Having kept the Scots in Great Britain thanks to the votes of non-Scottish people resident in Scotland – the majority of actual Scots voted for independence – the English are now upset that the Scottish National Party is daring to interfere in English affairs.
The barefaced perfidy of the SNP’s decision to rat on their pledge not to vote against legislative measures that did not affect their constituents has been breathtaking. But, then, for all who know this lot, were any of us really surprised? This is, after all, a cult-like movement that knows no principle that it won’t abandon and no promise it won’t ditch in pursuit of its one and only goal – the break-up of the United Kingdom.
You will remember that Nicola Sturgeon pledged – no doubt hand on heart – on the metaphorical stack of Bibles that her Fearless Fifty Six MPs would interfere in laws that affected only England if that legislation materially affected the lives of their constituents and, specifically, if it caused a reduction in the Barnett formula cash that flows north from the Treasury.
However, at the first time of asking and with Labour stupidly – is there any end to this party’s suicidal tendency – offering them an open goal, the Nats put partisan advantage ahead of any semblance of sticking to their promises. In ordering her pathetically obedient troops to vote against a measure that would bring fox hunting legislation in England and Wales into line with that in Scotland Ms Sturgeon has shown that you can trust her word as much as you could her predecessor’s.
Who could have seen that coming? The SNP’s strategy is obvious. Make the life of the English Parliamentarians a living hell until they openly support Scottish independence. The English forced them to stick around when they wanted to leave, so making sure that the Union is as unpopular with the English as it is with the Scottish is the logical thing to do.