SNP need to accept their independence drive is going nowhere and is holding Scotland back
As the Scottish Parliament election looms, Scottish Labour should not fear upsetting the ruling elites at Westminster as it seeks to challenge the SNP
The resilience of Scotland is being undermined by deep divisions and political disunity. The SNP need to realise that good governance is not about campaigning on a single issue, independence, when about half the nation doesn’t agree, but opposition parties must also urgently review their ideas about Scotland’s future.
This is the agenda for the 2026 Scottish Parliament election. It will be the first real test of political opinion after nearly 18 months of Labour government but the issues at stake are too important for it to be turned into a referendum about Keir Starmer.
The angry mood of electors does matter and will impact the outcome. However, it would be a tragedy if, after the first 27 years of devolution – which created a voice for Scotland in the most radical overhaul of government in the UK in 300 years and produced some significant legislative successes – Scottish politics became merely a battleground of tribal feuds, electoral bloodletting, and revenge.
Labour’s historic duty
After one-party rule for nearly two decades, Scotland requires a new agenda with significant social and economic reforms, and a new ‘federal culture’ within the UK to move devolution forward as an alternative to independence.
From debates in Westminster alongside the Irish Question in the early 20th century and campaigning by Labour parliamentarians such as Keir Hardie and James Maxton to the work of John Smith and Donald Dewar, the relentless campaigning of Civic Scotland, and the Blair Government’s 1998 Scotland Act, Labour’s association with devolution has been strong. And that means Scottish Labour has historic responsibilities it must not shirk, even as other parties pursue empty populist strategies.
The idea of progress is important and requires a more mature and reasoned approach to Scottish politics with the parliament being viewed as a valuable institution in its own right. The Scottish Government’s budget of nearly £65 billion is significant and worthy of much greater scrutiny relative to real Scottish priorities. The immediate needs of our devolved nation must be used to build a broader consensus on a way forward.
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No one is asking political parties to abandon their long-term political and constitutional aspirations, but nationalists must realise the priority is Scotland today, not tomorrow.
However this is an election where other home truths must also be acknowledged. Scottish Labour needs to adopt a more radical stance by shedding fears about being too Scottish or upsetting the ruling elites at Westminster. More independence of thought, comment, policy, action and, indeed, philosophy is needed.
A more progressive future
The Scottish Parliament must escape the stifling control of the Scottish Government, whatever its colour, and become more responsive to the needs of voters. Right now, it is too focussed on the needs of one political party.
Energising and reforming the committee system in parliament is long overdue, and would introduce more powerful and assertive legislative authority and, therefore, better legislation. But this would require more cross-party thinking.
Devolution has been an undoubted success but more needs to be done to convince Scots that a more progressive future is possible. The next 25 years must address substantial areas of policy where performance has been less than it might be.
The threats to the international rules-based order, the erratic behaviour of Donald Trump, confusion about our European identity, and authoritarian and populist tendencies within British politics require Scots and their government to shape institutions for a very different future. Electoral reform would be a courageous step forward.
English nationalism on the march
Greater European cooperation is also urgent and overdue. In many areas of policy, we are falling behind the European Union, and also England. Every problem facing Scotland doesn’t originate in Westminster or England, despite nationalist rhetoric to the contrary.
The expected electoral successes of the Reform party in May will be a powerful reminder of the onward march of English nationalism, populism, and authoritarian ideas. Reform UK – the failed remnants of its UKIP and Brexit incarnations – is not a party but a personality cult centred on Nigel Farage whose visits to Westminster and his Clacton constituency are rare and whose admiration for Trump is legend.
Farage is unpopular in Scotland, but will continue to recruit from the Conservative party, as it struggles for support and survival. For him, the Scottish election is a pre-season friendly in a foreign country, a testing ground for his dangerous politics of protest and fear.
After so long in power, the SNP is vulnerable to the idea that this is a time for change. New and bolder ideas are certainly required. And there is little progress being made on their signature and, at times, their only issue – independence. The referendum in 2014 may turn out to have been the high water-mark of achievement for nationalists.
Since John Swinney became First Minister, the SNP has been better at resisting the temptation to feud with Westminster for political ends. However, too often the distraction of independence is still obstructing Scotland’s ability to move forward, as the distinction between genuine public policy concerns and playing politics becomes blurred.
A new beginning
Scotland as a nation and an economy is losing focus and dynamism and has stalled. Many areas of policy need urgent renewal. The SNP government just looks tired.
The vision behind the Scotland Act 1998 must be renewed. Independence is going nowhere, has lost momentum, and remains an obstacle to real progress. The challenge for opposition parties is to promote an exciting new agenda and a more informed and inclusive debate.
Scotland’s problems have, for far too long, been seen through a constitutional lens when they should have been viewed through a public policy one. A new beginning for Scotland is the prize to be won in May 2026.
Henry McLeish is a former First Minister of Scotland
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