Scottish people had high hopes of seriously reducing carbon emissions when the power-sharing Bute House Agreement was agreed with the Scottish Greens, almost three years ago.
The #SNP Government has now said that the 2030 net zero target must be scrapped because of a lack of cooperation from the Westminster Government.
Yet the three areas where the least progress in decarbonisation has been made are all devolved 🤔
‘Bland’ is not good enough. Just being ‘not the Tories’ is not good enough. Especially when your policies are becoming increasingly like the Tories. And you tell us you’re just going to pick up where the Tories left off when you enter government.
"It's not the #SNP or ‘divisive nationalism’ that drives so many in Scotland to support #ScottishIndependence and which has led a large majority of younger Scots to reject the idea of their country remaining forever under Westminster rule. It’s the chaos, corruption, and dysfunction of Westminster."
@Kellys@simon_brooke when the greens represent the same level of challenge to the status-quo as the #SNP, then then the smears, slurs and negative coverage of #greens will step-up a gear - its already started
@simon_brooke@Kellys very true, i should maybe have said they perceive the #SNP as a more immediate threat to the status-quo
In part because, although it is hardly reported and the Scottish parliament has limited powers, Scotland has lead on no fault evictions, nationalising rail, settling NHS pay etc - nothing very radical but if the people of #England saw how achievable things are, they might look at the "opposition" and start demanding something better
"there’s not the slightest sign in the #SNP of the fearlessness such “illegal’’ behaviour would require. So the wish for #ScottishIndependence will survive, even though the vehicle to carry it sits on the hard shoulder with flat tyres" -- Neal Ascherson on the useless SNP
A pretty 'meh' column, but interesting because it holds up to a predominantly middle England reader the prospect of real change and benefit for England with #ScottishIndependence
Does this tipping point in the narrative show a shift in mood?
@kuantancurls I was very surprised by the article, the typical guardian #snpbad might be in there but there is also a message of inevitability for #ScottishIndependence in there. And the point about the #SNP being maybe a touch too lawful-good in their dealings with westmonster feels valid, especially since they have taken the gloves off and are directly interfering in devolved matters.
Childhood best friend calls after a few beers
As usual I don't get many words in
They're disillusioned with #SNP as "they need to get own house in order, stop just saying you did worse things"
They're critical of gender reform and hate bill
They're considering voting for bloody Alba
They're sick of electric cars because battery mining and making is toxic and mostly in China
Sick of woke colleagues triggered by his company mental health awareness
Tells me not having daughter means I can't comment
"breaking Scotland from the shackles of #neoliberal thinking should be very high on its agenda, and yet it keeps getting leaders who seem more than happy to embrace that approach, and make Scotland suffer for it" – @RichardJMurphy
The Alba Party was referred to as 'Bluekip' by some. With their only MSP voting yesterday with Tory and Labour in favour of bringing down the SNP/ Green government, it's difficult to see how Alba can rise above its current 1% in the polls.
My friend Lesley Riddoch writing about "real policy differences between John Swinney and Kate Forbes" in @TheNational this morning.
Sorry, Lesley, but if JOHN SWINNEY is being presented as the standard bearer for the LEFT of the #SNP, then we're in much more trouble than I thought we were.
I've been in two supermarkets in two major Scottish towns today, in the Central Belt.
Both towns elected #SNP pro-independence MPs and MSPs in the last Westminster and Holyrood elections, yet the only pro-independence newspaper in Scotland wasn't on sale in either. The field was clear for the usual tsunami of fake news and slurry from Unionist newspapers, all of which had hysterical anti-SNP front page headlines.
Unionists will be disappointed, but the Colonial Negging will continue ("we Scots cannot look after ourselves, we need the paternalistic guiding hand of the English, and their Branch Offices in Scotland")
I am depressed at the Scottish news today, our First Minister quitting before he was pushed out.
The SNP as a generally united force was the only thing holding back the tide of shit coming at us from Westminster, TERFs and other right wng malignancies. Trans Rights blowing up as an issue in the UK (Fuck you, American Christo-fascist dark money) struck a blow that cracked the party along ideological lines, and yet Sturgeon still managed to kept it mostly together, though you could definitely see sharks circling the bloodied waters. With her gone, feeding began in earnest.
Hamza was an average pick being the best of the options presented. But with him gone pretty much all hope of the SNP delivering another referendum or even maintaining the support for progressive policies like Trans Rights is now in serious jeopardy.
Kate Forbes, his hotly tipped replacement, is a christian fundamentalist and TERF sympathetic. If she gets the job all bets are off and I predict within a year we'll be having conversations in Scotland about those pesky abortion rights as well as watching things get worse in Scotland for the Trans community.