Scottish independence: Does Andy Burnham really understand Scotland?
The Prime Minister probably did not expect to set off fireworks in Holyrood with his comments on Scottish independence this week
He probably did not know it when he stood up to speak at the despatch box, but Prime Minister Andy Burnham has caused all kinds of chaos up here in Scotland.
This month marks 12 years since the infamous Scottish independence referendum. In the years since, that conversation has never gone away, no matter how much the unionists want it to.
Yes, it is no longer a priority for voters when they go to the polls, but it is still a major part of our politics.
Support for political parties still falls along constitutional factions. There is a pro-independence majority in Holyrood and a nationalist government, which means many debates are brought back to the idea of independence, or are at least a catalyst to criticising the ills of Westminster.
Just spend a day in the Scottish Parliament and you will realise the outcome of the 2014 independence vote is still a looming presence in our politics.
It seems this is something the ex-Manchester mayor does not understand - otherwise, why would he have made the comments he did this week?
In response to a question from Dundee SNP MP Chris Law, he said Scotland is “exactly the same situation” as Northern Ireland, where a vote would be triggered if the UK government thinks a majority of people want one.
Having previously said a second independence referendum was “off limits”, pro-independence supporters immediately jumped on his comments, seeing it as a change in tack from the Prime Minister.
First Minister John Swinney quickly drew up a letter demanding to meet the Prime Minister. Commentators started discussing why the change of heart.
On Friday Deputy First Minister Jenny Gilruth said: “Andy Burnham has let the cat out of the bag this week.
“For the first time since 2014, a British Prime Minister has accepted that Scotland’s constitutional future is for the people of Scotland to decide.”
Scottish Secretary Douglas Alexander was probably trying not to have a public panic attack at the comments. You could feel the unionist parties despairing that all their hard work to move on from 2014 was quickly being undone in one comment.
But it seems this was in fact a throwaway comment, with Mr Burnham hastily retracting it and insisting IndyRef2 is still “off limits”.
It suggests Mr Burnham does not quite understand Scottish politics, or at the very least does not care enough to realise how impactful his comment this week would be.
At the very least he was completely ignorant of just how zealous the SNP is on independence.
This is something the SNP has been levelling at him ever since he took office in the summer. He previously said people in Dundee feel just as distant from Holyrood as they do Westminster, something to which Public Service Reform Secretary Ivan McKee said: “I don’t think he knows what he means.”
Even before he became Prime Minister, Mr Swinney accused Mr Burnham of showing a “lack of knowledge” about Scotland.
He has been in Scotland since taking office, but you would not know it because he does not tell the media or invite us to interview him.
His comments have set the heather alight and caused passions to run hot - if he is to stick to his “off limits” position, he would do well to learn some lessons from this.
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