Invoking Thatcher

The SNP has held its National Council meeting in Perth this weekend and the key quote from the First Minister's speech seems to be this one, according to the BBC:

"There is a strong public majority for a referendum, and our job is to translate that public support into a parliamentary majority. "

At present, each of the three London-based parties - Labour, Tory and Liberal - say no, no, no to Scotland, in the same arrogant manner as Margaret Thatcher did. "

That is one reason why the Tories and Liberals are at record lows in the polls, and why Labour are also behind. They are running away from the verdict of the people."

It sounds a little bit, just a little bit, like name calling. Like not getting your own way and then throwing a toy or two out of the pram. Then again, if the majority of the Scottish people are on your side in wishing a referendum then drawing as much attention to this issue is in the party's interests. Mentioning Thatcher, as we can see from the BBC's coverage (not to mention this blog post), is a good way to do that.

The recent IPSOS-Mori poll is a curious beast when it comes to deciding whether there is a majority in favour of independence or not.

25% said: "I believe a referendum should be held as soon as possible" which suggests there's a huge majority against a referendum.

But, a further 50% said: "I believe a referendum should be held in a few years time but it is not a priority at the moment" which suggests that Alex Salmond is absolutely bang on the money in pushing for one in the short term and seeking a parliamentary majority if he doesn't get it.

However, 25% in favour of "as soon as possible" and 75% in favour of "in a few years time" doesn't answer the question of how many people want one next year in 2010. It's good in a way because the SNP knows they are pretty much on the side of public opinion but the unionist parties remain unclear as to whether 25%, 50% or 75% are with them.

Consequently, the SNP should be the main beneficiaries from this issue come 2011 but I just hope the issue is what is debated and it doesn't get lost in claim and counter-claim. The white paper on independence is pretty hazy, let's be honest. Four options but only two or three questions? And that's not to mention the myriad of reasons for why the unionist parties aren't backing it.

It's already beginning to look like the only referendum we're going to get is who is most like Margaret Thatcher.

Recently Alex Salmond was painted as her biggest fan after an Iain Dale interview, now the opposing parties are Tories and Thatcher-ites for not agreeing to a referendum, the SNP will no doubt be 'Tartan Tories' again when Annabel Goldie signs up to Swinney's budget, Labour will be Tories again when the election campaign comes around because of Brown inviting the 'Iron Lady' round for tea but so too will the other parties because voting for them will let in Cameron.

It seems, the lady who was not for turning is for returning and returning.

More interesting information from today's Council meeting, as picked up by Aye We Can, is that Alex Salmond is facing down the negative news stories relating to blogs with these comments:

"The Internet is a wonderful tool. It gives us a means to engage with the public, to motivate activists and to affirm our positive case for Scottish independence.

We must use the Internet for positive campaigns, to build our case and not get engaged in the negative agenda.

The SNP can only win and will only win on a positive agenda"

It is certainly pushing the party in the right direction and certainly helps accurately place the SNP as the positive party in Scotland right now. There can't be many Government Ministers who have to fight with their interviewers to drag the focus of the argument back to policies and substance-based issues. The recent Bernard Ponsonby/Mike Russell Politics Now interview being a case in point.

There's an argument that elections aren't so much about policies and more about tone, which party do I feel an affinity with. A bit like newspapers, we buy the ones that reaffirm who we think we are and how we see ourselves.

If the SNP is setting a tone that it is relentlessly positive, anti-Thatcher and in favour of new technologies such as the internet and i-phone apps, then I reckon those Ipsos-Mori poll figures, weighted or unweighted, will go up and up as May 2010 approaches.