WE’D come to expect it from Boris Johnson. Amidst all the blundering and blabbering, the former Tory prime minister could often be heard to label his SNP opponents as being from the “Scottish Nationalist Party”.
Despite being scolded by the Commons Speaker for his jibes, Johnson continued to use the same old “nationalist” line – apparently insisted upon by former Union Unit head Oliver Lewis.
When Johnson did it, the motivations were clear: to annoy and agitate. But what about when one of the UK’s top political broadcasters does it?
Enter Paul Brand, ITV’s UK editor who is known for breaking partygate stories including the video of Allegra Stratton joking about a Christmas event held at the peak of lockdown.
Writing on a new poll commissioned by ITV – which found just 37% of Scots support the monarchy – Brand said: “Of equal concern for the King, support for the monarchy also varies greatly across the UK.
“Not for centuries has a coronation taken place at quite such a moment of jeopardy for the Union.
“During her reign, the Queen was often considered to be a unifying figure across the UK, save for among the divided communities of Northern Ireland. Even the Scottish Nationalist Party (SNP) proposed to keep her as head of state in an independent Scotland.
“However, our polling shows Charles III is anything but universally admired throughout his kingdom.”
You might have thought that the UK editor of ITV News – who was also a hot favourite to take over from Laura Kuenssberg as BBC political editor – would know what SNP stands for.
Then, you might have thought the BBC would have had it nailed down by now, considering the SNP has been in power since 2007.
But just last year they were out there making the same mistake, introducing a councillor from the “Scottish Nationalist Party”.
After the Jouker got in touch, ITV have corrected Brand's story. It now reads: "Even the Scottish National Party (SNP) proposed to keep her as head of state in an independent Scotland."
