If I cared in the slightest what Brian Monteith's views were on the issue of the British parties in Scotland becoming more like Scottish parties then I would come away from this article feeling somewhat frustrated. Having read it twice now I'm still not sure whether he thinks Scottish Labour and/or the Scottish Conservatives breaking away their "maternal parties" is a good idea or a waste of time and effort. He seems to suppose that the Davidson-Dugdale double-act "showing the courage to challenge their own UK leaders" would be a good idea, but acknowledges that this is unlikely to impress voters in Scotland.
Monteith seems to recognise that the people of Scotland are clued-up enough to be unimpressed by cosmetic changes to the North British branches of the establishment parties. Which is odd given that he evidently supposes us to be singularly stupid in other regards. Too stupid, apparently, to have noticed a "substantial body of evidence" supporting claims of the SNP's serial incompetence. We are, it seems, smart enough to immediately spot Tory and Labour attempts pass off their operations in Scotland as "autonomous" parties. But we're way too thick to notice that we're living in a failed stated, courtesy of the hated SNP.
It would have been nice if Brian Monteith had made some attempt to enlighten us. Perhaps by detailing just a little of the "substantial body of evidence" which supposedly proves the gross failings of the SNP administration that we are so dumbly unaware of. But no. In common with his fellow British nationalists, Monteith regards SNP badness as a given. The voters who insist on supporting the SNP are, by Monteith's account, blind to this badness despite it being so glaringly obvious as to require no illumination.
But we are, it appears, not entirely to blame for being oblivious to the ongoing chaos in our public services. Monteith bemoans the fact that the media has done so little to point out the catastrophic failings of the SNP. Only a massive cover-up could explain our continuing to trust the SNP despite their being unable to do anything right. If only they'd told us!
If only somebody in the media had dubbed the SNP record "scandalous"!
Because, of course, that NEVER happens.
Another well written piece
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