Fraser Nelson
Nicola Sturgeon and the politics of hatred
The ugly side of nationalism keeps exposing itself
One of the problems with nationalism – of any stripe – is its uglier undercurrents. The Scottish National Party has made great strides presenting itself as civic and progressive, but it’s usually never too long before blood-and-soil arguments start to come through. So you’ll hear fairly sinister arguments about how the SNP’s opponents are not really Scottish (a point made about me quite often) or that their opponents are not just wrong but malign, even evil and detestable.
Speaking ahead of her party conference, Nicola Sturgeon forgot herself. 'If the question to me is: would I prefer a Labour government over a Tory government,' she told her fellow Scot Laura Kuenssberg. 'I detest the Tories and everything they stand for, so it’s not difficult to answer that question.'
— BBC Politics (@BBCPolitics) October 9, 2022Scotland’s First Minister Nicola Sturgeon says she will try to work “constructively” with UK PM Liz Truss but that she “detests the Tories and everything they stand for” #BBCLauraK https://t.co/gbQ136iMY7 pic.twitter.com/PjlB7oOTEg
Sturgeon had intended to warm the scene for some kind of post-election deal with Labour if necessary (her support in Westminster in return for their allowing a referendum) but the language was striking. How many politicians say they actually 'detest' their rivals? Why invoke hatred as a motivating political force? And isn’t it hard to do so if you pose as an inclusive, warm, smiling party?
Sturgeon’s colleagues spent the rest of the day being asked if they agreed with her language. Strikingly, none of them would do so – mindful that this is one of these moments where the carefully-constructed mask of civil nationalism could slip. The SNP tends to be quite big on hate crime – and accusing opponents of hatred – yet here was its leader on national television identifying hate as one of her motivating political forces. What to do?
Sturgeon sought to downgrade her earlier comments, saying she would not apologise for saying she 'disagrees' with the Tories. Pete Wishart, who had previously declared that 'we loathe the Tories in Scotland,' said he doesn’t now hate them (a third of his constituents vote Tory).
This ought to be a distinguishing feature of politics: if you ever say you hate your opponents, you’ve gone too far. In every single case. I’m a virulent opponent of nationalism but would say the SNP is overwhelmingly made up of decent, patriotic people. I’d go further and say Nicola Sturgeon is one of the most impressive politicians in Europe, not just Britain – the problem for us unionists is that she’s too good a campaigner. How she can maintain such huge support for such an anachronistic agenda, after having made such a mess of Scottish public services, is remarkable. But she sells nationalism better than my side sells unionism.
The SNP has developed politicians of significant quality, and Tories in London forget that at their peril. But the SNP do have many weaknesses: governing is not their strong point, for example, and the ugly side of nationalism does keep exposing itself. A few years ago, Sturgeon said she will 'ensure that at all times we make our case not just with passion and conviction, but with courtesy, empathy and respect.' But they always find it hard to hold this line, given they genuinely do detest – actively detest – Tories.
After the 2015 general election, David Cameron had a conversation with his party about what he regarded as new levels of hate they had all just experienced. The Scots at the time laughed: what England had experienced was nothing, they said. In Scotland they have long gone up against opponents who regard them (and the third of Scotland who votes for them) as scum, genuinely detestable, scum – a signal that the leader is not afraid to send down from time to time. And with an election now in prospect, Sturgeon is warming up those troops again.