Staggering Hypocrisy and the Moral Mandate
The Holyrood campaign, so far deeply Forgettable, has exploded into life after the Channel 4 News Leaders Debate [which you can view here].
It was all fairly predictable until a point where Anas Sarwar accused Malcolm Offord of racism. Reform’s Lord Offord retorted: “This is the third time on national TV you’ve called me racist. This does not square with you coming up to me at the start of this campaign, bouncing up to me in Paisley Town Hall & saying we need to work together, Reform & Labour, to remove the SNP.”
For the avoidance of any doubt, Offord’s party is racist and Anas Sarwar is so desperate, despite his frantic pleas, to make a deal with anyone. But these are not revelations. We already covered all this last month [Don’t Panic!] as have the rest of the Scottish media:
“…today we have the news, via The Scotsman, that Sarwar has found a ‘tactical route’ and something called a ‘moral mandate’ to get himself inside Bute House. David Bol reports: “Labour’s potential route to Bute House would rely on unionist parties, including Reform, to vote in Mr Sarwar as First Minister following May’s election, with Labour attempting to govern as a small minority administration.”
Labour would have, according to Sarwar, a ‘moral mandate’ to form a government.”
But there is nothing moral about doing a deal with a neo-fascist party that you point out, quite rightly, is deeply racist.
Here is the Scotsman journalist David Bol confirming the story:
But are we suffering from some kind of collective amnesia? This deal was not uncovered by a diligent Scotsman sleuth, but repeated over and over by the media.
As recently as January the Daily Record’s Political Editor was exploring how ‘How Anas Sarwar could end up as First Minister with fewer than 35 Scottish Labour MSPs’.
It’s archived here.
Despondent he starts by admitting that: “Polling strongly suggests the Holyrood election may already be over and the result set in stone. The SNP are on track for a fifth term in office and cruising to a comfortable victory over their rivals.”
But he explains: “There is one alternative outcome which, while currently unlikely given the polling, is spoken about privately by Labour, the Lib Dems, the Tories and Reform. Scottish Labour leader Anas Sarwar used to believe the magic number for victory in May was securing 48 MSPs – over double their 2021 tally.”
“After the Starmer Government’s troubles hit the Scottish party’s poll rating, Labour insiders privately downgraded the number to 38. One Labour MP told the Record there is a “path” to power for Sarwar even if his party ends up in the early thirties. How could we end up with a minority Labour Government if they only have 32 MSPs?”
“If Labour, the Lib Dems, Tories and Reform reach 65, insiders say the pro-UK parties would vote for Sarwar as First Minister, despite Swinney leading the largest group.”
“The Lib Dems and the Tories would not blink at ending nearly two decades of SNP rule in these circumstances and so Reform would play kingmaker.”
In fact, it was only a few weeks ago that Sarwar himself was making the case for working with Farage’s party. Alistair Grant, writing in The Scotsman wrote: “Anas Sarwar has left the door open to working with Nigel Farage’s Reform UK on individual issues if it wins MSPs at the next Holyrood election.”
“The Scottish Labour leader said he would not turn his back on a good idea from any opposition MSP, regardless of party.”
“He refused to be drawn on whether he would be happy to use Reform votes in the Scottish Parliament to get into power. Polling suggests Mr Farage’s party could win a raft of MSPs at the Holyrood election next year, which could put them in the position of kingmakers.”
Grant also noted that Richard Tice, Reform UK’s deputy leader, previously said the party would back Mr Sarwar to become first minister at the expense of the SNP.
What’s mystifying is why the Scottish media, which has already reported on these backroom deals, is acting shocked and surprised. If you weren’t already deeply cynical about the state of media collusion, or about the state of Unionist politics, you should be now.
There’s one good thing to come out of this fiasco. That is the stitch-up that Labour and Reform and the Lib Dems and the Tories have hatched is completely exposed and looking even more desperate than before.
There’s a deeply troubling narrative being created by Scottish Labour here.
If Scottish people vote a pro-independence majority into power at Holyrood, that does not create any mandate for Scottish independence, or even a vote on the issue? But Anas sarwar, in spite of his unionist party polling very badly amoungst Scottish voters, has a “Moral Mandate” to become First Minister in Scotland?
This narrative only ‘works’ if the SNP and Scottish Green Party together Scotland’s voters have somehow lost their legitimacy and franchise by dint of some exeptional foul play or extraordinary circumstances which have hijacked our democratic process and civil institutions.
When did this malign take-over happen? Who is behind it? How exactly did the ‘wrong’ electorate vote in the ‘wrong’ governemnt?
Anas Sarwar needs to explain.
Apologies for the typos. Nae specs.
After even a cursory examination of Labour’s manifesto for upcoming Holyrood election and its proposals to:
Cut income tax for the better off
Reduce public spending especially welfare which will adversely effect poorer sections of society
I would suggest that Labour in Scotland have moved so far from their socialist values that accommodation with Reform UK should be relatively easy for them.
Labour is a labour party in name only. Not new, not news.
This election has to be clearly about democracy- to respect the democratic mandate here. Quite simple
Poor US voters, served by a media that largely acts dumb, sounds dumb, looks at it’s feet, then looks the other way, and does anything but confronts the horrible and ugly truth sat right in front of it. But here we are in Scotland and its no different and no better. Feigned dumbness, goldfish memory, partisan whataboutery, and spin at 10,000RPM. In the service of what exactly? To circle the wagons around the objectively awful nepo-baby Anas Sarwar and pretend that no journalists and outlets were aware of Sarwar’s/SLAB’s intended tactical route (if the numbers come out right) to a potential unionist coalition under FM Sarwar to freeze out the SNP with the support of Reform MSP votes? The same tactical route that Labour briefed to be put into print, written up by their peer journos and peer outlets? They didn’t read any of that ? They weren’t aware of any of that ? In the incestuous podcast commentary set, it wasn’t discussed before the mikes went live, or afterwards in the pub? No one is surprised at Sarwar making a complete fool of himself with the alleged (but highly likely) approach to Offord. But partisan journos spinning like mad on Sarwar’s behalf and deflecting like crazy has been a hell of a sight. Scottish politics may or may not be in a slump, but Scottish political journalism and commentary has never been lower than it is today.
We’ve been here before with Scottish Labour. Sarwar has said on many occasions that he would not do any deals with the Tories. But in plenty of local authorities, Labour and the Tories are in cahoots nonetheless. No formal deals: just informal and opaque arrangements to keep the SNP out and pass the budgets. A deeply cynical and dishonest practice, which needs to be called out.