Let’s get something straight. If the loss of Grangemouth doesn’t unite the independence movement, then we’re wasting our time. Scotland is being dismantled in plain sight, and if we’re still arguing about party loyalty while they shut down our last oil refinery, then we’ve missed the point. Grangemouth is not just an industrial site. It is the line in the sand. And if we don’t treat it that way, we’ll lose more than jobs—we’ll lose the argument for our own future.

Scunthorpe gets a lifeline. Grangemouth gets a gravestone. That’s the Union. Labour is scrambling to save British Steel in England because Farage is breathing down their necks. Starmer knows he’ll lose the Red Wall if he doesn’t act. Meanwhile, Grangemouth? Not a whisper of urgency. Labour said no. Reform said nothing. The Tories barely looked up. They are not trying to hide it. They just don’t care. And they don’t have to, because Scotland doesn’t matter in Westminster’s electoral calculations. It hasn’t for years.

This moment should be political gold for the SNP. It should be the rallying cry we’ve been waiting for a chance not just to draw a line, but to pivot. To move decisively from a party-first strategy toward a national strategy. To say: this is what the Union does to us, and this is what we can never fix from within. This is when you step up and lead not for the party, but for the country. But leadership doesn’t mean hoarding every vote and shouting down every other Yes voice. It means pulling this movement together. It means recognising that Scotland’s liberation will come not from dominance, but from direction.

The SNP has proven it can govern. That is not in question. The work it has done under devolution has protected Scottish households, defended services, and shielded the vulnerable from the worst of Westminster’s cruelty. But governing well is not the same as delivering independence. And right now, that road is too narrow.

It’s time to pivot from ownership to leadership, from control to coordination. It’s time to build a highway. A political highway big enough for every pro-Scottish force. A path not just for one party, but for every organisation, campaign, and community that believes Scotland should speak with its own voice. The SNP must now move from leadership as ownership to leadership as invitation. It must bring the wider movement into the fold Believe in Scotland, Liberation Scotland, Alba, the Greens, the independents who’ve never stopped campaigning on the ground. This is not about diluting the message. This is about expanding the mission.

The 2026 election isn’t a battle between parties. It’s the next major step in the campaign for national liberation. And if we walk into it divided one party trying to carry the weight of a nation alone we will lose. But if we walk into it together, with shared discipline, shared purpose, and shared seats across Holyrood, we have a chance to deliver something Westminster fears more than any rally or petition: a pro-Scottish government and a pro-Scottish opposition. A Parliament that answers to Scotland. No one else.

That means using the Additional Member System the way it was designed to be used. Not for loyalty. For leverage. The SNP must stop pretending both votes for one party will deliver everything we need. It won’t. The system is structured to punish that thinking. And clinging to it now is no longer caution it’s sabotage. It's time to be honest. Time to be strategic. Time to win. And if anyone needs reminding of the stakes look at Grangemouth. While Scotland was pleading for basic industrial protection, Westminster was pulling emergency powers out of thin air to save Scunthorpe. The Commons and Lords were recalled during Easter recess for a Saturday sitting. They passed new legislation in one day. Taxpayer money was committed. Ownership changes were tabled. It was the fastest intervention in recent memory. Why? Because it’s in England. Because it matters to Labour’s electoral map.

SNP and Plaid Cymru amendments to expand that law to include Scotland and Wales weren’t even debated. There was “no time.” Not even a hearing. Not even a paragraph. Grangemouth was never going to get the same treatment because Scotland never gets the same treatment. And if the SNP can’t take that injustice and turn it into a unifying national message, then what are we doing?

We’re not here to preserve party reputations. We’re here to take back our country. And that doesn’t happen through loyalty. It happens through action. Through unity. Through strategic discipline that stretches beyond any one manifesto or colour of rosette. Acting like a nation means acting like a movement. Not a brand. Not a tribe. A collective force. It means acknowledging that the SNP can still lead but not by walking alone. It must now call in the rest of the movement, not shut it out.

This isn’t about letting go of the past. It’s about growing into the future. Because if we go into 2026 divided, disorganised, and defensive we lose. But if we go in together, with a shared plan, a shared voice, and a shared ballot strategy we make history. We get it by standing together. We get it by telling the truth, loudly and relentlessly. We get it by being strategic, by using every vote to build a pro-Scottish government and a pro-Scottish opposition. We get it by finally doing what the Union fears most acting like a nation.

This isn’t just about oil. Or steel. Or elections. It’s about respect. Self-respect. The kind that says we will not let decisions about our survival be made in Downing Street. Not anymore.

So let this be the moment we stop waiting. Let this be the moment we stop defending the past and start building the future. Let Grangemouth be the last betrayal we ever have to explain.

If Scotland means more to you than a party badge, then this is your moment. Walk away from the fear. Walk away from the begging. Walk toward the country you know we can be.

Vote for Scotland. Vote for power. Vote to never be ignored again.