[hibeejim21]

As a regular SNP voter and Independence supporter over many years, I found it interesting today that John Swinney marked the 10th Anniversary of the Independence Referendum vote with a positive speech and numerous interviews. As the title of the thread points out, many consider him to be a safe pair of hands - perhaps too safe? To coin a phrase from many years ago, "softly, softly, catchee monkey" might be the plan.

Despite both the Brexit disaster and Tory austerity hitting Scotland hard over the past decade, support for Independence has barely changed. Could it be that the Scottish voters do smell the coffee, but with no sugar to sweeten it and the self-inflicted taste of sour milk, don't like what they are being asked to drink?

I genuinely think the SNP are just best letting Labour xxxx things up and then make their move. Starmer is a face painted on a balloon, it could be anyone in charge really so intertwined are their policies with the tories. The main purpose of government now seems to be taking bungs and handing out contracts to your mates for jobs later down the line.

He is already deeply unpopular a complete charisma vacuum, and that sop thrown at Aberdeen as "GB energy" increasingly looks like a vehicle for PFI and further pilfering of Scotlands natural resources across the border.

I still think independence is the way forward, mainly because the systems and institutions of the UK are completely bent and unfit for purpose, will never change and indeed will continue to push politics that are at odds with our peoples best wishes.

Swinney isn't a "wartime consigliere" though and the SNP badly needs new blood and fresh ideas.

[0762]

The sad fact is there is no charismatic, forceful leader available at the current time; a powerful orator who would forcefully "drive a wedge" through the Treaty of Union 1707 and pull the Scottish population behind a huge push to impose "change" - the real change of Scottish independence!! Scotland is a quasi-nation at the moment, there are so many things that Scotland can't do!!! We're not a nation until we can do those things that other post WWII independent countries have done for years, and not one has ever said they don't want it any more btw!!! We're not a nation until we can run our own economy, make our own decisions and make our own mistakes without any press/media criticism or political interference from England. AND WE CAN THRIVE!!! SAOR ALBA!!

[0762]

A recent report by an investigative media journalist exposed the BBC to be withholding substantial amounts of Scot licence fee money (approx £300M pa) from investing and financing the media within Scotland itself. Hence the question - "Why is Scotland's media industry so weak compared with other similar sized independent countries in Europe"??
Scots have a right to know how much of the money we give to the BBC actually goes back into Scotland’s creative industries. The “indirect’ spending that the BBC lists is a fudge masking the reality that the BBC in London is effectively syphoning money and talent out of Scotland.

If Scotland were an independent country, Scots could make better use of the money to support a thriving media and culture industry instead of making do with the crumbs from London’s table.
Feeding and nurturing Scotland’s creative ecosystem with public money is the base strategy that has allowed other small independent countries like Denmark and Ireland to build vibrant media sectors.
There is no shortage of creative talent in Scotland. Our people are equally talented and hard-working; the thing holding back the success of Scotland's creative industries is simply that we are part of the UK. Scotland's resources, both human and financial, are being redirected to the south of England - that is what we call the ‘Westminster Effect’. Various studies of BBC activities and formal reports on BBC activities confirm this totally unacceptable situation. For example, if one looks "across the Irish Sea" to the ROI (a similar sized country to Scotland), Irish media and Culture draws in approx 6B Euros pa - Scotland's media total is about one fifth of that total!!!