The SNP should count themselves fortunate. After 17 years in power, their policies are still subject to interrogation and intelligent debate. Their London counterparts - who have occupied power for almost as long - aren’t in the same position.
What policies the Tories do come up with - like National Service - are so absurd they read like a drunk’s 3am toilet-tweet. The discussion around the Conservative government this election isn’t about their ideas but the rat-like betting habits of its spiv members before the party gets tossed in the garbage like a tub of rancid butter. Rather than debate, the Tories evince boak.
However, once you subject SNP policy to some scrutiny, the party’s luck runs out. Take the environment . John Swinney perhaps foolishly drew attention to the SNP’s track record on net zero and the North Sea the other day.
Oil and gas remain important to Scottish economy (Image: free) He called on Labour leader Keir Starmer - a man whose imminent arrival in office brings barely a wan smile to the face of the most determined optimist - to reinstate his pledge to spend £28 billion annually on green policies. Absolutely, John, I thought. Then I recalled events in April this year when the SNP scrapped Scotland’s targets of cutting carbon emissions by 75% come 2030.
It’s a curious mix, isn’t it? Telling political rivals to pull their finger out and fulfil their promises, while turning your own pledges into confetti. Evidently, there’s always an excus.
