As I have written here before, the Labour Party no longer seems to have any particular reason for being. It does not even appear to have a central direction or ideological basis, but if things are bad in the Labour Party, they are even worse in Scotland. It may seem rather odd to label the Scottish Labour Party as extremist, but that is what they have become. It may also seem odd to say that they have ceased to practice politics, but that has also happened. The Scottish Labour Party have ceased behaving like a normal political party and become something else, like a small sectarian sect, whose whole purpose appears, not as an opposition, but as simply to exist to oppose everything that the SNP says or does. They have absolutely nothing positive to offer the Scottish people, and like all extremists they live in a wee make believe world of their own construction, a world where ideological purity is virtuous and necessary and compromise is a dirty word, indeed a betrayal. Like all extremists they are dogmatic and therefore blind, not only to reality but to their own best interests. Unlike normal politicians, they seem incapable of understanding that politics is the art of the possible, the art of successfully applying compromise to maximise your long-term interests. Most importantly, in common with purists and extremists of all persuasions, they seem incapable of learning from their own mistakes, and continually demonstrate that they are in complete denial over the reasons for their own misfortunes.
Scottish Labour, unlike a proper political party, are not characterised by what they stand for or represent, but what they don’t stand for. For example, they claim to represent working people but stand bemused and seemingly helpless as those same working people abandon them in droves; at a complete loss as to why. They claim to stand for remaining within the EU but are completely ineffective in its defence and of Scotland’s place within it. During the EU referendum they simply disgraced themselves by their lukewarm fence-sitting and inaction, and by taking their cues from a London leadership that clearly wanted to campaign for Leave but were afraid to do so. They claim to stand for the Union, but that badge has been successfully monopolised by the Tories, who are at least honest enough to show us that submitting to the concept of a United Kingdom is in reality submitting to a political system that has adopted the mantle of English nationalism, and that the interests of the English electorate are, by definition, the interests of the whole nation, a fictitious entity that exists only in the fevered imaginations of the London-centric elite. As a result, Scottish Labour neither stand for, nor represent, the political and economic interests of the Scottish people.
Labour are the architects of their own misfortunes. Their demise is classic hubris as they have been brought low by their own overweening arrogance. They took the Scottish electorate for granted at both national and local level for decades, whilst treating them with contempt as evidenced by their lies and mendacious propaganda during the 2014 referendum and by supporting a Tory Party who have demonstrated, not only their complete indifference, but their hostility, to the interests of the Scottish nation for the past fifty years. But rather than honestly appraising their own conduct and making an apology, which the electorate would respect, they continue to wallow in their own delusional narrative. In addition, rather than being driven by principle and persuasive policy, they are driven by hate and an outdated and sterile ideology, applying a persistent and tedious knee-jerk reaction to anything that remotely appears to emanate from the SNP regardless of its merits.
All governments need a vigorous and healthy opposition. I am sorry to say that Jeremy Corbyn has turned out to be almost completely useless. He is devoid of any kind of leadership qualities and as Labour's fortunes recede we are in danger of becoming a one-party Tory state, governed by incompetent imbeciles and class warriors. A similar scenario is developing in Scotland where the Scottish party is failing to bring even a semblance of effective opposition to the Scottish government. Despite supporting the SNP, I am acutely aware that they display many failings and are needing to be held to account on several fronts, particularly health and education. There is no use looking to the Scottish Tories who are, if anything, even more swivel eyed than their London counterparts.
The realities of Scottish politics demonstrate that Scottish Labour should divorce their national party and become a genuine Scottish Labour Party. They should also seek some form of accommodation with the SNP to protect Scotland’s interests from the destructive results that must surely result from Brexit and from continuing Westminster austerity. In doing so they may begin to forge a discreet and authentic identity and soothe the open sores of their present toxicity. However, I am afraid I do not share much hope that they have either the courage or the intelligence to take such a path. You have been warned
Your Servant
Doktor Kommirat
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