A little over a year ago the then Prime Minister Rishi Sunak convened a hasty gathering of the media to Downing Street to deliver an address the nation. Rare events in themselves but the out of the blue manner in which this one landed suggested it was something big – so we tuned in, and in vast numbers.

Running to some 10-plus minutes and dubbed an address on extremism, it was quickly revealed as a panicked response to the Rochdale by-election where the fedora loving George Galloway romped to victory 24-hours earlier, after an acrimonious and ugly campaign. As the news agencies went in hunt of Mr. Galloway for his reaction, most of us were left to wonder what the point of it all was, as the Prime Minister pointed the finger at numerous random but non-specific protagonist and hate groups for all their misdeeds before turning on his heels and retreating back behind the doors of No 10 without answering a single question.

Fast forward to April 2025 and First Minister John Swinney’s summit on safeguarding democracy last week may not have had the same panicked feel to it as Sunak’s address, but was clearly inspired by the same sense of a significant political shift which is leaving the traditional political parties running to stand still. Where Sunak, whether you agreed with him or not, had no hesitation in flagging what he saw as the sources of the problems, Swinney took an altogether more cautious approach and dodged substance altogether.

Even if he didn’t necessarily........

© Herald Scotland