{"version":"1.0","type":"rich","provider_name":"Acast","provider_url":"https://acast.com","height":250,"width":700,"html":"<iframe src=\"https://embed.acast.com/$/6655a16405d9ed0012fc800b/6ad22e01f38f25c0f0783b61?\" frameBorder=\"0\" width=\"700\" height=\"250\"></iframe>","title":"SNP CONFERENCE - Indy Groundhog Day?","thumbnail_width":200,"thumbnail_height":200,"thumbnail_url":"https://open-images.acast.com/shows/6655a16405d9ed0012fc800b/1792160915384-4dc9fc7d-d854-425e-b5c2-abd5da3c897b.jpeg?height=200","description":"<p><strong>SNP CONFERENCE – INDY GROUNDHOG DAY?</strong></p><p>Is the SNP trapped in independence Groundhog Day? As John Swinney prepares to address the SNP conference in Aberdeen, Bernard Ponsonby and Alex Massie ask whether Scotland&#39;s governing party has any credible route to another independence referendum — and Bernard reflects on the SNPs historical stance and asks whether we&#39;re watching a repeat of Nicola Sturgeon&#39;s failed strategy.</p><p>In this week&#39;s Ponsonby &amp; Massie Podcast:</p><ul><li><strong>SNP Conference:</strong> Is John Swinney promising another independence breakthrough that he simply cannot deliver?</li><li><strong>Independence Groundhog Day:</strong> Alex argues that the SNP is recycling the same strategies while failing to persuade Scotland to change its mind.</li><li><strong>The SNP&#39;s record in government:</strong> Why poor polling on the NHS, housing, the economy and the cost of living makes independence an attractive distraction.</li><li><strong>Currency, mortgages and pensions:</strong> The difficult questions that the independence movement still hasn&#39;t answered since 2014.</li><li><strong>Nicola Sturgeon Mark II?</strong> Bernard examines decades of SNP constitutional manoeuvring and asks whether Swinney is repeating the mistakes of his predecessor.</li><li><strong>A new constitutional convention?</strong> Bernard proposes a route towards answering the big questions about Scotland&#39;s constitutional future.</li><li><strong>Kemi Badenoch&#39;s survival:</strong> Why Bernard now thinks the Conservative leader could survive until the next general election — and the challenge posed by Reform UK.</li><li><strong>Andy Burnham in Scotland:</strong> Why Labour&#39;s Prime Minister is competing for the headlines during SNP conference.</li><li><strong>An early general election?</strong> Could Labour benefit from going to the country before 2029?</li><li><strong>And finally… art at taxpayers&#39; expense?</strong> An SNP MSP&#39;s plan to employ an artist-in-residence prompts some colourful suggestions from Bernard and Alex.</li></ul><p>Political analysis, historical perspective and a few laughs from two of Scotland&#39;s most experienced political commentators.</p><p><strong>CHAPTERS</strong></p><p>00:00 Introduction – SNP conference, Badenoch and Burnham</p><p>02:07 SNP conference: Independence Groundhog Day?</p><p>05:52 Bernard&#39;s history of SNP constitutional deadlock</p><p>10:56 Independence: The unanswered currency and mortgage questions</p><p>14:53 Why the SNP lost the 2014 referendum</p><p>16:48 Bernard&#39;s proposal for a constitutional convention</p><p>20:15 Pensions, devolution and Swinney&#39;s political strategy</p><p>25:09 Kemi Badenoch: Could she survive after all?</p><p>28:05 Conservatives vs Reform UK – the battle for the right</p><p>30:07 Andy Burnham&#39;s Scottish electoral challenge</p><p>32:22 Will Labour call an early general election?</p><p>36:29 And finally… an SNP artist-in-residence?</p><p>37:59 Public money, political art and constitutional crayons</p><p>39:16 The sexism row, a political mime artist and Shetland poetry</p><p>41:00 Closing thoughts</p><p><strong>Join the conversation:</strong> Is the SNP stuck in independence Groundhog Day? Can John Swinney change anything? And should parliamentary expenses pay for political art?</p><p>Subscribe for weekly Scottish and UK political analysis with Bernard Ponsonby and Alex Massie.</p><p>#SNP #ScottishPolitics #ScottishIndependence #JohnSwinney #SNPConference #PonsonbyAndMassie</p>","author_name":"Solid Media"}