There are no signs the SNP can escape from the devolution trap

The National

06-05-2025

It was only finally coaxed out of the First Minister's lips in response to a question from the leader of the Scottish Tories. It is clear that independence has long since been substituted for 'good governance'. No doubt it will be resurrected in a carrot-like concept the nearer we get to May 2026.
READ MORE: John Swinney's Programme for Government – all you need to know
Donald Dewar was a clever man. As a life-long nationalist it hurts me to say it. He designed a very sticky trap which has successfully held back independence for the past 25 years and may well hold it back for another 25 years. A year is a long time in politics and much can happen in that time, but it currently looks like the trap will not be released in May 2026. At best all we can hope for is another SNP minority government, probably having to be propped up by a second forced marriage to the Greens. What will follow will no doubt be five more years of the same – many promises, but most broken; many targets, but most not reached.
Mr Swinney focused on the obvious problems of the 8am lottery to win an appointment with your GP. He went on to mention yet another investment of yet another sum of money to somehow solve this problem but noticeably failed to explain any causal relationship between the money and the problem. Worryingly there was a very brief mention of further increased use of pharmacists. We are left to believe that by May 2026, GP appointments will be easier to obtain. A promise of 800 new GPs was made by Shona Robison back in 2017, but back in the real world GP numbers have actually fallen in that time by 67, from 3520 to 3433.
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There seems to be no prospect of any hopes or dreams of a referendum in the foreseeable future. There was no mention of using the 2026 elections as a referendum or of finding a way of working with other independence parties to bridge the 10% to 20% gap between support for the SNP and support for independence. Overall the Programme for Government is simply more of the same.
Iain Wilson
Stirling
BARELY a year ago Labour enjoyed huge success in the last UK General Election. Under chaotic leadership they have clearly already nose-dived.
Now it seems Reform UK are lighting the political fireworks with alarming results throughout England.
I say alarming as their leader Nigel Farage seems to be yer actual flibbertigibbet. A Tory forms the Brexit Party, rattling enough cages down south to drag us out of the EU, and now appears to reign supreme in the most recent public test with his Reform party.
READ MORE: Fife councillor quits Scottish Tories to join Reform UK
So what exactly is the intent of the Reform UK party? I suspect only Farage himself really knows, while his recent gathering of support are clearly fleeing failing alternatives.
The Conservatives created their own demise by the selection of outright chancer Boris Johnson and a steady string of incompetent replacements. Labour did so by replacing Jeremy Corbyn – who seemed to me to be an appropriate Labour leader – with someone whose eyes, brain and actions appear to be darting in different directions.
So again, what exactly is the intent of Reform UK, from which they reveal scarcely a clue? The most notable point is their leader generally has a wide-mouthed grin on his face, which tends to display a strong sense of self-satisfaction from which few can detect direction.
READ MORE: Those opposed to the far right in Scotland must unite behind the SNP
Reform UK should indeed reform the UK by letting all our nations exploit their own resources and to the advantage of whoever, wherever they choose as most appropriate.
It is not for Westminster to close industries and exploit resources outwith England, as we witness on a daily basis.
It is for other nations, as it is with individuals, to decide who the beneficiaries of their resources should be, and if Reform UK have any ideas not encapsulating this basic right of individuals and nations then I hope their rise and fall are short and soon.
Tom Gray
Braco
THE recent cyberattack that forced the Co-op to shut down parts of its IT systems should serve as a wake-up call to all of us about the importance of preserving cash.
Too often we are told that digital is the future and that physical money is outdated. Yet when systems go down – whether through cyberattacks, technical faults, or power cuts – it is cash that keeps people fed, fuelled, and functioning. No amount of apps or algorithms can replace the reliability of coins and notes in a crisis.
READ MORE: ScotRail peak rail fares to be scrapped 'for good', John Swinney says
Cash does not crash, cannot be hacked, and requires no signal. It is privacy-protecting, universally accepted, and disproportionately vital to those in rural or lower-income communities.
We must resist the creeping push towards a cashless society. This is not simply a matter of convenience – it is a matter of resilience, fairness, and freedom.
Councillor Alastair Redman
Independent Councillor for Kintyre and the Islands, Argyll and Bute Council
FOR years I have been waking to News Briefing on BBC Radio 4, which gave me news, financial and sports, weather and shipping forecast, newspapers and a bit of history of that date. It gave me an excellent start to the day ahead.
I still wake to the same channel, which now gives me the briefest of news summary and then a drift back to sleep listening to the wittering and waffle of Westminster before reawakening to be just as much in the dark as I was through the night.
Kenny Burnett
Dyce, Aberdeen