Labour’s new leader Sir Keir Starmer tells Scotland it’s a “no to a second independence referendum”.

It seems Sir Starmer of the British Establishment is determined to follow the procession of failed Labour leaders we have been subjected to since 2014.

How many times must we accept parliamentarians outwith our nation dictating terms to us whilst having little or no understanding of our country? How many independence mandates must the Scottish people give to the SNP before Westminster pays heed?

Regardless of your stance on independence, the denial of a referendum on our constitutional future only highlights further the democratic deficit we in Scotland are subjected to in this so called union of equals.

Here in West Dunbartonshire we voted yes to independence in 2014, yet we have the Scottish branch of the British Labour Party fully supportive of Sir Starmer’s denial of the will of the people.

Indeed, our local Labour Party went further than even the Tories in 2014 when they bussed in students to knock on local doors to scare pensioners into voting no by telling them they’d lose their pension in an independent Scotland. Shame on them.

There’s a certain hypocrisy in Unionist politicians calling for the Scottish Government to give councils more money while at the same time denying them the ability to generate revenue to meet the additional demands of the pandemic.

The Institute for Fiscal Studies stated clearly in March of this year that “devolved governments need more flexible funding and greater borrowing powers to tackle coronavirus.” They went on to state: “The fiscal framework is not designed to deal with the situation we face now.”

Those powers were denied earlier this week by the UK Government, leaving councils throughout Scotland deeply concerned for our futures. The pandemic has had a devastating effect on council finances, understandably.

Locally, we rightly took the decision to reallocate resources and use any funds in free reserves to ensure no-one was left homeless, hungry or financially destitute during these unprecedented times.

No doubt those same Unionist politicians who remain silent about the UK Government’s damaging decision will be back in the chamber squealing “SNP bad” when it comes time to set the budget.

It’s just a pity they aren’t willing to challenge their leader to get behind the SNP MPs in fighting for a fairer deal for Scotland whilst trapped in an unequal union.