybe they did there job perfectly, perhaps it was no accident that there was a clear bias in favour of privately educated kids. He’s hardly going to downgrade his mates kids results now is he. But as he said, he doesn’t want to “overpromote” anyone beyond their abilities. Clearly the irony was lost on some.

Lebanese Politics & Scottish Education

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Two issues today separated by geography and a multitude of other things. Lebanon seems completely fucked, the government has toppled and the western powers have offered $250 million dollars toward relief as an aid package. This of course on the proviso there are fundamental changes made within the country. This was demanded prior to the government collapsing and during protests so perhaps these changes have begun to be made. That is a lot of money but when the estimated bill for damages is currently at an estimated $12 billion, the sum offered seems like a spare change and it’ll be interesting to see whether the country is that desperate that they’ll accept them. Most likely help will come from Iran but they’re not exactly swimming with cash themselves so how this unfolds is anyone’s guess. Instinctively whenever I see an ‘event’ in the Middle East followed by protests and potential government/structural/regime change my life’s conditioning is that it is the the west meddling in and ruining another country.

Lebanon has serious issues in the immediate and medium term to deal with, having to endure someone else’s take on freedom is probably not required right now. Saying all of that these protests could be completely organic and those involved may be fighting for something completely independent of anything offered by outside forces be they western and Israeli, or Iranian. The country has a finely balanced sectarian structure, although it also has led to high levels of corruption, which has so far prevented another civil war for thirty years. If the country does become the latest battle ground in the Middle East Hezbollah will certainly not go down without a fight and it could become as bloody and destructive as what has happened and is continuing to happen in Syria. Or it won’t and they will get the desired support from the IMF without too many self-destructive conditions and they’ll rebuild. Really though I’m someone who has never been to Lebanon, despite really wanting to for a few years now, and who knows little beyond reasonably unsubstantiated conjecture. So let’s see.

What I do know though is that Scotland’s education system has struggled in the years the SNP have been in power. This is the second point, and it’ll be quick. They have undeniably done a lot for Scotland as a party but education seems to be one sorry mess after another. Inexplicably they have moved closer to the English education system and it’s higher levels of exam assessments despite evidence suggesting that not be the best approach. Standards have dropped as a result. Then there is this debacle over lowering students grades because of concerns they were too high across the board, but not lowering them evenly, seemingly doing so more in disadvantaged areas. To lower them is political. To lower them disproportionately is probably down to the knowledge of the pressure from those with influence in wealthy schools and potentially political too but that is less clear. Either way it is a stupid own goal in an already beleaguered part of government. Nicola Sturgeon has stood up, accepted the mistake and reversed it which is a refreshing move from a politician but it should never have got to that. The Tory propaganda machine will be going into overdrive as English results are released on Thursday and assuming they don’t go and make the same mistake. Surely that would be beyond incomprehension if they did. Which means it is safe to say they most likely will.

Bojo The Wildling

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It appears Bojo came north of the wall today. He mingled with those pesky wildlings he ordinarily has no time for. When I say north of the wall, I mean nearly as far north as possible. He went all the way to the Orkney Islands. One suspects this wasn’t because he loves Scotland so much he wants to see as much of it as possible of course, it’s a lot easier to avoid the baying crowds when they consist of Angus and his dog than what they would be were he to brave Edinburgh, Glasgow or just about any place with a population capable of creating an angry mob.

He finally visited Scotland on the one year anniversary of his still slightly inexplicable rise to power. If that was supposed to fill us with some sense of honour that he would bless us with his presence on such an important day, all it did was remind us it’s taken him so long to come north. It took him one whole year despite the fact there was an actual election midway through the year. Perhaps his no show in that time was down to his love of the Union and the damage his presence would do to it.

Undeniably there is truth in that. The latest polls, and there’s more than one of them, puts support for independence at 54%. Nicola Sturgeon may try and take credit for this but when a country votes in droves for anyone but the man elected as leader yet has this very man foisted upon them it’s quite easy to see why opinion polls are only moving in one direction. When you see a country being dragged out of the European Union despite voting to stay in it, then expecting to be forced to endure an inevitable ‘no deal’ Brexit as the zealots in government return us to Year Zero and the ashes they hope to grow a new and glorious society out of, it’s fair to say the Scottish people want nothing to do with it.

