It is difficult to over-estimate just how important today’s news of Brian Souter’s donation is to the SNP.
The Stagecoach tycoon has promised £500,000 to the SNP’s election campaign – as long as the party raises another £500,000 by itself.
SNP managers will make sure they raise the other £500,000, giving the party a £1 million fighting fund for May’s election campaign.
Several key factors contributed to the Nationalists’ successful 2007 campaign. One was momentum in the opinion polls, another was credibility generated by solid business support, but a third was the £1 million war chest the party had to spend on the campaign.
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With Moray MP Angus Robertson learning key new election techniques from the United States, the SNP used the money to get to more voters in more constituencies with greater frequency than ever before. This time round, the SNP does not have the weight of business opinion behind it that it had in 2007, nor does it have the boost from leading in the opinion polls, but at least now the party has the money to fight the sort of campaign it wants to fight. The language bouncing around inside Labour headquarters when the news of the donation came through today would almost certainly not have been suitable for broadcast. Labour leaders were hoping to go into the election having an advantage in three key areas: opinion polls, business support and finance. At a stroke, though, Labour has lost the financial battle. The Nationalists spent more on the 2007 campaign than any party in Scottish electoral history and that spending helped propel the party to power. It wasn’t sufficient on its own to give Alex Salmond the keys to Bute House, but without it, the SNP would certainly have lost. Now the SNP have the ability to spend as much again. Crucially, Labour is not as well off as it used to be. The party can – and will – get significant financial help from the unions, but it is not in a healthy financial position, particularly after its expensive and unsuccessful General Election campaign last year. Labour leader Ed Miliband will be determined not to lose the Scottish elections in May and he will no doubt authorise a significant amount of money for the campaign, but it is unlikely that Labour will be able to afford to match the £1 million which the Nationalists now believe they will have in the kitty. Mr Souter remains, however, a controversial figure - particularly with Green MSP Patrick Harvie saying that tycoon's bankrolling of the referendum on Section 28 had appalled him so much that it was the catalyst for him getting involved in active politics. Mr Harvie said: “It's no wonder that this economically and socially conservative administration has such appeal for a millionaire with attitudes to gay Scots which should have gone out with John Knox. The message this sends out is that the SNP is for sale to the highest bidder, and it's no surprise that the same day they unveiled this donation they're also on the record opposing equal marriage. Last time he gave them this much money, a long-standing commitment to improve bus services mysteriously disappeared from the SNP manifesto. I wonder what he wants this time. “The campaign against Souter's bigoted agenda inspired me to get into politics, and any principled party would have told him where to stuff his money. This isn't America, though, where elections can be bought and sold. The SNP are delivering tax cuts for the rich and public service cuts for the rest. If the people of Scotland want decent services and business to pay its fair share, the Greens will be their only alternative in May.” Mr Salmond unsurprisingly took a different view of Mr Souter yesterday. He said: “Brian Souter is one of the outstanding entrepreneurs of his generation with a passionate belief in Scotland. This offer to match every small donation the SNP receives up to £500,000 will power our fundraising for this campaign, and double the impact of every penny put toward re-electing an SNP Government in May. “In 2007 we broke our fundraising target of £1 million. In 2011 we can go further.” There will be those in the Nationalist movement, though, who will feel uncomfortable accepting Mr Souter’s money, partly because of his referendum organised as part of the campaign against the repeal of Section 28 and partly because of bus deregulation. This was a policy which was backed by the SNP and then dropped after Mr Souter’s £600,000 donation to the party ahead of the 2007 election. Labour’s John Park claimed today that the donation would “damage” the SNP. He said: “Last time the SNP accepted his millions, they scrapped plans to help bus passengers at the expense of companies like his. As a result thousands of Scots have been denied the bus service they deserve and under the SNP nothing will change.” And he added: “The SNP are trying to refight the 2007 election. They don't understand that this is a doorstep election, not a big money election. “We fully expect to be outspent by the SNP but we are fighting for every vote so Labour can change Scotland for the better again.” That was a significant admission by Mr Park. In saying that, he has effectively conceded that the SNP will have a bigger fighting fund than Labour for this year’s campaign. That in itself will do much to shorten the odds on the SNP regaining power this year. The Nationalists will still be behind Labour in the betting ahead of 5 May, but Mr Souter’s donation has suddenly made the campaign a lot more interesting.We need your support. Please donate to The Caledonian Mercury
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