Nicola Sturgeon celebrated her 50th birthday yesterday – but there is one gift she still can’t get her hands on.
Independence seems elusive despite polls showing increased support.
And while the SNP leader will have hoped for harmony and good wishes, not everyone in the Nationalist camp is happy with progress.
Her former party colleague at Holyrood, John Wilson, is the latest to pledge support for a new Alliance for Independence (AFI).
This group, led by ex-SNP MSP Dave Thompson, thinks the party is getting it wrong by trying to hog all the votes.
They want to offer a platform for single-issue Nationalists to stand and demonstrate a thumping majority.
But it’s a gamble which others in the party think will split votes, undermine SNP dominance and essentially act as a gift for their rivals.
Sturgeon made the point herself by saying history is full of parties who fell out of favour by talking to each other instead of the public.
It’s not hard to follow her logic.
Polls have shown sustained support to leave the UK and the SNP are on course to sweep up in the Holyrood elections.
Prime Minister Boris Johnson is preparing to pop up the road in a bid to convince Scots to stick with the UK.
Away from frontline politics, polling expert John Curtice thinks there is a risk the AFI’s plan will backfire if voters think they’re gaming the system.
Of course, those pushing the plan, like Wilson, think they are doing the cause a favour, whatever Sturgeon or her allies say.
But if the gamble fails, it will be unionists celebrating next summer.
It’s all too much
No MATTER how many times they are pulled up, highly paid public executives just can’t seem to help themselves.
This time, it’s Alan Sutherland, chief executive of the Water Industry Commission for Scotland.
His remit apparently means it’s essential to fly all over the world – at eye-watering costs.
He earns £165,000 a year.
And he has been on a number of flights in five years to earn his salary. These include trips to Delhi, Tirana, Mexico City and a host of EU cities.
He’s been to Auckland and Cape Town – and also between Edinburgh and London during a climate emergency.
The quango’s bill, which will cover more than just Sutherland, tops £100,000 in five years.
Meanwhile, the commission backs increased annual charges.
The body justifies the jet-setting bill as part of its international work – but at that price it is hard to swallow.
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