Comments on: Scotland: A Turbulent Century http://blog.oup.com/2007/08/scotland/ Academic insights for the thinking world. Thu, 09 Feb 2012 20:48:00 +0000 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.9.2 hourly 1 By: John Doole http://blog.oup.com/2007/08/scotland/comment-page-1/#comment-29168 John Doole Fri, 17 Aug 2007 09:19:11 +0000 http://blog.oup.com/2007/08/scotland/#comment-29168 'Put plainly, if voting was determined by socio-economic factors, the Conservatives should have done well in Scotland. The fact that they did not can be explained by reference to Scottish political culture. The Scots kept faith with the social democratic vision which dominated British politics in the era before the advent of Thatcherism. After all, it had served the nation well by providing full employment, made for greater distribution of wealth, and had rewarded a great many Scots. It was the reluctance to abandon these values which led to the collapse of the Tory Party and the demand for home rule.' For me, this passage sums up what's best about Scottish politics (when it's at its best, that is!). The enthusiasm for devolution and the slowly growing support for independence is a result of the Poll Tax experiment and the asset stripping that Scotland (and to be fair, the north of England) underwent at the hands of Thatcherite Tories in the 80s, the resentment of which still lingers. The current reluctance of the unionist parties in Scotland to join in the 'National Conversation' on Scotland's constitutional future, despite the fact that the minority Scottish National Party executive has made it an inclusive, multi-option document, is irritating and juvenile. If Labour, the Tories and the LibDems really are serious about supporting the Union and stressing its benefits, why are they refusing to take part? Why not engage, and emphasise the positive rather that sit and carp from the sidelines? Is it too cynical to suggeest that maybe the British Labour Party fears an independent Scotland because it would lose 50 safe seats and the Tories fear it because they would have nowhere to put their nuclear weapons or dump their nuclear waste? Perhaps it is! ;-) ‘Put plainly, if voting was determined by socio-economic factors, the Conservatives should have done well in Scotland. The fact that they did not can be explained by reference to Scottish political culture. The Scots kept faith with the social democratic vision which dominated British politics in the era before the advent of Thatcherism. After all, it had served the nation well by providing full employment, made for greater distribution of wealth, and had rewarded a great many Scots. It was the reluctance to abandon these values which led to the collapse of the Tory Party and the demand for home rule.’

For me, this passage sums up what’s best about Scottish politics (when it’s at its best, that is!). The enthusiasm for devolution and the slowly growing support for independence is a result of the Poll Tax experiment and the asset stripping that Scotland (and to be fair, the north of England) underwent at the hands of Thatcherite Tories in the 80s, the resentment of which still lingers.

The current reluctance of the unionist parties in Scotland to join in the ‘National Conversation’ on Scotland’s constitutional future, despite the fact that the minority Scottish National Party executive has made it an inclusive, multi-option document, is irritating and juvenile. If Labour, the Tories and the LibDems really are serious about supporting the Union and stressing its benefits, why are they refusing to take part? Why not engage, and emphasise the positive rather that sit and carp from the sidelines?

Is it too cynical to suggeest that maybe the British Labour Party fears an independent Scotland because it would lose 50 safe seats and the Tories fear it because they would have nowhere to put their nuclear weapons or dump their nuclear waste? Perhaps it is! ;-)

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