Wendy Alexander, leader of the Labour Party in Scotland has
declared that the SNP Government should “bring on” a referendum on independence
and has gone as far as to not rule out a bill calling for a poll earlier than
the Nationalist administration’s proposed date of 2010. This has resulted in
the issue of Scottish independence making a large impact on the national media
for the first time since the SNP’s victory in the Scottish Parliament elections
in May of last year. It has also unleashed a potential Pandora’s Box that is
threatening to divide the Labour leadership in Scotland from the national
leadership.
This latest stunt follows another large electoral defeat for
the Labour Party, the second in two years. With this U-Turn Wendy Alexander and
the Scottish Labour leadership hope to show up a popular SNP government by
making them face up to their commitment on independence head on. Alexander also
knows that although the SNP is popular, the idea of independence is not and in
highlighting this issue she hopes to give the SNP a bloody nose. This has been
done particularly as she know they do not want to hold a referendum until 2010,
when the political situation in the
rest of the UK is likely to be more favourable to independence.
The SNP government is quite happy to wait until 2010 as by
this point we could be faced with either the tail end of an increasingly
unpopular Labour government or a Tory government that has unleashed a vicious
arsenal of attacks on the working class. Under such conditions it is likely
that independence would gain a higher vote from disenchanted working class
voters. Clearly this game of real
politik flows from the historical legacy of Braveheart himself!
The issue of a referendum has become an embarrassment for
the Labour Party’s national leadership. Under pressure from David Cameron,
Brown was forced to somewhat distance himself from Wendy Alexander. He went as
far as to argue that in fact she had not argued in favour of a referendum
whilst anyone who has so much as glanced at the Scottish news over the last few
days may feel somewhat differently. This is a potentially divisive issue,
particularly at a time when Gordon Brown is desperate to show himself to be
committed to “Britishness”. To be seen to in any way give into SNP demands or
to be contemplating compromising the union could be disastrous for him. This
comes at a time when the Labour Party is already
suffering from an election defeat and consistent poor showings in the opinion
polls.
Wendy Alexander has more recently
come out and stated that she will introduce a Private Member’s Bill to the
Parliament to a force an immediate referendum, in a further attempt to
discredit the SNP. It is actually quite possible that this proposal will amount
to little more than hot air. As the SNP propose a referendum in 2010 any
proposal for a future referendum is likely to fall in breach of the technical
rules of the Scottish Parliament, as MSPS are not allowed to introduce legislation
about a measure if the Government already plans to propose a similar measure in
the same Parliamentary term.
As Marxists we support the call
for a referendum soon. In recent years the issue of Scottish independence has
become one of importance and it is an issue that should be ultimately decided
upon by the people of Scotland. It would be to their detriment to leave this
fundamental question unanswered. While supporting such a referendum and fully
respecting its outcome we would be under no illusions with nationalism or
independence.
If such a poll were to go ahead we
would argue against independence for Scotland and of the necessity to fight
along class lines, rather than national lines. An independent Scotland on a
capitalist basis would not remove one of the problems of poor public services,
privatisation, student debt, unemployment or low pay that we face just now, not
to mention the effects of the financial crisis that is now spilling over into
the real economy.
In power the SNP have shown they
provide no solutions to the problems of the Scottish working class. They have
systematically failed to deliver on the progressive election promises such as
abolishing student debt. The SNP are a party of big business through and
through, with a significant portion of their funding coming from the
millionaire bus tycoon and infamous homophobic bigot Bryan Souter. They were
also publicly supported by the ex-chief executive of the Royal Bank of Scotland
as a party for Scottish business interests. Edinburgh is now one of the biggest
finance centres in the world and companies such as Standard Life and the Royal
Bank see the SNP as a useful tool through which to gain greater financial
autonomy. If the conditions are correct they will support full independence as this
would allow them to dominate Scotland to an even greater degree.
Ultimately the problem of nationalism and the
question of a referendum lie squarely at the feet of the right wing Labour
leaders. By making compromises with big businesses and refusing to pose the
question of socialism the Labour Party leadership has only itself to blame for
the rise of nationalism in Scotland and the support of the SNP. Support for a
referendum in the immediacy can only lead to the long term defeat of
nationalism if it is accompanied by the adoption of a bold socialist programme
that addresses the fundamental problems of workers and youth.
