CommonSpace columnist Richard McGinley, a Scot living in England, says the rising popularity of Nicola Sturgeon down south is presenting a trickier problem for unionist media and politicians
WHY can’t we vote for Sturgeon?
A very real question south of the border. Not specifically because she’s a better option than the big three, but because she appears to be a little more trustworthy. She comes across as reasonable, intelligent and more than capable, instantly putting her at an advantage over David Cameron, Ed Miliband and Nick Clegg.
You’ll notice that she doesn’t take her tie off, put her jacket over a chair, and tell us how hard working she is. With Sturgeon it’s actually substance over style, something almost unheard of in Westminster in the last 20 years or so.
That’s what scares them down here. Because although you can’t vote for the SNP, you can’t vote against them either.
Instead of telling the country that the opposition isn’t any good, she’s concentrating on what’s good about her party, offering something a little different. Instead of tightening the belt, she wants to loosen it a little and allow room for growth.
That’s what scares them down here. Because although you can’t vote for the SNP, you can’t vote against them either.
So the traditional line of mainstream politicians, which is to rubbish the other lot, won’t work. We’ve seen her demonised, as the woman that wants to break up the union, and as the woman who is going to steal English money and spend it on Scotland.
No doubt the day before the election, there’ll be a ‘scoop’ which shows she wants to set up concentration camps in the highlands for anyone who didn’t do Scottish country dancing at school.
And the papers will reveal her plans for a Scottish Republican Guard which will intern anyone who doesn’t have haggis at least once a week. Heaven help the man who doesn’t have a tin of shortbread in the cupboard when they knock on the door.
The press down here have her as a sort of cross between Pol Pot and Joe Stalin, but the press down here don’t influence the voter up there. So they can’t play that card and expect to win the hand.
They don’t need to damage Nigel Farage, the other ‘alternative’ option, because every time he goes on television, he does that all by himself.
The Scottish versions of the English papers daren’t attack her. She’s too popular and they would see a drop in circulation. They only print what their readers want to read, no matter the subject.
So Cameron, rumoured to have lost heart in the Conservative campaign, and only hanging around for one last triumph, is genuinely worried he won’t even get that. That’s why George Osborne has gone into hiding, and Boris Johnson is emerging.
Let’s face it, if you are relying on former leaders such as John Major and William Hague to be the public face of your party, you are in trouble, and Johnson isn’t going to help Cameron. Not when he wants to help himself.
Ed Miliband, pandering again to the lowest common denominator, has said he will not strike a deal with the SNP, largely to appease those daft enough to think that the SNP’s new Republican Guard will hurtle into Westminster, arrest all the other MPs and declare a republic by teatime the day after the election.
No doubt the day before the election, there’ll be a ‘scoop’ which shows she wants to set up concentration camps in the highlands for anyone who didn’t do Scottish country dancing at school.
Miliband is the definition of stagnation. His fear of not getting the top job is greater than his fear of losing the one he has.
Meanwhile, north of the wall, Sturgeon has recognised and accepted the No vote, and doesn’t want to hold another referendum. She has stated that her party will now work for the good of the United Kingdom, which is in itself unusual – a political party accepting the will of the people and working for the common good.
And that’s why they are afraid. And I mean really afraid.
The polls indicate that the SNP will be the third largest party after the election, which means it cannot be ignored, or brushed off as nationalist extremism.
After a frantic campaign to persuade Scots to vote for a union, it seems the establishment is actually terrified that they will play an active role in actually running it, and is now promoting the view that despite being democratically elected as representatives of the views of those who live in the north of the union, it’s unfair that they should actually put their views across in parliament.
And all of this is because they cannot actually do anything about it. Except play on fear. Again, it’s a policy of telling people things are bad, but they could be worse.
Hope over fear? Is it spreading south of the border? Possibly.
But that’s never going to catch on, not while those in the south don’t have a real alternative next month.
Picture courtesy of First Minister of Scotland