SNP conference: Battle to keep healthy membership rolls

TOMMY Sheridan taunted the SNP leadership last night, urging dissident nationalists to defect to his Scottish Socialist Party if they wanted to do more than just "swop flags and anthems". The SSP leader will join Alex Neil, the SNP MSP, at a meeting on Friday on the fringe of the party conference in Inverness to speak in favour of the proposed independence convention, based on the constitutional convention which led to home rule.

Mr Swinney is to snub the meeting and will press on with his own plan for a referendum bill. Mr Sheridan told Nationalists critical of Mr Swinney: "If you want to be part of a radical, left-wing, pro-independence party, join the SSP." He said he was opening the SSP's door to those wanting to go farther than "just swopping flags and anthems", and taunted Mr Swinney, claiming: "The SNP no longer has exclusive ownership of the cause of independence. And on its own, the SNP cannot achieve independence." The Herald

SNP obsession with backroom politicking Herald Letters

Letter to The Scotsman

The SNP’s route map to independence involves seeking to become the biggest single party at Holyrood, establishing a coalition government with the Liberal Democrats, then, three years into that government, holding an independence referendum.

Such a strategy is fraught with pitfalls. Even if everything else goes to plan, the SNP’s "pre-legislative referendum" would not take place until 2010, at the earliest. This would then be followed by several years of negotiation with Westminster, presumably followed by a further referendum on the final deal.

The SNP should be working with pro-independence parties and individuals in an independence convention. This could work out a detailed constitution for an independent Scotland. If there was a pro-independence majority at the next Holyrood election, or in the next Westminster election, the plan could be put before the people in a referendum.

As a road map to independence, this would be a fast, broad highway, in contrast to the SNP’s slow, tortuous de-tour along country lanes and byways, some of which may prove to be impassable.

ALAN McCOMBES
National policy co-ordinator, SSP