Changing hearts and minds

 The poll in The Herald yesterday was good news for the SNP. Despite a full term of minority government - which other parties and commentators claimed they would not survive more than a few months - the party has slightly increased its share of the vote. That's really encouraging given the united unionist oppostion and a hostile media. Labour has taken Tory and Lib Dem votes, putting it ahead. But 19% of the public remain undecided. As the Scottish General Election draws closer, more of those undecideds will come to the SNP. As voters concentrate on Holyrood, not Westminster, they will focus on the choice open to them. Only one man can be First Minister and only one party puts Scotland first. I have yet to meet anyone, of any political persuasion, who doesn't think Alex Salmond is head and shoulders above any other contender for the job.

Sometimes, it's just a matter of setting out the facts to people, and moving them from their default position. That has been the story of the SNP's rise since Winnie Ewing won the Hamilton by-election in 1967. At first it was a flash in the pan. Then it was a recurrent by-election protest. Then it was an anti Tory vote. Then an anti Labour vote. First the SNP pushed the Liberal Democrats and Tories into third place. Then it became the second party in Scotland. We got a Scottish parliament because of the rise of the SNP, no other reason.  In 2007 it took the biggest share of the popular vote and became the government - a government that has been a game changer. The SNP took first-past-the-post seats that were once out of reach. Not only has Salmond's government lasted the course and taken measures to change peoples' lives - the small business bonus, the reduction in waiting times for cancer, the council tax freeze and the increase in police. More subtly, it has shown us what Scotland can be if it acts like a grown up nation. That was particularly apparent when the First Minister sat down with the vice premier of China last week. China treated us as an equal nation, they valued not just our culture but our technological expertise, particularly in renewable energy. It really does matter who is in charge. If you take yourself seriously, the rest of the world will take you seriously as well. 

Polls come and go but the story of Scotland since 1967 has been the steady march towards independence. It is ordinary people who deliver it. Every person who is convinced about independence recruits those around them - and once convinced you don't go back. My dad was a shipyard worker in Greenock who voted Labour because that's what you did in the 40s, 50s and 60s. Some time in the 1970s someone changed his mind and he voted SNP. He changed my mind too and I hope, through my work, I have persuaded a few more folk to vote SNP. When I was a student I persuaded my boyfriend and future (now former) husband, Pat Kane, to back the SNP. Being of Irish descent, he had never previously considered the Scottish dimension - outside football that is. He went on to front quite a famous pop group, Hue & Cry, that combined Scottishness with soul sophistication...and persuaded lots of people to consider the SNP. One of them was the actress Elaine C Smith, whom we invited along to a group called Artist for Independence in the early 1990s. Elaine is now a stalwart for independence and must have persuaded....you get the idea. It's a just matter of time. 

Comments

[Andy Simpson]

A great post, waves of support may flow back and forth on the beach but eventually a tide of confidence will come all the way in! the unionists are fighting a losing battle. "Dont vote labour because of your father, Vote SNP because of your children".
"Will you vote with your head up? or your hand out?. hows that for a couple of good slogans for may!

[Am Firinn]

Joan - a tale worth telling, well told. If I had read this piece about your converting Mr Kane before spouting forth on LPW's site, i might have been more careful! Seriously, though, I would still be interested in your views on why women are more pressured into anglicisation: then maybe we can see what we can all do to combat these pressures.

[cynicalHighlander]

EphemeralDeception

http://realmofscotland.com/scolandpage.aspx?Cat=17&menu=Scotland-UN%20-%20The%20Story%20in%20Brief

[EphemeralDeception]

"We got a Scottish parliament because of the rise of the SNP, no other reason."

I do not think that is true. Part of the reason is because the Council of Europe were breathing down the UKs neck. Much of which is discussed on RealmOfScotland website.

How much of the story is fully accurate is hard to say but having had some exchanges with Dr. James Wilkie I am inclined to agree that Labour was forced to deliver the referendum when they did.

[Alibi]

Oops, didn't complete final sentence: Why was it reported as if it had been voted down in the SP by Tories and LibDems without mentioning that Labour also voted against it?

[Alibi]

Great article, Joan. When people are given the facts (and that has to be done against a background of a very hostile mainstream media that seems to adopt a policy of not reporting anything that shows Labour in a bad light), they see that they have been lied to over decades by those with a Londoncentric agenda. Labour relies on people remaining ignorant of their skullduggery.

labour might be able to control the press and they certainly seem to tell BBC Scotland what to report, but they can't control the internet.

Why did BBC Scotland report on the alcohol pricing proposals for England and Wales and say that it was voted down by the tories and Lib dems

[Lallands Peat Worrier]

Particularly the hearts and minds of our mothers, aunts, sisters, you might think...

http://lallandspeatworrier.blogspot.com/2011/01/winning-over-female-voters-crucial-to.html

[1971Thistle]

Joan

As a a female list candidate for the SNP, what's your thoughts on another aspect of that poll - i.e. the gender gap in voting intentions for SNP between men and women - it seems quite substantial and if it could be addressed, pivotal for the SNP.

Any ideas why it should so marked a difference, and what can be done to improve it?

[Iain]

Hi Joan

Good post. It’s always important to keep things in context and that’s what you’ve exactly done.

Independence is nearer that a lot of people think.