Calendar An icon of a desk calendar. Cancel An icon of a circle with a diagonal line across. Caret An icon of a block arrow pointing to the right. Email An icon of a paper envelope. Facebook An icon of the Facebook "f" mark. Google An icon of the Google "G" mark. Linked In An icon of the Linked In "in" mark. Logout An icon representing logout. Profile An icon that resembles human head and shoulders. Telephone An icon of a traditional telephone receiver. Tick An icon of a tick mark. Is Public An icon of a human eye and eyelashes. Is Not Public An icon of a human eye and eyelashes with a diagonal line through it. Pause Icon A two-lined pause icon for stopping interactions. Quote Mark A opening quote mark. Quote Mark A closing quote mark. Arrow An icon of an arrow. Folder An icon of a paper folder. Breaking An icon of an exclamation mark on a circular background. Camera An icon of a digital camera. Caret An icon of a caret arrow. Clock An icon of a clock face. Close An icon of the an X shape. Close Icon An icon used to represent where to interact to collapse or dismiss a component Comment An icon of a speech bubble. Comments An icon of a speech bubble, denoting user comments. Comments An icon of a speech bubble, denoting user comments. Ellipsis An icon of 3 horizontal dots. Envelope An icon of a paper envelope. Facebook An icon of a facebook f logo. Camera An icon of a digital camera. Home An icon of a house. Instagram An icon of the Instagram logo. LinkedIn An icon of the LinkedIn logo. Magnifying Glass An icon of a magnifying glass. Search Icon A magnifying glass icon that is used to represent the function of searching. Menu An icon of 3 horizontal lines. Hamburger Menu Icon An icon used to represent a collapsed menu. Next An icon of an arrow pointing to the right. Notice An explanation mark centred inside a circle. Previous An icon of an arrow pointing to the left. Rating An icon of a star. Tag An icon of a tag. Twitter An icon of the Twitter logo. Video Camera An icon of a video camera shape. Speech Bubble Icon A icon displaying a speech bubble WhatsApp An icon of the WhatsApp logo. Information An icon of an information logo. Plus A mathematical 'plus' symbol. Duration An icon indicating Time. Success Tick An icon of a green tick. Success Tick Timeout An icon of a greyed out success tick. Loading Spinner An icon of a loading spinner. Facebook Messenger An icon of the facebook messenger app logo. Facebook An icon of a facebook f logo. Facebook Messenger An icon of the Twitter app logo. LinkedIn An icon of the LinkedIn logo. WhatsApp Messenger An icon of the Whatsapp messenger app logo. Email An icon of an mail envelope. Copy link A decentered black square over a white square.

The Sunday Post view: The world is in hurtling motion as Scots continue our never-ending bletherendum

Post Thumbnail

Given Boris Johnson’s difficulties with wine-related parties in No. 10, it seems unlikely Nicola Sturgeon will be hosting a hooley at Bute House when she becomes Scotland’s longest-serving first minister next month.

In any case, it is unlikely the fusillade of party poppers will disrupt her from a moment of contemplation because if she is a political leader who does not care about her legacy and the history books, she will be the first.

Independence is the cause that drives her but some Scots, including many who voted Yes in 2014, increasingly suspect it has hobbled her time in office when, they suggest, such an exceptional politician with such unassailable authority could have delivered transformative change in key areas of public life if her eye had not been on another prize altogether.

She is still determined to have another referendum next year, according to straight-faced advisers, but this bletherendum of constitutional theoreticals and hypotheticals, currencies, borders and pensions is now only the background hum of what passes for politics in Scotland. The polls suggest roughly a third of us will always vote Yes, a third will always vote No, and the final third will decide our future when asked.

The problem for the SNP is most Scots don’t want to be asked any time soon. For the party of independence, there is never a time that is not propitious for the big break to freedom but, for the rest of us, right now, with Europe ablaze, Covid still raging, and the economy tanking, seems sub-optimal.

According to Lenin, “there are decades where nothing happens; and there are weeks where decades happen” and, right now, decades seem to be happening every time we watch the news. We are witnessing the world change in real time and Russia’s rampage continues to pile questions upon questions; about energy and security, patriotism and nationalism, the EU and Nato and the answers to every one of those questions will colour the debate around Scotland’s future.

Elsewhere in this weekend’s paper, Jason Cowley describes how a still emerging but more relaxed and multicultural Englishness might change the tone in that country and the others sharing these islands. With all of these things and more in hurtling motion, the only thing that seems stuck fast is Scotland. Every day, the world is streaming forward into a new, unknowable future while our politicians can only look back, reheating old rows and restoking old enmities.

If the first minister really wants a referendum next year and really thinks Scots want one too, she should force the issue. If, for whatever reason, she doesn’t, we don’t or she can’t, then she should attempt to forge a different, more creative way to break the deadlock.

Now, that would be a legacy.