Trying to figure out WTF is going on It's not only the "rank-and-file delegates at the STUC" who are looking for "leadership and direction". Over the last couple of weeks, I have visited Brechin, Wick, and Glasgow. On these and other visits to various parts of the country I have spoken with scores of pro-independence activists. Almost without exception, they lament the paucity of leadership and absence of direction for the independence movement. The constant refrain from all but the most mindless party loyalists is that we need leadership from someone who is genuinely unafraid to confront the British state and who can tell us exactly how they intend to set about restoring Scotland's independence. Kenny MacAskill gets tantalisingly close to the nub of the matter when he writes:
The political activists I have talked with invariably evince some level of despair. There is little optimism to be found and what enthusiasm there is seems forced and muted. All bemoan the fact that the "party machines" put the prize of elected office before the principles that drive Scotland's independence movement. It is true that "nothing galvanises like independence". And it is all too obvious that the party machines are aware of the power of the idea of independence as an electioneering device. But it stops there. It is just not enough. If the nominally pro-independence parties are failing to sufficiently motivate political activists, it is hardly surprising that they not going to inspire the disaffected and the disenchanted and the sorely disappointed. Scotland's cause urgently requires courageous, inventive, assertive leadership. True leadership is about more than electoral success. A leader is someone who takes people to places they did not know they could go by paths others have yet to discover, or fear to tread. This does not describe the leadership of any of the nominally pro-independence parties. The lack of leadership and direction either drives people to the ranks of the disaffected, disenchanted, and disappointed or it leaves them susceptible to magical thinking and fantasy politics. For want of proper leadership and direction, people turn to charlatans and tricksters with their beguiling rhetoric and 'cunning plans'. Finding themselves in a desert of ideas thirsting for a plan, even otherwise sensible pro-independence activists may be lured by mirages of liberation concocted for no purpose other than to gain their support for some scheme. For want of proper leadership and direction, people turn to charlatans and tricksters with their beguiling rhetoric and 'cunning plans'. Bereft of true leadership, people turn to false leaders. For want of direction, people wander aimlessly from one mirage of hope to another. Other than to those who don't wish to know, it is no secret in which direction lies the only hope of restoring Scotland's independence before our nation is sold off and stripped bare. The path to be taken is not concealed, but quite invisible to those with no desire to see it. There is no question that Scotland's independence will only be restored by some form of UDI. The method which succeeds in restoring our independence will surely be branded 'illegal' by the British state, which has spent decades burdening the term 'UDI' with all manner of negative connotations - making it unthinkable for fear of us thinking of it. Other questions do arise, however. Where will we find leadership honest and forthright enough to tell people that the entire approach to the constitutional issue that has dominated so far is entirely wrong? Who will state the truth that while the 'Sturgeon doctrine' might once have been appropriate, it ceased to be so some time ago? Who will set out the path that must be followed if independence is to be restored risking the wrath of established power and harassment by the army of the deluded and the dutiful as they do so? Who will have the tenacity and determination to hold to that path despite the efforts of friend and foe alike to obstruct and divert them? Who will tell Westminster it has no role in the exercise by the people of Scotland of our right of self-determination? Who will tell pro-independence activists and voters that the 2026 election cannot and must not be a plebiscite on independence? Who will accept and admit that talk of a de facto referendum is mere electioneering rhetoric intended to conceal craven deference to the British ruling elite? Who will be the first among Scotland's political caste to tell the truth about Scotland's predicament and trust the voters to understand something more than mere slogans, simplisms, and soundbites? Who? Invite your friends and earn rewardsIf you enjoy Peter A Bell, share it with your friends and earn rewards when they subscribe.
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