Bob's Rant : Kilt Trip: The SNP's Spectacular Nosedive from Hope to Haplessness

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The Scottish National Party's nearly two-decade rule at Holyrood represents a significant failure of governance, with their obsession with independence overshadowing effective management of public services and the economy. Their record reveals systematic decline across education, healthcare, and financial management, alongside mounting scandals that have eroded public trust and left Scotland worse off than it could have been.

• Education system has plummeted under SNP watch, with PISA results showing historic lows in reading, maths and science
• Healthcare in crisis with over 700,000 Scots on hospital waiting lists and some patients enduring delays exceeding one year
• Economy struggling with growth lagging behind UK average and infrastructure projects like the Ferguson ferries ballooning from £97m to £400m+
• Social policies creating division, notably the Gender Recognition Reform Bill that sparked widespread backlash
• Fiscal management showing serious deficits, with IFS projecting £10 billion annual structural deficit by 2028
• Corruption concerns mounting with ongoing police investigation into party finances and missing £600,000 in referendum funds
• Drug death crisis unaddressed with Scotland suffering Europe's highest rate and over 1,300 fatalities in 2023 alone

Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:08):
The Scottish National Party's tenure at Holyrood,
spanning nearly two decadessince 2007, has been a
masterclass in squanderedpotential, marked by a
relentless obsession withindependence at the expense of
competent governance.
While the SNP rode a wave ofpopulist fervour to power, their
record reveals a governmentplagued by mismanagement, policy
failures and an alarmingdisconnect from the needs of

(00:30):
ordinary Scots.
First, the SNP's fixation onconstitutional upheaval has
suffocated meaningful progress.
Their singular focus onindependence, evidenced by the
2014 referendum and incessantdemands for a second vote, has
diverted resources and attentionfrom pressing domestic issues.
Despite losing the 2014 votedecisively 55% to 45% the SNP

(00:55):
has treated the result as a mereinconvenience, alienating
voters who prioritise stabilityover nationalist dreams.
This obsession culminated inthe Supreme Court's 2022 ruling
that Holyrood lacks theauthority to hold another
referendum, exposing the SNP'sstrategy as a futile distraction
.
Yet leaders like NicolaSturgeon and John Swinney have

(01:17):
doubled down, framing everyelection as a proxy for
independence, sidelininggovernance for political theatre
.
On the policy front, the SNP'srecord is a litany of failures.
Education, once a Scottishhallmark, has plummeted under
their watch.
International benchmarks likePISA show Scotland's performance
in reading, maths and sciencedeclining since 2007, with 2018

(01:41):
results marking historic lows.
The Curriculum for Excellenceheralded as a transformative
reform, has been criticised byeducators as poorly implemented,
leaving students ill-preparedfor a competitive world.
Meanwhile, the SNP's promise offree university tuition, while
populist, masks chronicunderfunding of institutions,

(02:06):
with Scotland's universities nowrelying heavily on
international student fees tosurvive.
Healthcare is another casualty.
The NHS in Scotland, despiteSNP pledges to protect it, faces
record waiting times and staffshortages In 2023, over 700,000
Scots were on hospital waitinglists, with some enduring delays

(02:26):
of over a year fornon-emergency procedures.
The SNP's mismanagement of NHSfunding, coupled with their
refusal to reform anoverstretched system, has left
patients languishing and staffburnt out.
Their handling of the pandemic,while initially praised, was
later marred by revelations ofcare home deaths linked to

(02:48):
untested hospital discharges, ascandal that has severely eroded
public trust.
Economic stewardship has beenequally dismal.
Scotland's growth has laggedbehind the UK average, with GDP
per capita stagnating under SNPpolicies.
Per capita stagnating under SNPpolicies.
Their tax hikes on higherearners intended to fund public

(03:09):
services have driven wealthcreators out of Scotland, with
net migration of high-incometaxpayers to England rising
since 2017.
The SNP's mismanagement ofmajor infrastructure projects,
like the Ferguson Marine Ferriesdebacle, where costs ballooned
from £97 million to over £400million for two heavily
problem-laden vesselsexemplifies their incompetence.

(03:30):
This fiasco has left islandcommunities stranded, reliant on
ageing ferries, and taxpayersfooting the bill for gross
negligence.
Social policy has fared nobetter.
The SNP's Gender RecognitionReform Bill has fared no better.
The SNP's Gender RecognitionReform Bill, pushed through in
2022, sparked widespreadbacklash for its perceived

(03:51):
disregard for women's safety,particularly around self-ID
policies.
The UK government's veto of thebill a rare use of Section 35
powers humiliated the SNP andexposed their legislative
overreach.
Their handling of trans issues,including the case of Isla
Bryson, a convicted rapistplaced in a women's prison,
ignited public fury andunderscored their tone-deaf

(04:14):
approach to complex socialissues.
Their side of the paid ofspeaking of school of the SNP
has been endably bracing inturns.
Have they completely sourcedFinancially?
The SNP's claims of fiscalprudence are laughable.
The Institute for FiscalStudies has repeatedly warned of
Scotland's structural deficitprojected at £10 billion

(04:34):
annually by 2028, far exceedingthe UK's.
Their reliance on UK blockgrants, while decrying
Westminster's influence, revealsa hypocritical dependency.
The SNP's own Growth Commissionreport admitted an independent
Scotland would face years ofausterity, a reality they've
downplayed to voters.
Corruption and cronyism havealso tainted their tenure.

(04:57):
The SNP's inner circle, oftendescribed as a cult of
personality around.
Sturgeon has faced accusationsof secrecy and unaccountability.
The ongoing Police Scotlandinvestigation into party
finances, sparked by missing£600,000 in referendum funds,
has cast a shadow over theirintegrity.
Sturgeon's WhatsApp deletionsduring the Covid inquiry further

(05:20):
fuelled perceptions of agovernment allergic to scrutiny.
Child poverty has risen, with26% of Scottish children living
in poverty in 2023, despite SNPpromises to eradicate it.
Their flagship policies, likethe Scottish child payment, have
been underfunded and slow toroll out, offering too little

(05:41):
too late.
Meanwhile, drug deaths inScotland remain the highest in
Europe, with over 1,300fatalities in 2023 alone, a grim
testament to their failure totackle addiction and mental
health crises.
In summary, the SNP's tenurehas been a parade of broken
promises, mismanagement anddivisive rhetoric.
They've coasted on nationalistsentiment while delivering

(06:03):
subpar outcomes in education,health and the economy.
Scots deserve a governmentfocused on their day-to-day
needs, not one perpetuallychasing a constitutional pipe
dream.
The SNP's legacy is one ofsquandered opportunity, leaving
Scotland poorer, less educated,more unhealthy and increasingly
divided than it could and shouldhave been.