It makes bleak sense, when you think about it. The history of Unionism is littered with self-inflicted wounds and missed opportunities. So of course the Prime Minister would lose his grip on the Union Unit just as the Scottish government seems to be facing an acute crisis.
Alex Salmond has once again withdrawn from giving evidence to MSPs after the Crown Office stepped in and got the Scottish parliament to redact his evidence (again). As it was already in the public domain, we can all see that the censored portions relate not to the naming of vulnerable women, but to criticism of Nicola Sturgeon.
Yet it still feels hard to believe it’s going to impact the SNP’s poll ratings. Labour are still having their leadership contest, while leading Conservatives seem reluctant to go entirely on the attack lest they give their activists funny ideas about the wisdom of devolution.
In an alternative reality, we might hope that there was a crack team in Whitehall preparing to capitalise on the separatists’ woes.
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