Russia's invasion of Ukraine has changed the world but SNP still thinks it's business as usual – Alex Cole-Hamilton MSP

It’s been less than three weeks since Russia began the appalling and unprovoked invasion of Ukraine. Our world has fundamentally changed.
Nicola Sturgeon needs to realise the profound consequences of the Russian invasion of Ukraine (Picture: Jeff J Mitchell - WPA Pool/Getty Images)Nicola Sturgeon needs to realise the profound consequences of the Russian invasion of Ukraine (Picture: Jeff J Mitchell - WPA Pool/Getty Images)
Nicola Sturgeon needs to realise the profound consequences of the Russian invasion of Ukraine (Picture: Jeff J Mitchell - WPA Pool/Getty Images)

The day of the invasion, February 24, will be forever looked upon as a date in history when, like 9/11, one era was ushered out and a new, more dangerous and uncertain one brought in.

But in dispatches from the desk of Nicola Sturgeon these past days, you’d be forgiven for thinking that nothing has changed, indeed it still feels like business as usual.

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Because, according to the First Minister, we’re still on track to hold another divisive referendum on the break-up of the United Kingdom next year and have that be the principle focus of our public debate and our parliamentary time for the next 18 months or so. That’s not just tone deaf, it’s almost criminally negligent.

The response from some quarters of the SNP to the defence of Ukraine has been excruciatingly ill judged. I’ll leave names and details aside, but I will state for the avoidance of doubt that there are no parallels to be drawn between the struggle for freedom in Ukraine and the campaign for Scottish independence.

If you try to suggest otherwise you diminish yourself and you diminish your argument. Furthermore, even if you don’t try to compare the two, you can’t just pretend that this massive shift in global events isn’t happening. As Bob Dylan once sang, the wheel is still in spin.

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It seemed for a moment last week that the Nationalists were going to see reason. Their Westminster leader Ian Blackford suggested a pause in planning for a referendum might be needed to allow us to respond to the seismic changes the war will bring to our world.

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That was overruled by his ultimate boss, and party leader, when she stated that it was full steam ahead.

I just can’t accept that the answer to any of the questions we face lies in another referendum. There are warning lights blinking across the dashboard of public policy, crying out for the attention of our parliament:

The war is set to turbocharge the cost of energy, fuel, and basic food stuffs like grain and wheat. All of which were already skyrocketing and hobbling Scottish household incomes. We’re also still in the grip of an international pandemic (remember that?) which saw nearly 400,000 Scots infected with the virus last week alone. The impact on education, hospital waiting lists and the economy cannot just be wished away. Added to all of which, we now have a humanitarian catastrophe that Scotland will need to respond to. We should all be proud of the response of Scottish people who have come forward to sponsor and home Ukrainian refugees, but that will need to be matched with far-reaching, state-backed support and concentrated parliamentary attention.

A poll for Savanta ComRes on Monday showed that while the country may be split down the middle on the break-up of the United Kingdom, there is no appetite for that to happen any time soon.

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Support for the First Minister’s timetable of next year stands at just 14 per cent. She should heed that, abandon her plans and focus on what really matters.

Alex Cole-Hamilton is Scottish Liberal Democrat MSP for Edinburgh Western

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