I was extremely dismayed to read this morning that Gina Miller’s tactical voting group will not be supporting any SNP candidates at this time (sorry – link behind paywall). This makes me sad because I do admire her and the work she’s done to hold the Brexiters to account – all at great personal cost to her. At the same time, I do appreciate her honesty. She’s forthright that she values the union, and as someone who once shared her views, I accept and respect this – but I won’t be donating.
While my views on Scottish Independence have changed, my desire to have friendly neighbours to the south has not. I do not want to see the rUK stuck with decades of Tory dominance and all of the misery that will bring, which is why I joined More United a few months ago.
Their ethos is admirable and I believe they’re working hard to stamp out bigotry and intolerance, and I’ve been impressed with the candidates they’re fielding for England. Sadly, though, I am not at all impressed with their candidate selection in Scotland. Having been asked to approve their candidate selection for Scotland, I have not seen one SNP candidate, which is surprising.
In their FAQ, the question ‘Do you favour one political party over another?’ is answered: ‘No, we will support candidates who agree with our values, no matter which party they stand for. The final decision on who we support will be made by our Members via online voting. You can become a Member by donating any amount now.’
Upon viewing their ‘Values’ page, I note that every SNP candidate running meets their criteria, but so far, I have only seen Labour and Lib Dem candidates offered for backing in Scotland. I am not sure if this is intentional or not, but it does mean that More United is funding and supporting candidates who are running against SNP candidates. Whether this is intentional or inadvertent, I can’t say, but it does concern me. I have voted against candidates who are running against the SNP, but so far all have made it through.
If you value your SNP candidates and would like to see them keep their seats, may I suggest you consider joining More United and make your voice heard? Sadly, in order to vote for or against their candidates, you do have to donate, but I don’t think it’s a lot. As I said before, I’m sure there is nothing sinister here, but SNP candidates are being undermined. If you can join and vote, it would help.
I will be writing to them today to ask if there is an official policy with regard to the SNP and will update when I hear back from them.
Update 18-05-17 – I sent this email to More United:
Good morning,
I am a member of More United and appreciate the work you are doing. I’ve received your emails to vote for candidates for backing, but I have noticed there are no SNP candidates so far. Having looked at your Values page, I note that the SNP do meet all of your listed requirements, so I’d like to ask if there if SNP candidates are deliberately being excluded.
I look forward to hearing from you.
Kind regards,
Elizabeth
And I received this answer back:
Dear Elizabeth,
Integral to our value of openness is a commitment to bringing down international barriers, not raising them up. As such, More United is wholly in support of maintaining the union between the nations and ensuring that Scotland does not leave the UK.
This means that while SNP candidates may overlap with More United’s values in some ways, their commitment to Scottish Independence makes them not eligible for our support. To be clear however, we are not setting out to ‘unseat’ SNP candidates, merely to support the candidates that are most in line with our values.
Best wishes,
The More United Team
So if you are an SNP member or supporter, I would advise steering clear of this group. I feel they’ve taken my money under false pretences, and are not being honest about the candidates they support.
Fig and Pen 
Thanks for the warning about More United. Scotland is a European nation, and I have thought since 1975, having worked a year in the European Parliament and seen the European Community from the inside, that we should be a member of this organization, which has kept the peace on a continent responsible for world wars, and offers a model for how nations can cooperate on an equal basis. To be a member we must be a State. That means ending the 1707 treaty, which talks about equals but in fact subordinat
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I agree with you completely and was very disappointed by More United’s stance on the SNP. Now I’m annoyed with them.
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I posted an unfinished comment inadvertently. After ‘equals’ read: but actually subordinates everything to England (today de facto to the southeast of England) in an ‘incorporating union’. That arrangement worked badly for its first half-century, more or less well for the nearly two centuries of Empire though showing cracks when the Irish rejected it in arms, and badly since the Second World War which ended that Empire. It is now time to terminate it formally. The EU is a union of equals; every member has its voice heard. It has its faults, but can be improved from within. To help do so, Scotland needs its own voice in Brussels, which entails Statehood. That has been the SNP position since the mid 80s; having supported the party from outside, I accordingly joined it in 2014. I loved your honest account of your personal journey; perhaps I’ll emulate it some day
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The PM has said she won’t meet with the FM of Scotland. That is in no way equal and should disgust every Scot.
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Once upon a time the Liberals supported Home Rule for Scotland as well as for Ireland and Scottish labour MPs were in favour for Home Rule for Scotland too. Not any longer for quite a while . It’s so disappointing to see their usual defence of their current die hard Unionist stance – Nationalism divides people – the antithesis of inclusive civic nationalism of the Scottish variety . Particularly after the Brexit they oppose . They are another Unionist organisation involving some of the same people as Scotland in Union which Dan Snow. A tangled web of power.
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I tend to tune these people out. They’re never going to be convinced, they don’t want to be convinced, and they’re a waste of my finite energy. I’d rather engage with those who have an open mind, and those who understand the status quo is over. There is nothing for Scotland in Brexit Britain.
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