The SNP are good at spin. In 2007, the Labour party suffered greatly in a swing to Alex Salmond’s party. In 2011, we were demolished. Both elections were, in nationalist-speak, clear calls for independence. It is decidedly easy to project, from here in Westminster, that a swing to Salmond – twice – is a swing to Scottish independence. It might also be tempting, therefore, to suggest that independence is a battle Labour must stay out of.
Ed Miliband would be wrong to do so. His speech in Glasgow at the end of last month just about registered as the token effort of the leader of the opposition to make it clear he stands with David Cameron in fighting for the future of the United Kingdom. He must do more to push the unionist agenda – for the benefit of Scotland, the UK, and his own political future.
It is correct that the prime minister makes most of the running in this debate: if parliament in Westminster is to hold on to its supremacy in British politics, the duty falls to David Cameron to defend it. But the case for the union is far better served by all three main parties, no matter what their respective standing in Scotland is. That is why Ed Miliband should push for a cross-party team to head the ‘no to independence’ campaign.
It needn’t be as disastrous a referendum for the future of Westminster as the Alternative Vote referendum was. Not only did that suffer from extremely tough (and often, dirty) campaigning by the No camp, it also suffered from a split in leadership on the Yes side. Ed Miliband was not yet equipped for such a challenge, and it is clear to just about anyone that what Nick Clegg lacks in credibility, he makes up for in ineffective leadership.
Devolution is one of the most successful policies ever implemented by a Labour government. It is certainly one of the New Labour policies many are proud of. It has opened up a fairer, more accountable Scotland. It was also supposed to ensure a stable support base for the Labour party in Scotland, though that has been a misjudged aim. Support for the party in Holyrood elections has certainly been weaker than support for the party in Westminster, though not because of some inbuilt nationalist drive for independence in the majority of Scottish voters.
The SNP therefore have a strategy to force independence through the back door. In 2003, after a poor showing in the elections, they clung to the fact that they were part of a 0.5 per cent (of the constituency vote) and a 1.4 per cent (of the regional vote) increase in support for pro-independence parties. Utilising more spin than a washing machine, they effectively suggested that their 4.9 per cent (constituency) and 6.5 per cent (regional) fall in support meant nothing.
2007 saw a change – it was the unionist vote which split. Sixty-two per cent of all seats went to the three major Unionist parties, but with the end result of an SNP victory. By SNP-logic from 2003, the question of independence would be answered with a resounding ‘no thanks’, since two-thirds of seats ended up in Unionist hands.
That split cannot happen now when the future of both Scotland and the United Kingdom depend on a strong vision shared by a coalition of parties. An independent Scotland is not progressive. It falls, then, to Britain’s progressives to offer the argument for the UK to remain as one.
And this is where Ed Miliband must not shy away from the responsibility he espouses. Though our differences with the Conservatives and the Liberal Democrats are many, our shared beliefs are beliefs shared not just among ourselves but with the majority of the British public.
Thus, a cross-party alliance (the word ‘coalition’ is slowly sliding towards becoming a dirty word in British politics) should be championed by the Labour leadership. Not only progressive, it is pure common sense. The SNP should not be allowed in through the back door once again.
And as no decision should ever be made Ed’s office without thinking ‘how will this make me prime minister?’, some attention should be paid to the benefits for Ed Miliband’s own struggle for independent leadership. His most bold and profitable moves have come when speaking out against the status quo; attacking Murdoch and predatory business were his most noted interventions. Now he faces a task far more challenging for a Labour leader – defending the status quo. It could be an unlikely boost from the most unlikely of places.
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Alex White is a member of Progress, writes for the Young Progressives column, and tweets @AlexWhiteUK
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Why should any English person wish to prevent Scotland from becoming a full member state of the European Union – if that is what the majority of Scotland’s population want to do?
The Danish TV series ‘Borgen’ shows us that a small country of 5 million people is perfectly capable of having its own functioning government and foreign policy.
Seeing as England has a population 10 times bigger than Scotland’s, it would be wrong for the English to try and bully the Scots using threats or raising irrelevant issues. As long as England and Scotland remain full members of the European Union, free movement without border controls will remain possible (just as it is between Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland).
Ben, I don’t see it as prevention, wrong choice of words, it is about standing up for what you believe in – a union between Scotland, England, Wales and N Ireland. Showing what we would be giving up for Salmond ‘s rhetoric and sound bites, as that is all he has given us so far – so substantial facts. We have a lot to lose if this goes ahead with no real explanations.
It is a difficult line for pro-union people as it is easy to say that we are scared of going it alone, are anti-Scottish and any other negative term. We need to show the benefits of the union, difficult at this time of financial restraint and with a Tory led coalition in an anti-Tory country.
Well yes in Wales we do have a lot to be proud of in the past, but the future is looking bleak and the government including labour wanted to cut money to Wales, so much so the Tories have made a large come back in Wales.
I think Scotland must be allowed to decide it’s self.