We need to talk about the SNP: a very British coup

Well, well, fuckettydoodlefuckingdo!  The powers that be have decided that Nicola Sturgeon’s criminal case isn’t worth pursuing after all.  Who didn't see that one hurtling towards us with flashing lights from a country mile off?   Years of media circus, police raids, back to back smears and breathless speculation and what are we left with? Nothing. Nada. Nowt. Chan eil dad ann.  No charges. No trial. Not a fucking square sausage. Just a neatly wrapped narrative that served its purpose of  grinding the SNP’s credibility into dust, a competent politician's reputation ruined and Scottish independence left for dead.

This was clearly from the outset all about removing the threat of a credible Scottish alternative.  And it smells like Peterhead on a hot Wednesday in August.

I wish I could say I'm surprised at the apparatus of the state for how they dealt with this, but of course I'm not.  To paraphrase from Chris Mullin's 1982 novel 'A very British Coup', adapted by Channel 4 and a solid watch if you haven't seen it, the establishment has been doing this sort of shit for a long time, yay, unto the middle ages.

So don't kid yourselves: this was never about justice. It was about optics.  It was about neutering the SNP as a political force.  The SNP, in the eyes of the state was too dangerous - once a juggernaut, it has been spiralling into chaos, and this whole sordid affair was the final nail in the coffin. Sturgeon, whatever you think of her, was the most effective leader the movement had. So, the establishment did what it does best: drag her through the mud until she became politically more radioactive than the comtamination bins at Holy Loch.

In July 2021, Police Scotland launched Operation Branchform, investigating allegations that over £600,000 in donations, earmarked for a second independence referendum, had been misappropriated. The probe led to the dramatic arrests of key SNP figures:

• Peter Murrell: The former SNP Chief Executive and Nicola Sturgeon's husband, arrested twice and charged with embezzlement.
• Colin Beattie: The party's former treasurer, arrested and questioned but released without charge.
• Nicola Sturgeon: The former First Minister was arrested, questioned for over seven hours, and subsequently released without charge.

The scandal's impact on the SNP's political standing has been profound:

The investigation, spanning over three years, has cost taxpayers more than £1.8 million, only to fizzle out with no real resolution beyond a thoroughly wrecked political movement, which was clearly its primary purpose.

• Parliamentary Seats: In the 2024 UK general election, the SNP's representation plummeted from 48 to 9 seats, marking a significant loss of influence in Westminster.
• Council Seats: The 2022 local elections saw the SNP lose control of several councils, with a net loss of 75 council seats across Scotland.
• Membership: Party membership has reportedly declined by over 30% since the onset of the scandal, reflecting waning public support.

^{This was a fraud case, there was no body WTF was the tent about? as the media set it up like a live stream special of Taggart}

None of this should come as a surprise. The British establishment has a long and sordid history of crushing threats to its power with every dirty trick in the book. The 2014 referendum was a masterclass in manipulation: Project Fear, economic scaremongering, and last-minute pledges of change that vanished the second the votes were counted. The full force of the state was thrown behind keeping Scotland in its place, and when the SNP regrouped, the knives came out once again. 

The British press, that rabid attack dog of the establishment, has spent years demonising independence, painting Sturgeon as a megalomaniac while gleefully ignoring the corruption, incompetence, and outright theft happening daily in Westminster. They didn't need evidence; they just needed headlines. And wow, did those non dom tax avoiding billionaires deliver: the relentless smears, the police raids filmed like reality TV, and the same tired hacks churning out hit piece after hit piece until public perception was sufficiently poisoned. The referendum was stolen with lies, and when independence refused to die, they simply took a wrecking ball to its biggest champion.

Now, with the case dropped, Sturgeon’s name is still tainted, and the SNP is still an absolute shambles. Mission fucking accomplished. 

The unionist bawbags who were behind this bullshit can sit back, smug in the knowledge that Scottish independence has been kicked into the long grass yet again. The Tories, Labour, and their pals in the press didn’t need to take the SNP down directly, just let them self-destruct under the weight of scandal, real or manufactured.

And what about the actual issues that matter? The economic disaster of Tory rule, Starmer’s pathetic lack of vision and cowardice, the privatisation of everything that isn’t nailed down? All conveniently buried beneath the wreckage of the SNP’s reputation. Scotland is left with a weakened independence movement, a party in chaos, and no real alternative beyond picking between the same Westminster fucktards they wanted to escape from in the first place.

Shall we look at this objectively?  No one in power ever really cared about the truth of the case. They just needed the spectacle. And now that the SNP is on its knees, they’re happy to call curtains on the whole farce.  The SNP has been played like a kipper. They walked straight into the trap, and Oor Nicola? well she was just collateral damage.  

If they have any hope of salvaging their credibility, the SNP need to stop playing Westminster’s game and start fighting fire with fire. First, the party needs a full-blown reckoning, ensuring that the the party is filled with the fire it once had in abundance: fighters who understand that this isn’t a polite debate but a war for Scotland’s future.

Second, they need to take control of the narrative. The British press will never, ever give them a fair shake, so why keep feeding the machine? Build an alternative media infrastructure, counter every smear in real time, and stop being so bloody apologetic every time the establishment rattles its sabre.

Third, and most importantly, they need to put independence back at the centre of everything. Enough dithering, enough managerialism, enough acting like a second-rate version of a third rate Labour. The SNP’s strength came from being a movement, not just a party. They need to rally the grassroots, energise the disillusioned, and remind Scotland why they exist in the first place.

If they don’t? Well, the establishment has already written them off. The unionists will let them fade into irrelevance, the press will keep kicking them while they’re down, and Scotland’s dream of independence will rot in the gutter of history.

The SNP either fights back or dies. It’s that simple.

The world has gone mad.  If you enjoyed reading this, please feel free to look at the rest of the blogs on www.TetleysTLDR.com. They're free to view, there's no paywall, they aren't monetised and I won't ask you to buy me a coffee.  Also please free to share.  Just a leftie, standing in front of another leftie, asking to be read.  All the best, Tetley