Even the coronavirus has played it’s part. Nicola Sturgeon herself is very divisive, usually down the Independence / Unionist line in all fairness, but compared to Boris’ fumbled mumbled approach in confusing an entire nation on what’s expected of them while not actually doing anything himself, she has looked decisive and strong. She didn’t even have to really do anything, just be clear about what she meant when she did make a statement. Clearly there is something dark going on in the corridors of Whitehall and Number Ten, it’s no surprise more and more Scots are wanting out.

As Sturgeon said;

“I welcome the PM to Scotland today. One of the key arguments for independence is the ability of Scotland to take our own decisions, rather than having our future decided by politicians we didn’t vote for, taking us down a path we haven’t chosen. His presence highlights that“

It says a lot for a man that the opposition openly admit he does them more good than they do themselves. There is no way for sure to say one way or another whether Scotland becoming a free state would work in the short, medium or long term, and while it’s dangerous to suggest or believe that happiness is just waiting around the corner, let’s be honest anything has got to be better than this lot right now.

I remember the day after the independence referendum in 2014, I was in France picking grapes and I barely said a word all morning. I was infinitely disappointed that a people had rejected not the opportunity of independence because what is that really, but that they had rejected the chance to even attempt improving their lot. A people chose fear over hope. But who knows, there may just be light at the end of this tunnel of a horror show after all.

Another Political Pervert

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Another day another pervert ousted in politics. Pervert may be a little strong but you shouldn’t try and seduce sixteen year olds when you’re twenty-two let alone when you’re forty-two. Maybe it is because they’re in the public eye so much and that they work in such a sneaky corrupt industry but politicians seem to get caught out in so many sex scandals. I must also commend Boris, or should I say Dominic Cummings, and Rupert Murdoch for such a perfectly executed political assassination. The night before Derek Mackay, the Scottish finance minister, is about to release the budget proposed by the Scottish Government, one already delayed because of shenanigans between the Scottish Parliament and Westminster, the Scottish Sun release their exclusive about him contacting a schoolboy who he thought was “cute” over a six month period. They’ve done him, they’ve taken him out. No matter what moral beliefs you hold on this it is undeniably a work of art. They have sat on this story and waited for the most opportune moment to release it. A future leader of the SNP apparently. Not anymore.

If anything though it does highlight the lack of neutrality in the press and the influence of people like Rupert Murdoch within our political system. This piece though is not going to be about one of my favourite topics; that of a perennially corrupt media. It is more just about being an acknowledgement of what they’ve done and despite the fact I dislike these people immensely it is important to be able to tip your hat to them when you can see how well they’ve played something. Saying that I also don’t have much time for any forty-two year old who harasses school children so morally this one is all over the place.

Politicians are a remarkable people though and it shows the lure of power that despite the obvious dangers to a free and happy life so many get involved in that murky world. These next five years are going to be incredibly interesting for the objective observers, and a mix of great and terrifying for everyone else. For every person who is horrified that Boris is ripping up a centuries old rulebook of tradition there will be another delighted about it. Change needs to happen and with current events in Britain, as well as around the world, this is clearer now more than ever. People are angry and when emotive responses like that are your main driver you are also easy to manipulate. The fear then is that while everything needs a good shake-up, when it’s this mob doing the shaking we perhaps should be a little concerned. And not only that, but while we can tip our hats to their work, never forget that this and worse is exactly what they’re capable of.

A Union of Secession

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I’m going to attempt to recreate the main points of a conversation I’ve just had with my Dad. For context he is both pro-Brexit and pro-Union. These ideas discussed have come up in the past but seemingly have taken a step further with recent events.

