The Scottish National Party – a firebrand nationalist outpost for Scottish independence – has elected its new leader in John Swinney, a relative unknown name in English politics.
I say “unknown”, because most of the time Scottish politics has a job trying to trend in England with anything on the agenda unless it fits an agenda here.
The election of a new leader peaks in daytime news, but its importance is left understated.
It may also be beyond most who need to know just how far Scotland has edged toward independence.
How does the election of John Swinney change the status quo is a question that we need to answer, because the future of the homegrown nationalist movement depends on it, and it’s answer is what we need to know.
Yet, the general thread is that Scotland doesn’t really need to let us know anyway, does it? I mean, what would it matter if Scotland were independent tomorrow, for instance.
Does it even ‘take place’ in England, at all?
The issue of constitutional politics is a vast one, because it involves so many of us and all of the moving parts of state. It might be pointed out that Scotland is already there so what does it matter what it says about itself?
It’s worth noting London is still there, as well, so it makes sense to scratch beneath the surface a lot deeper.
I’m not familiar with his name either, but that’s not the game, is it?
The point is that Swinney now has a chance to lead the SNP out of the doldrums and into something better than the hiring and firing which is what the SNP has done of late.
The earlier days of the SNP with Alex Salmond at the helm having long since passed and without a face and a bit of name recognition to its credit, it struggles to make a case anymore.
