#1 Nicola Sturgeon...
Posted: Wed Feb 15, 2023 3:14 pm
Not RIP, but good riddance...
Those of my family who live in Edinburgh & Glasgow (all "pinko liberals" bar one who is as left as can be) are heartily sick and tired of the SNP's monocular vision on devolution, neglecting education, health and the economy in order to pursue an idealistic goal that, at best, 50% want and for which support is falling...
I have a close relation who is senior in Scottish education (which was once a world leader and an exemplar to others, but is now a pale shadow of its former self) - the harrowing state of the schools he's responsible for beggars belief - huge breakdown in discipline, unchallenged violence against teachers and other students, refusal to use exclusion and other options to safeguard staff and students for idealistic reasons... (see the Scottish press).
What the hoi polloi want is to have the basics sorted, not this laser vision on confrontation with the UK parliament and idealistic posturing on devolution - most of my brother's academic colleagues at universities in that part of the world don't believe that the Scottish economy can stand realistically alone from the union, even with EU support. I would also argue that the SNP as a party (*) are borderline xenophobes wrt. England,
For the sake of the good folk North of the border, I sincerely hope the SNP can now get their books in order...
Note: Most of my family up there are Scottish born-and-bred, though my brother and his wife are English but have lived in Scotland for many many years - unlike me, he's not half Portuguese! Also, I've spent many summers (and some winters) sailing, climbing & camping up in the NW coast of Scotland - truly one of the loveliest parts of the world.
(*) As individuals, I suspect many MSPs would rather work constructively with their partners South of the border rather than be forced into line behind a leader who really doesn't seem to understand what her remit really is, i.e. governing Scotland for the benefit of its people, not chasing some idealistic fantasy.
Those of my family who live in Edinburgh & Glasgow (all "pinko liberals" bar one who is as left as can be) are heartily sick and tired of the SNP's monocular vision on devolution, neglecting education, health and the economy in order to pursue an idealistic goal that, at best, 50% want and for which support is falling...
I have a close relation who is senior in Scottish education (which was once a world leader and an exemplar to others, but is now a pale shadow of its former self) - the harrowing state of the schools he's responsible for beggars belief - huge breakdown in discipline, unchallenged violence against teachers and other students, refusal to use exclusion and other options to safeguard staff and students for idealistic reasons... (see the Scottish press).
What the hoi polloi want is to have the basics sorted, not this laser vision on confrontation with the UK parliament and idealistic posturing on devolution - most of my brother's academic colleagues at universities in that part of the world don't believe that the Scottish economy can stand realistically alone from the union, even with EU support. I would also argue that the SNP as a party (*) are borderline xenophobes wrt. England,
For the sake of the good folk North of the border, I sincerely hope the SNP can now get their books in order...
Note: Most of my family up there are Scottish born-and-bred, though my brother and his wife are English but have lived in Scotland for many many years - unlike me, he's not half Portuguese! Also, I've spent many summers (and some winters) sailing, climbing & camping up in the NW coast of Scotland - truly one of the loveliest parts of the world.
(*) As individuals, I suspect many MSPs would rather work constructively with their partners South of the border rather than be forced into line behind a leader who really doesn't seem to understand what her remit really is, i.e. governing Scotland for the benefit of its people, not chasing some idealistic fantasy.
