The number one thing on most people’s minds in Scotland come the next general election will be getting rid of Boris Johnson.
That’s why Nicola Sturgeon’s intention to turn it into a “defacto” independence referendum could backfire badly.
It is not for any single political party to determine the terms of a general election and neither is any election decided on one single issue.
It’s not as if the parties in opposition will simply agree to her plan and fight their campaigns on the one issue imposed by her.
Some voters may simply refuse to acknowledge the SNP’s single line manifesto and vote, as they always do, on a range of issues.
They may decide the cost of living crisis and who runs the country are the big issues worthy of consideration when putting their “x” in the box.
If Scotland does not want to play Nicola Sturgeon’s game, and polls show voters are in no rush for an independence referendum, the tactic could see voters punish the SNP.
Turning every constituency in Scotland into a two-horse race between independence and the Union presents another risk for Nicola Sturgeon. Anti-independence voters may take the hint and line up behind the candidate best placed to reject the SNP plan.
As Boris Johnson discovered in recent by-elections, when tactical voting is marshalled against you it can be very effective indeed.
It’s clear that the First Minister has been caught in the horns of a dilemma on the referendum.
By insisting any indy poll needs to be legal, she is rightly rejecting calls from elements within the Yes movement for a “wildcat” referendum.
She has every right to try and get a legal referendum approved by the Supreme Court by October next year - after all the move was in a manifesto that won a clear election victory.
But trying to make a general election about independence and nothing else is a major gamble for the First Minister - and it is a gamble she could lose.
Freeze the rents
THE number of Scots forced to rent their homes from a private landlord has been steadily rising since the 2008 banking crash.
It’s down to a combination of property prices going through the roof and mortgages becoming increasingly hard to get.
All at a time when wages are being cut in real terms by soaring inflation.
It’s no surprise that some greedy landlords have chosen to cash in and hike rents for tenants.
That’s why calls for rent controls should be taken seriously.
The Scottish Government is examining moves to help tenants in the longer term but it could take years for legislation to take effect.
Campaigners and Labour MSPs have called for an emergency rent freeze to be brought in.
Given the wider cost of living crisis it seems like an obvious thing to do.
SNP and Green ministers should reconsider their opposition to such a measure.
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