There is no confusion at all about British Labour’s position on independence. Or their position on a new referendum. Their position on both is exactly the same as the position of the other British political parties. They are fervently opposed to independence and absolutely determined that there should be no new referendum. If there is any mystery here it concerns why anybody would be in the slightest doubt about Jeremy Corbyn’s British Nationalist leanings.
If people are confused it can only be because they’re making the two-fold error of listening to what Corbyn and other British Labour mouthpieces say and supposing these utterances should be taken seriously. They hear the inconsistencies and contradictions and strive to figure what is true. The reality is very simple. None of it is true!
All British politicians are bound by the imperative to preserve the Union. That imperative overrides everything. It certainly overrides considerations of democratic principle. It even overrides electoral expediency. Although some British politicians think they can conceal the truth of the matter in a fog of words. Hence the inconsistencies and contradictions. Hence the confusion among those who attend to the words instead of looking to what lies behind them. Instead of looking to the underlying imperative.
Not that Corbyn et al will be at all troubled by any confusion they cause. Where it is necessary to have different messages for different constituencies, inconsistency and contradiction are unavoidable. The idea then is to make a virtue of necessity. To ensure that the confusion is used to advantage. If your position is sufficiently vague and ambivalent, then it can be whatever you need it to be at any given time or whatever circumstances may arise. More importantly, it can be whatever potential voters want it to be.
More commonly than any of us like to admit, our electoral choices are emotional rather than rational. We like to think we’re making decisions on the basis of factual information and rational assessment. We are not comfortable admitting the extent to which facts and figures are used to put a varnish of reason on conclusion that owe more to our hormones than our neurones.
There are a great many ‘traditional Labour’ voters in Scotland who no longer vote according to tradition – mainly because they support the restoration of Scotland’s independence. A significant proportion of these ‘traditional Labour’ voters crave an excuse to get back to what was good enough for their forebears. If Corbyn says something that allows them to rationalise reverting to their old ways, they will seize it with relish. They will go back to voting for British Labour candidates having convinced themselves that the party is committed to ‘allowing’ a new independence referendum. They will even be able to quote something Jeremy Corbyn has said to ‘prove’ that they are not being conned.
These ‘traditional Labour’ backsliders will be aided in this process of rationalising their instinctual choice by the rhetoric of the other British parties as they accuse British Labour of planning to betray the precious Union by conspiring and colluding with the hated SNP.
Anybody in Scotland who votes for a British Labour candidate on the grounds that the party will ‘countenance’ a new independence referendum is a gullible fool. Even if Jeremy Corbyn were to become British Prime Minister – and there’s very little chance of that – he would be no more likely to respect the democratic will of Scotland’s people than Boris Johnson. When it comes to the ‘Scottish problem’, there is not a scintilla of difference between them.
No British politician will respect Scotland’s democracy if doing so puts their precious Union in jeopardy. If you vote for any of the British parties, you are voting to be treated with contempt. There’s no need to be confused about that.
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Peter A Bell 
spot on Peter
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Corbyn seems to have turned ‘constructive ambiguity’ into a fine art form in his shenanigans on Independence and BREXIT.
Johnson, on the other hand, is a straight-up in your face liar. He lies and contradicts himself from one sentence to another (never mind one day to another). It is intentional: he believes that voters don’t listen or understand what he says and to this extent he is probably right with regard to the bulk of voters south of the border who have many other day to day survival issues to deal with. It is his view that, as long as he shouts his lies in a bombastic manner, he will look authoritative to most of the UK electorate. And, of course, he can confidently rely on a compliant media not to question the obvious flaws, fallacies and falsehoods that he espouses.
I have numerous reasons, as others here will do too, for voting the way I do (Independence and SNP, naturally), the main one being Democracy for the country of Scotland so that this nation gets the government that is representative of its views and priorities.
However, my rationale translates into emotion, mainly rage against the British corrupt political system when I come to cast my ballot. I am not embarrassed about this. On the contrary and to almost quote the Rev. James Brown:
I like to say it loud: I’m emotional and I’m proud!
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Reblogged this on Ramblings of a 50+ Female.
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A General Election is looming, so be rational in conjunction with being emotional. Vote for the SNP. The political party that’s made a massive positive difference in relation to the “day job”, put up a fight to halt or mitigate the dire repercussions of a catastrophic Brexit and is the only party capable of dissolving the despicable Union: Which they will do with YOUR support.
Compare and contrast Nicola Sturgeon’s achievements with those of Leonard, Corbyn, Carlaw, Johnston, Rennie and Swinson. Achievements that the Unionist controlled MSM are determined to suppress.
http://www.snp.org/start-the-clock-50-snp-achievements-in-government/
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