The nationalist movement likes to pretend it is enlightened, progressive and forward-thinking. It claims to embrace inclusive 'civic nationalism’, however, the truth is very different. The SNP is tribalistic, irrational and inherently distrustful of outsiders, which happens to be anyone south of the border. Also, recent scandals have shown this toxicity can take an even darker turn toward outright ethnic nationalism.
For years the party has been plagued by incidents of racism. In 2015 SNP councillor Yen Hongmei Jin was subject to abuse from fellow party supporters for simply suggesting she organise a Burns night celebration. Around the same time, SNP MP Paul Monaghan had given public support to a troll who joked about British Pakistanis dying during seasonal floods. In 2019, SNP councillor Moira Shemilt went on a xenophobic Twitter rant which attracted condemnation from politicians across the spectrum. Activist and extremism expert Maajid Nawaz felt the full wrath of these so-called 'cybernats' first-hand. In a recent article on the topic, he remarked that 'violent hostility to outsiders is in the DNA of nationalists, whether on the Left or the Right, as anyone who has debated with SNP can testify to.'
There is, of course, the far more visible presence of Anglophobia within the movement, which has flared up massively during the COVID-19 pandemic. Pro-independence groups have appeared at airports and border crossings with signs telling English people to 'get out of Scotland'. Although not as severe as outright racism, anti-English sentiment does set a dangerous precedent for future bigotry and shows how truly divisive nationalism is, even when it claims to be benign.
And then we have the constitutional fixation. In this area, their priorities are simple: independence comes first, the Scottish people's wellbeing is a secondary concern. It does not matter that Scotland enjoys more public funding per head of population than the rest of the UK. They do not care that England is Scotland's single largest trading partner. They ignore the fact that the UK government funded and secured the millions of vaccine doses needed to escape the COVID pandemic. Separation from England is all that matters. If it costs the Scottish economy and the livelihoods of thousands of Scots, then so be it.
The movement may have cloaked itself in a veneer of respectability and inclusion. But make no mistake, its exclusionary politics only bring division. On the other side of the debate, we see that the union offers a myriad of benefits. A diverse and interconnected UK benefits us all, and it is up to the Scottish Conservatives to make that case.