Political paralysis

I suppose we should not be surprised any more when British Labour in Scotland (BLiS) does things like this. But their grim determination to embrace irrelevance is, nonetheless, deeply perplexing.

The outcome of the EU referendum afforded Kezia Dugdale the ideal opportunity to bring BLiS back to mainstream politics in Scotland. But there is a distinct impression that she isn’t even aware of this opportunity. It seems very much as if she is oblivious to events going on around her. She is certainly unable to comprehend the implications of those. It’s like nothing happened on Thursday. She writes the words recounting what happened. But there is no sign at all that she grasps the meaning.

She mechanically relates how the democratic will of Scotland’s people is being denied; and her only response is rote repetition of lines from the original Project Fear propaganda campaign. Presented with a situation which Nicola Sturgeon had no difficulty in recognising and acknowledging as “democratically unacceptable”, Dugdale simply accepts. It’s as if she cannot even contemplate the possibility of doing otherwise. As if she’s unaware that there is an option to protest.

Inertia is one thing. But this is paralysis. The contrast with Nicola Sturgeon and the SNP could hardly be more stark. While they give the impression of knowing in advance what was going to happen, or at least of having planned and prepared for every eventuality; Dugdale and BLiS don’t even seem to know what’s happened after it’s happened. And there is absolutely no hint of a plan or a strategy.

Significantly, the Daily Record has now come out in favour of another independence referendum. That is an indication of how significant are the recent events to which Dugdale is so abysmally failing to respond. The likelihood is that this will lead to a U-turn by BLiS. Which will leave them looking even more weak and vacillating. Scotland deserves better.