Five SNP tactics and tricks that Andy Burnham must beware – Ian Johnston
Avowed champion of devolution Andy Burnham should resist any temptation to regard the SNP as a left-wing ally
It may come as a surprise to the most narrow-minded of Scottish nationalists – the ones who see Westminster as the well-spring of all evil and assume their hostility towards England must be mirrored with equal intensity – but most English people quite like Scotland, at least when they think about it.
The nations arousing the wrath of English xenophobes are more likely to be the French or Welsh. The latter prejudice took me by surprise when I first encountered it. A seemingly reasonable person reacted with disdain when the Welsh were mentioned in conversation and, after I assumed he must be joking, he became angry and we quickly dropped the subject.
There are also many on the left who are sympathetic towards the SNP, seeing them as fellow progressives. When Nicola Sturgeon was in her pomp and taking part in TV general election debates, it was quite a common wish among English lefty-liberals that they had a leader like her.
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Friendly relations?
So Andy Burnham and the people around him may, currently at least, see the SNP in a rather different way to the battle-weary Scottish Labour party. They might even think of them as potential allies at some point down the road. It’s not for nothing that the Conservatives put Ed Miliband in Alex Salmond’s top pocket in a 2015 election poster.
However, Labour must quickly disabuse themselves of any such notions, and learn how to deal with the SNP’s favourite tactics and tricks. Here are five:
First, the SNP may pretend to be friendly, initially at least. John Swinney met Keir Starmer within days of his general election win, and later told MSPs that while relations with Westminster had been “appalling” since Boris Johnson came to power in 2019, there had been “a lot of good, substantive interaction” with the Labour government.
It’s harder for the SNP to immediately go on the offensive against a left-wing government. But they did eventually start accusing Starmer and co of being much the same as the Conservatives and claiming ‘Westminster’ is the problem.
After Starmer resigned, Swinney said: “Instead of supporting those who are struggling to pay their bills and put food on the table, the Labour party has continued the instability and infighting for which Westminster is known, and there seems to be no end in sight. People will rightly be frustrated and embarrassed that the UK's sixth Prime Minister in ten years once again failed to get to grips with the challenges facing this country, and there is no reason to believe the seventh will be any different.”
A very old-fashioned ‘rammy’
Second, the SNP are constantly looking for ways to pick a fight. During the Covid pandemic, Liz Lloyd, then chief of staff to First Minister Nicola Sturgeon, told her boss that she wanted a “good old-fashioned rammy” with the UK government over furlough support. Now, she may argue she was seeking to get a better deal for Scotland.
However, the regularity of such spats – so much so that they are indeed “old-fashioned” – often takes on a performative appearance, a pattern that strongly suggests it’s less about what’s best for the country, and more about trying to make Westminster look bad.
Third, the SNP will always ask for more money and more power. Burnham is a fervent advocate of devolution but he must not be fooled into thinking that giving in to nationalist demands will somehow placate them or dampen down their demands for independence. It will not.
No matter how large the ‘Union Dividend’ – which is arguably a ‘London Dividend’, but that’s another argument – may be, it’s never going to be enough for a party as voracious as the SNP. They consume money and covet power almost like no other – just ask Scotland’s cash-strapped councils. Whether Labour or the Conservatives are in power, “Westminster austerity” is a sacred tenet of nationalist faith.
‘One hand tied behind our back’
Fourth, the SNP blame Westminster for everything bad. This is a big reason why any initially friendly relations will quickly sour. The nationalists have a desperate need for a scapegoat which can be used to explain away their many failings.
For example, in 2024, the SNP were finally forced to admit that their legally binding carbon-reduction target for 2030 would not be met and they would have to pass new legislation to scrap it. A hugely embarrassing example of the SNP over-promising and failing to deliver.
However, the then Net Zero Secretary Mairi McAllan blithely explained there would be an, ahem, “minor legislative amendment” to the Climate Change Act in order to “pave the way for continued action” on cutting emissions, claiming there could be “no doubt about the seriousness that this government treats the climate and nature crises”.
The problem, she claimed, had been caused by restrictions and a lack of funding from the UK government which had forced Scotland to act “with one hand tied behind our back”.
Where do they get the gall?
Fifth, the SNP always take credit for everything good. This is understandable, as most politicians do this. But the nationalists do so with such brazenness, gall and, occasionally, panache that it’s almost admirable.
After Labour’s first tax-raising Budget delivered a whopping £4.9 billion extra for the Scottish government, the then Finance Secretary Shona Robison effectively dismissed this massive windfall as peanuts before going on to trumpet record investment in the NHS, more affordable homes, a winter heating payment for older Scots – all brought to you by the newly flush nationalist government. Perhaps they’d won the lottery?
So Burnham and co must beware. As Scottish Labour know all too well, the SNP are an implacable foe intent on one thing and one thing only – independence – and all other matters are rendered subordinate to the furtherance of that cause.
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