SNP Westminster leader Stephen Flynn claims the party had a robust post-mortem on the first day of its conference in Edinburgh yesterday.
The “frank” private session gave delegates a chance to have their say on what caused the poor general election results. The SNP was given a bloody nose by voters as it went from 48 to nine MPs.
It was probably worse than any could have predicted, although it was clear to see that its stock had been falling with the Scottish public for some time. Flynn is right that the loss was largely “self-inflicted” and sensibly did not point the finger at other parties or the public.
The fact is that the SNP’s reputation on delivering public services has been increasingly called into question. Issues such as the Police Scotland probe into its finances, the Michael Matheson iPad scandal and the ferry fiasco all played their part.
Losing two first ministers in quick succession also made it look chaotic. We welcome the SNP staging a full and frank debate into its election disaster. In order for the party to turn things around, it needs to properly reflect upon what went wrong. It needs to engage its membership and have some fresh ideas.
But talking shops are not the way to win back voters. It needs to start tackling major issues such as NHS waiting lists, council funding and the housing crisis. The SNP has been running the Scottish Government for 17 years. If it does not start delivering on public services that era could be coming to an end.
Play the game SFA
The Scottish Football Association’s Comet computer system continues to cause chaos.
The Daily Record today reports on the sad state of affairs where devoted youth football volunteers are quitting due to delays and red tape. The SFA would have us believe that the system has been implemented successfully in many other nations – and that it will greatly benefit the game here.
And it claims that it gave plenty of notice of implementation and sufficient guidance for youth football officials to navigate the complex Comet process. But that has not stopped widespread confusion, cancelled matches and increasing frustration.
The Daily Record has received a flood of complaints about Comet since we first revealed the chaos two weeks ago. The SFA cannot justify laying any blame on volunteers.
It needs to step in and offer all the support it can to make sure kids can play the game they love without delay. It must pull out the stops to get all teams kicking a ball competitively before more players and coaches walk away from the sport.
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