Calendar An icon of a desk calendar. Cancel An icon of a circle with a diagonal line across. Caret An icon of a block arrow pointing to the right. Email An icon of a paper envelope. Facebook An icon of the Facebook "f" mark. Google An icon of the Google "G" mark. Linked In An icon of the Linked In "in" mark. Logout An icon representing logout. Profile An icon that resembles human head and shoulders. Telephone An icon of a traditional telephone receiver. Tick An icon of a tick mark. Is Public An icon of a human eye and eyelashes. Is Not Public An icon of a human eye and eyelashes with a diagonal line through it. Pause Icon A two-lined pause icon for stopping interactions. Quote Mark A opening quote mark. Quote Mark A closing quote mark. Arrow An icon of an arrow. Folder An icon of a paper folder. Breaking An icon of an exclamation mark on a circular background. Camera An icon of a digital camera. Caret An icon of a caret arrow. Clock An icon of a clock face. Close An icon of the an X shape. Close Icon An icon used to represent where to interact to collapse or dismiss a component Comment An icon of a speech bubble. Comments An icon of a speech bubble, denoting user comments. Comments An icon of a speech bubble, denoting user comments. Ellipsis An icon of 3 horizontal dots. Envelope An icon of a paper envelope. Facebook An icon of a facebook f logo. Camera An icon of a digital camera. Home An icon of a house. Instagram An icon of the Instagram logo. LinkedIn An icon of the LinkedIn logo. Magnifying Glass An icon of a magnifying glass. Search Icon A magnifying glass icon that is used to represent the function of searching. Menu An icon of 3 horizontal lines. Hamburger Menu Icon An icon used to represent a collapsed menu. Next An icon of an arrow pointing to the right. Notice An explanation mark centred inside a circle. Previous An icon of an arrow pointing to the left. Rating An icon of a star. Tag An icon of a tag. Twitter An icon of the Twitter logo. Video Camera An icon of a video camera shape. Speech Bubble Icon A icon displaying a speech bubble WhatsApp An icon of the WhatsApp logo. Information An icon of an information logo. Plus A mathematical 'plus' symbol. Duration An icon indicating Time. Success Tick An icon of a green tick. Success Tick Timeout An icon of a greyed out success tick. Loading Spinner An icon of a loading spinner. Facebook Messenger An icon of the facebook messenger app logo. Facebook An icon of a facebook f logo. Facebook Messenger An icon of the Twitter app logo. LinkedIn An icon of the LinkedIn logo. WhatsApp Messenger An icon of the Whatsapp messenger app logo. Email An icon of an mail envelope. Copy link A decentered black square over a white square.

JIM SPENCE: Voters have decided SNP’s student-level philosophies are past their sell-by date

The electorate has decided the party lacks the intellectual heft and skills to run a capable government.

Nicola Sturgeon was replaced as FM by Humza Yousaf and SNP woes have continued.
Nicola Sturgeon was replaced as FM by Humza Yousaf and SNP woes have continued.

My opinion last week that the SNP were heading for the political rocks came true in Rutherglen.

Labour wiped the floor, with the Nats soundly rejected by the voters.

Some have suggested the SNP should rethink their approach but it’s pointless; any immediate prospects of independence are surely dead in the water.

The voters passed judgement on their calamitous governance along with their inept green accomplices.

Lacking intellectual heft

Having peered over the edge of the precipice at the prospect of further disastrous administration of Scotland, the electorate issued surely the first of many P45s for the Nats.

And one poll this week for Westminster Voting Intentions sees the SNP drop from 3% to 1%, signifying a near wipe-out of their MP’s at Westminster next year.

The SNP are the independence movement despite what smaller parties like Alba and unattached Indy voters may think.

If ever independence was achieved it’s the SNP who would have their hands on all the levers of power, having also hugely commandeered much of Scottish public and private institutional life.

The same folk currently running things would still be running things and their policies, rejected by voters last week, on transgender issues and a headlong suicidal rush to immediate net zero would be a recipe for economic and social upheaval.

By a huge majority voters decided those whose student-level political philosophies have proven incapable of governing competently were past their sell-by date.

They decided that those politicians lack the intellectual heft and skills to run a capable government.

Scottish Labour leader Anas Sarwar and candidate Michael Shanks at the count for the Rutherglen and Hamilton West by-election.

Their infighting, backbiting and preferential treatment of nodding dogs undid them.

Those few able folk in the ranks prepared to challenge daft ideas like putting a male rapist in a woman’s prison, or rushing headlong into a green future without the slightest idea of how to keep the lights on, have been sidelined and the electorate recognised that.

The SNP is incapable of change and those nationalists unattached to them know it.

Those still on board will go down with the sinking ship because they’re incapable of serious politics which sometimes demands the ability to accept compromise and hear different opinions.

Foolish policies won’t wash

I said last week that in next year’s election Sir Keir Starmer need do nothing but let the SNP and the Tories make their mistakes, however he must avoid self-immolation by his party’s virtue signalling self-righteous sect.

He ruthlessly purged the party of the vapid serial non achiever Jeremy Corbyn, but he may also need to rid Labour of others too.

Like the Islington ingrate, there are others who are a danger to his hopes of achieving power and bringing help to those in the country who need it most.

Labour was always a broad church but it can’t afford worshippers venerating the far left politics which the majority of voters consistently reject.

Labour is a social democratic party not a socialist party.

Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer. Image: PA
Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer. Image: PA

Those who want the sort of socialism Corbyn offered in his ill-fated spell as leader are small in number but dangerous to hopes of getting rid of the Tories.

They should set up their own party and see how they fare.

There’s a reason why far left politics have failed in every country they’ve been tried in.

They’re superficially attractive with notions of fairness and equality at their heart, but many of their aims are fundamentally at odds with human greed.

The SNP have found that foolish policies won’t wash – and Starmer knows that too.

To ensure Labour doesn’t self-destruct with victory in sight he must pragmatically remember principles are pointless without power and jettison anyone endangering victory prospects.

Conversation