Tha poileasaidhean a’ Chuain-a-Tuath gu bhith cudromach san ath thaghadh

Chan eil fhios a'm 'eil e buileach cothromach coimeas a tharraing eadar am Pàrtaidh Tòraidheach agus beathach fiadhaich a tha air a dhroch leòn ‘s cunnartach – ‘s dòcha nas coltaiche ri seann chat air an t-sòfa a tha a’ tighinn gu ceann a làithean. Ach, fhathast, ‘s urrainnear sgròb gheur, ghoirt a thoirt seachad, èiginneach ‘s gu bheil a’ chùis.

Rishi Sunak ann an Ceann Phàdraig agus e a’ mìneachadh taic a’ phàrtaidh dhan Chuan-a-Tuath. (Dealbh: WPA pool/Getty Images)

[English-language version below]

Tha e duilich fhaicinn mar a tha am pàrtaidh a’ dèiligeadh a-nis ri cùisean na h-àrainneachd ann an dòigh sam bith eile – an cothrom mu dheireadh dhaibh fuireach beò ann an sùilean an t-sluaigh.

Tha an dol a-mach a tha aca a-nis – a’ dol an aghaidh càil a ghluaiseas an dùthaich gu bhith carbon cothromach gu sgiobalta – gun chogais, gu h-àraidh nuair a smaoinicheas tu air na tha a' tachairt ann an ceàrnaidhean eile dhen t-saoghal.

A’ dol fodha gu poileataigeach, tha Rishi Sunak air toraidhean a' bhòt ann an Uxbridge is Ruislip a Deas fhaicinn mar bhàta-sàbhalaidh; a’ gabhail dheth gum bi fearg nan daoine air poileasaidh nam Fìor Sgìrean Beag-eimisein ann an Lunainn ri fhaicinn ann am poileasaidhean eile na h-àrainneachd.

Ach, le bhith ag iarraidh an Cuan a Tuath a chumail a’ dol cho mòr ’s a ghabhas, agus a’ taobhachadh ri daoine a tha airson an càr a chleachdadh,‘s ann a tha e a’ dol an aghaidh an t-sruth, ged a chòrdas sin ris an fheadhainn as raige sa phàrtaidh. ‘S dòcha gum bidh Jeremy Clarkson anns na Cotswolds air a dhòigh.

Tha e follaiseach gur e dòigh a tha seo air sgaradh cinnteach a dhèanamh eadar am pàrtaidh agus Keir Starmer. Agus chan eil esan air e fhèin a chuideachadh a bharrachd le bhith ag iarraidh air ola a’ Chuain a Tuath stad aon mhionaid agus a chumail a’ dol an-ath-mhionaid.

Chan eil an teicneòlas air adhartas a dhèanamh cho mhòr ‘s a bhathar an dùil agus le sin, eadar gu bheil e a' còrdadh rinn no nach eil, tha obair na h-ola a' dol a leantainn agus, le sin, tha a h-uile coltas gum bi poileasaidhean timcheall a’ Chuain a Tuath gu mòr nam pàirt dhen ath-thaghadh.

Leis gu bheil an eaconamaidh cho mòr an urra ris, tha cunnart ann a bhith a’ gluasad air falbh bho ola nuair nach eil daoine idir deiseil air a shon, gu h-àraidh agus an uimhir a dhaoine a’ fulang an-dràsta.

Ach, ma tha seasamh nan Tòraidhean gun chogais, feumaidh iadsan a tha ag iomairt airson cùisean na h-àrainneachd cuid dhen choire a ghabhail. Chan e a bhith a’ cur daoine dheth (mar dol a-mach Just Stop Oil) an rud as ciallaiche dhaibh idir ma tha iad airson gun faigh iad èisteachd cheart.

Chan eil an sluagh gòrach agus tha iad glè chomasach air faicinn tro chleasan poileataigeach. Tha iad cuideachd a’ tuigsinn fhad ‘s tha sinn a’ cur na h-uimhir a dh’fheum air ola g’ eil argamaid ann gum bu chòirear na tha againn fhèin a chur an sàs.

Ach chan eil sin idir a’ ciallachadh nach bu chòirear gluasad cho luath ’s a ghabhas sìos slighe ùr a dhealbh agus, tha fhios, às bith cò a thig an àirde le plana ciallach a dh’ionnsaigh sin, ‘s iad as dualtaiche a gheibh taic a’ mhòir-shluaigh aig a’ cheann-thall.

English-language version:

It may be stretching a metaphor too far to compare the state of the UK Tory party to a cornered wild animal, it’s probably more like a pampered old cat who’s spending the final days of its impending demise on a favourite old sofa. But even in its last days, clinging to life, it’s prepared to show its claws, a final act of defiance against the inevitable.

It’s hard to see the party’s new approach to the green agenda in any other way – a desperate attempt to cling onto electoral survival. Their newly found rejection of almost anything that will make net zero a reality in a reasonably quick timescale seems grossly irresponsible, given what we are seeing being played out in other parts of the world.

Drowning in a sea of unpopularity, Rishi Sunak has obviously seen the by-election result in Uxbridge and South Ruislip as a lifeline, calculating that voters’ anger at London’s ultra low emission zone will be replicated when it comes to other green issues, too.

But maximum exploitation of North Sea reserves and being a cheerleader for the car industry clearly goes against what most people understand to be the right direction of travel, though for Sunak it obviously has the added benefit of appealing to the more bampot fringes of his party. I imagine Jeremy Clarkson in the Cotswolds will be delighted.

It’s obviously an attempt to draw clear red lines between the Tories and Keir Starmer, who has hardly helped himself by a muddled approach to the North Sea – seen to be wanting to turn off the taps one minute, only to keep them running the next. As technology and supporting infrastructure has frustratingly failed to progress at a speed that would make a full green transition a reality any time soon, it looks as if the North Sea will be the real political battlefield over environmental policy.

With fossil fuels so embedded in our lives – and they are used for a lot more than just running our cars and heating our homes – a hasty move away simply risks penalising those at the bottom end of the income scale, a particularly dangerous approach given the wider economic conditions and the cost-of-living crisis. But if the Tories’ bid is irresponsible and desperate, then the more passionate elements of the green lobby must also take their fair share of the blame for adopting a condescending, lecturing approach (see Just Stop Oil).

People are not daft and are perfectly equipped to see through obvious political chicanery. They also understand intuitively that while fossil fuels remain such an integral part of our lives, there is a strong argument that our own reserves should be put to use first. But that does not mean delaying the transition to net zero and any credible plan that embraces that move as fast as possible will likely be the real winner with the electorate, both when it comes to the UK election and in Scotland, too.