Chris Law and Pete Wishart’s demand that the Labour party scrap the two-child benefit cap starkly illustrates why the party was turfed out in huge numbers by the electorate two weeks ago.
They were routed for many reasons.
But their inability to make tough decisions – which they had the power to take but didn’t – sums them up as a party of loudmouths who were empty vessels when push came to shove.
The insistence that Keir Starmer’s government bins the cap neatly sidesteps the fact the SNP government in Edinburgh has the devolved power to mitigate the policy.
In fact, the Alba MSP Ash Regan has called on the SNP to do just that by giving more money to councils to help with lifting kids out of poverty.
That, though, doesn’t suit the grievance mongering blame game which finally caught up with the SNP when they lost 39 MPs at the general election.
You might think that would tell them something.
But the fact that it hasn’t is why I expect them to face the same kind of hammering they’ve just endured at Westminster come the Holyrood elections in 2026.
‘SNP reluctant to accept blame’
The big switch to Labour signals that many who previously moved from them to the nationalists – and switched back again on July 4 – will be happy to repeat that process two years from now.
The nationalists’ dominance in Scottish politics meant they became convinced of their infallibility.
Even now, having been railroaded at the election, they are reluctant to accept blame for anything.
Other than staunch independence supporters, is there anyone who hasn’t grown weary of SNP buck passing?
The two-cap benefit situation illustrates the inability of the SNP to take a mature stance on serious issues.
No government can please everyone. Hard choices must be made, and difficult decisions taken as to what ranks where in order of importance.
The SNP could alleviate the effects of the cap brought in by the Conservatives but that would mean making a tough decision to allocate money to that instead of elsewhere.
Grown-up politicians accept restricted choices. Immature ones apportion blame elsewhere.
Too many folk have now seen through the SNP student politics strategy and the way back for them will be long and painful.
Their artificial angst and hand-wringing excuses have run out of road.
‘Disaffected SNP ranks’
There’s also a question over where the wider independence movement goes from here.
It is fractured, splintered, disheartened and disorganised.
Alba, led by Alex Salmond, looks to have a very forlorn hope of making any real inroads to challenge even a desperately disjointed SNP.
They captured less than 12,000 votes and no slick PR strategy or positive media coverage is likely to shift that dial sufficiently to make any major progress.
There’s a very slight hope they may return a handful of MSPs due to Holyrood’s proportional representation system, but so too might Nigel Farage’s Reform party if they haven’t self-combusted by then.
Given the current rancour and recriminations brewing within the disaffected SNP ranks, there’s every possibility they might also self-ignite before then.
Conversation