Tony Blair compares SNP politics to cavemen

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-scotland-politics-33623486

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Tony Blair has compared the nationalism of the SNP to the "politics of the first caveman".

The former Labour prime minister called the SNP a "reactionary political force" and accused the party of blaming others for Scotland's problems.

SNP MP Mhairi Black said Mr Blair's legacy still haunted and damaged Labour today.

She said his criticism of the SNP government in Scotland suggested someone "badly out of touch".

Labour lost all but one of its Westminster seats in Scotland in May's general election as the SNP took 56 out of 59 seats.

Asked if he feared the party might disappear "just like Woolworths" from Scotland, Mr Blair said: "No, I don't think we will. All political parties could in theory, but I don't think we will."

Oldest politics

Turning to the SNP, he said: "We have to take the ideology of nationalism head-on.

"Nationalism is not a new phenomenon. When they talk about it being new politics, it is the oldest politics in the world.

"It's the politics of the first caveman council, when the caveman came out from a council where there were difficult decisions and pointed with his club across the forest and said, 'They're the problem, over there, that's the problem'. It's blaming someone else.

"However you dress it up, it's a reactionary political force."

Mr Blair said the nationalists had been allowed to "behave like an opposition" while in government at Holyrood.

His remarks came after the SNP argued it was the "official opposition" at Westminster following Labour's decision to abstain on welfare cuts proposed by the Conservatives.

Ms Black said: "Tony Blair must still be smarting from Labour losing the Scottish Parliament election to the SNP in 2007 when he was prime minister and had dragged Labour so far to the right that it was barely recognisable.

"Tony Blair's legacy still haunts and damages Labour today, and led them into the sorry position of not even voting against the Tories' welfare cuts and budget bills this week - leaving the SNP as the real and effective opposition to the Tory government.

"On any reading of his record, Tony Blair was the one with the primitive policy - dragging the country into an illegal war in Iraq, at the cost of hundreds of thousands of lives and causing massive instability to the region, the ramifications of which we continue to live with."

The SNP MP for Paisley and Renfrewshire South added: "His criticism of the SNP government suggests someone badly out of touch, presumably unaware that SNP poll ratings have reached 60% this month, but we take nothing for granted for the future."