The Tory party in the UK won a stonking majority of some forty seats and in Scotland the SNP won an equally stonking forty-eight out of a possible fifty-nine seats. Both of these result can be and have been spun in numerous ways but arguably what it does do is give a mandate for Brexit and a mandate for a second referendum in Scotland on independence. It is hard to argue against either of those things when Brexit and Scottish independence were the main priority of both parts respectively. However as with everything in politics this is not as straightforward as it seems. We in the UK have a voting system called First Past The Post, which allows for people to win seats once they get a certain number of votes but which for numerous reasons too many to get into here, creates a voting system which arguably favours the larger parties, creates a two party system like we have in the the UK and in the US too and which often allows for a larger percentage of seats that percentage of the vote.

The point is that while this may have been a Brexit election the Remain supporting parties actually received more votes in total than the Brexit supporting parties yet received vastly fewer seats. The same can be said for Scotland which has so many tight marginal seats that can be won by less than one hundred votes, the SNP received a far fewer percentage of the vote than percentage of the seats, which also equated to fewer pro-independence votes than pro-union. The argument made by my Dad was that the SNP don’t actually have a mandate because were there to be another referendum they would lose it because of this share of the votes but it is also an argument which can be made back in regard Brexit.

Put simply; the unionists want to maintain one union while breaking up another while the separatists want to break up one union while also maintaining another. The unionists believe they have the mandate to break from the EU because they hold a resounding majority in the UK parliament but not break up the UK because the majority of those voting in Scotland voted for parties not pushing for independence, whereas the separatists want to break from the UK because they hold a majority of Scottish seats in parliament but maintain the connection with the EU because the majority of Scottish voters voted to remain. Confused? You should be.

Ultimately that is the more ridiculous nature of politics and power. We pick and choose what we want to see and believe depending on what fits our narrative. We have a belief, we see facts, numbers, ideas which support this belief and fervently repeat them even in the face of contradictory points we choose not to see. I don’t doubt I do this too and hope one day to develop the self-awareness to stop. It’s just both amusing and depressing to see both sides using the same argument against each other and being oblivious to the fact its exactly the same argument. And whats worse, this road of obliviousness appears to stretch from one horizon to the other. This madness has always been, the question is then, will it always be?

Election 2019

Hamar WilliamsLeave a comment

Today is the big day then as we decide upon the fate of the world. Hyperbole aside with today being voting day in what has become a highly polarised country there is a sense of enormity in the air. Of course walking down the street in my little town it is just another day but it may be worth it just for twenty four hours to shut out the voices whispering the fearful possibility that nobody actually cares and it’s all in the little microcosm bubble of my facebook feed.

The problem is I’m still undecided who I’m going to vote for bizarrely enough. To vote with my heart and support Labour or with my head and vote for the centrist Scottish National Party who are most likely the only ones capable of defeating the current Conservative incumbent in my constituency. However while Scottish nationalism may be a friendly cuddly version of nationalism, it is still nationalism and that is something I try to steer clear of. Labour say all the things I want to hear at least but in my countryside area they don’t stand much of a chance. The Liberal Democrats who are also centrists, but slightly more to right than the SNP, are the more traditional rivals to the Conservatives but fell to the wayside after their disastrous coalition with the Conservatives at the beginning of the decade. A coalition that was disastrous for the Lib Dems and a raving success for the other side tells you all you need to know about supporters of each. Their votes either went Conservative or more commonly to the SNP however it will be interesting to see how the share is now. Certainly that SNP vote has dropped in the Borders, where I’m still registered, as few want independence and so I suspect tactical voting which recommends SNP may actually be inaccurate in the end. In that case can we expect the traditional Lib Dems to make a revival here? I just don’t know as they’ve failed so miserably in the campaign nationally and seem to appeal to nobody.

It pains me to say it but I doubt there is much other that a Tory victory here, nationally though I think predictions are folly. Despite the news channels pretence of balance they seem to be pushing an agenda, but then both sides say that. In any case why not vote for who I really want, my vote will probably be a waste anyway. Either way this election goes, the best part of it is that it has politicised a whole new generation of voters. They complained the young don’t care about anything, the media pushed the same debasing narrative while ignoring the queue’s and printing pictures of pets at empty poll booths. The world is changing, communication is changing and maybe one day narratives and those fighting instinctive change will also change too. What a ride it promises to be.