Why SNP, my party, must finally move on from 2014 independence referendum

Last week, I wrote about the coming battle for the soul of the SNP. I highlighted how our party has drifted, arguing that continuing on this path risks consigning us to generational defeat in 2026. In the months ahead, our party and its leadership must choose to actively return the SNP to a place where voters recognise our ability to govern with competence and integrity, or passively allow our party to slide into irrelevance.

Today, I want to go further and outline the steps I believe the First Minister must take to begin the slow journey to restore our party to health. I want to start, however, with a short prologue. In the 1980s, a constitutional battle raged in Scotland over control of the Scottish investment attraction agency, and whether it should be run from Edinburgh or London.

In an article covering this fight, the Financial Times quoted a titan of Scottish industry called Peter Balfour – a former British Army Officer, Commander of the British Empire, chairman of the Scottish Council of Development and Industry, and major donor to the Conservative and Unionist Party.

Balfour, a fierce proponent of a locally run agency, said that to cede control over Scottish foreign direct investment policy “to a body whose political masters are in London is, in my view, to leave Scotland vulnerable and exposed to change in the political climate in the south”. I find this line so remarkable because it encapsulates a long-held and previously uncontroversial view: that Scotland and the rest of the UK have divergent and sometimes conflicting political and economic interests. I genuinely could not imagine a comparable unionist public figure today saying anything like it.

State of political stasis

I open with this story because it serves as a jarring reminder just how badly our current constitutional debate has degraded. Just as I could not imagine a unionist figure speaking like Peter Balfour, I equally struggle to imagine an independence activist calling for a more constructive and healthy working relationship between the Scottish and UK Governments. This must end.

John Swinney must find a way to move our constitutional debate on. Both sides have become polarised, and our country has been in a state of political stasis, with seemingly every single policy issue – from drug overdoses to recycling – becoming bogged down in the constitutional question. This must end. The SNP, as Scotland’s party of government, must lead the effort to do so. We must elevate the national interest over party interest.

This does not mean abandoning Scottish self-determination. Far from it. Instead, with independence now having been given a pause by voters at the general election, the SNP should lead the way in searching for a universally accepted and codified framework through which constitutional change can be brought about.

Greater powers over immigration

There is no shortage of decent, thoughtful people in Scottish public life from across the political spectrum who recognise the need for us to do so, and who I know would welcome the chance to work with us on finding a way through our current constitutional impasse. We must be willing to work with them.

In a similar vein, John Swinney must call time on my party’s culture of blaming Westminster for the challenges Scotland faces. Yes, the Scottish Government’s hands are tied by the constitutional settlement. Yes, the limitations of the block grant and restrictions on borrowing powers hamper the Scottish Government's ability to implement its own fiscal and economic policies. Yes, the Scottish Government should have greater powers over areas like immigration and foreign affairs (ideas, I must add, that were entirely uncontroversial under a Labour First Minister).

But every single government in the modern world is constrained by external political and economic forces. The job of governing is not to wish for a different world, but to build one using the tools available. I want to hear the First Minister give a big speech outlining his vision for a Scotland that is fit for the modern challenges of today.

Transactional politics

Our party has brought in many sound policies that we rightly and often trumpet from the rooftops. But I cannot help but worry that we have lost sight of the forest for the trees. When it comes to taxation and public spending, we too often speak about our policy offering in transactional terms: you pay more tax, and you get more stuff. Is that really what government is for?

I want to hear John Swinney outline something bigger. I want to hear what he thinks the role of government should be, what the social contract is, and what the relationship between the citizen and the state should be – and how he will use all the powers currently available to him to re-shape the Scottish state to deliver good policy outcomes.

This change of tone does not mean abandoning our goal of independence. But simply shouting it more loudly will get us nowhere. We must make the case for increased powers where they would clearly benefit Scotland, such as in drug policy, economics and immigration. However, we must recognise that progress in these areas depends on cooperation with Westminster and a political negotiation in which both parties recognise and respect our divergent political interests.

Chance for a new beginning

Much of what I have called for above would be impossible under the previous UK Government, which set the tone for a bitter and acrimonious relationship between Holyrood and Westminster and between pro-independence and pro-union citizens. Following the election, we now have a chance to move Scotland forward.

To regain our standing, we must take decisive action: move beyond constitutional gridlock, articulate a clear vision for Scotland's future, and govern pragmatically and well, using the powers we have. By leading efforts to establish a framework for constitutional change, outlining a broader economic vision, and focusing on effective governance, we can break the political stasis and reconnect with voters across the country. Scotland has moved on from 2014. We must do the same.

Stewart McDonald is a former SNP MP