Ben Crair has a piece at TNR today headlined, The Iraq War is Responsible for Scottish Independence. Really.
Well, up to a point Lord Copper. The “Really” is an unfortunate indication that this pudding may be a little over-egged.
Few people would deny that discontent with the war played a part in the SNP’s victory in this year’s elections. But other factors were at least as, and probably more, important. Among them:
1. Alex Salmond’s return from his Westminster exile. Salmond brings a heavyweight presence that trumped anything the SNP could put up in his absence; it trumped Jack McConnell’s pretensions to statesman status too. You wouldn’t feel embarrassed being represented by Salmond. Alas, the same could not be said of McConnell.
2. Unhappiness with the Labour party’s performance in office, coupled with a sense that if we sent Labour back to power this time we might never be able to get them out.
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