It is undoubtedly true that I feel less warmly about the prospect of independence today than I have in recent years. One reason for this is that I’ve been hugely disappointed with Sturgeon’s record in government. Some argue that this has little bearing on the case for independence or how an independent Scotland would perform, but they are kidding themselves if they don’t see the link.
The Scottish education system, one of the key responsibilities of the devolved parliament, is undeniably in decline. There is a lack of transparency and truthfulness: school and pupil performance is something of a black box, with only limited data made available, and ministers choose peripheral metrics that suggest success rather than the more important ones that show nothing of the kind. Education was supposed to be Sturgeon’s big passion, but ultimately she has lacked the courage to do what bright kids from difficult backgrounds needed her to do – cut through the bureaucracy, tackle the vested interests, enforce a rigorous system that demands excellence and that frees schools to innovate and thrive. Instead, the basic, stultifying comprehensive model has been protected, educational fashions have been pursued, bureaucrats have been mollified, and pupil performance – and therefore life chances – have suffered.
Sturgeon’s personal allergy towards the business community is both baffling and harmful. Relations, after seven years in office, remain minimal and cool. There has been little serious debate about how to encourage wealth creation, or to tackle the deep-seated deficiencies in the Scottish economy. There is nothing right wing about desiring and enabling a thriving, profitable private sector – this is where the economy gains and keeps its edge, where good jobs and tax revenues are built, where most individuals can pursue their career aspirations, and where innovation can lift Scotland up the global league tables. Other than the Logan report on the digital ecosystem, which provides an intelligent pathway to strengthening Scotland’s tech economy (and was anyway driven by the promising Economy Secretary Kate Forbes) it is hard to alight on many instances of the Sturgeon administration instituting brave or meaningful reforms in the area.
In fact, the First Minister effectively turned her back on people like me by taking the Scottish Greens into her government. The Greens are kilted Corbynites: anti-growth, anti-Western, pompous, unserious, and the most left-wing party ever to hold office in the UK. It remains unclear if they are there because Sturgeon is sympathetic to their policy agenda, in which case hell mend her, or simply because it allows her to claim the governing parties at Holyrood have a majority for independence, in which case it’s a shabby stunt and a horrendous miscalculation of priorities. Of all the decisions she has taken, this one has probably hardened my heart the most.
Want to see more SNP fails? – Health Matters
