Empty chairs at empty tables

Remember those halcyon days where you wanted to be at the table when those really tall people were having proper discussions about serious things? Even if you only got to sit there quietly when you should have been in bed you'd be delighted to just listen as the tones changed from that baby-talk you wished they'd stop doing to you months ago to the mature, reasoned and often passionate dialogue.

For many, that desire to be involved wears off fairly quickly as teenage years kick in but for those destined to be politicians I would imagine they would always want to be at the cutting edge of, or at least in the same room as, whatever debate was on the table.

Putting arguments forward, assessing arguments coming their way, conjecture, theory, big picture, detail, detail, detail. It's what should get the politician's juices flowing. And if they fail to win the argument of the day from those bothering to tune in to watch, they take it on the chin and accept that democracy is the overall winner.

The current debate of the day seems to involve the 3 basic options Scotland has ahead of her: independence, more powers for the devolved Holyrood or keeping the status quo. And to pick which is the best option you need a debate, though the current favoured option seems to clearly be more powers for Holyrood but falling significantly short of full independence.

I can't help but wonder therefore, with such a debate on the table, where the political instincts have gone for the Labour, Tory and Lib Dem politicians?

Why does the unionist majority choose to bury their head in the sand? Of particular bemusement is the Lib Dem and Tory refusal to speak up for the "more powers for Holyrood" option which they seemed to be desirous of before the election. What has changed? If I had voted for either of these parties then I would be very put out indeed. But then, had I voted for either of these parties I would also be a monkey's uncle and the months would have rather more Sundays than they had before.


The joint statement from the unionist parties today damning the SNP for having the audacity to publish a white paper on independence was presumably designed to be a showing of strength but, unfortunately, their poor choice of language lets them down.


Scaremongering with no detail and no reasoned argument has become the tired response from each of the SNP's rivals with regard to independence. Without a structured approach to this issue, an issue that's not going anywhere fast, the SNP can only gain ground from voters who will surely see the unionists as being lazy and childish. (As an example, opposing a white paper before it is published means you're either being immature or don't have the gumption to actually read the thing)

Labour, Lib Dem and Conservative members need to dig deep and set out the real benefits that the "union dividend" will bring. And they also have to decide if they do want more powers for Holyrood or not. They talk of the SNP bringing instability and confusuion and yet noone really knows any more what it is these 3 parties actually want for Scotland going forward 10, 20, 50 years into the future.


So to go back to the opening scene, Alex Salmond and his colleagues appear to be waiting at the empty dining table in the ever-dimming evening light, waiting for the debate to begin and wondering if their adversaries would really rather avoid this grown-up chat altogether.