OPINION Sturgeon’s a winner either way in Labour pact with SNP

At the end of any Brexit, the First Minister has the perfect right to hold an IndyRef2

A No Deal Brexit might never happen.

If it doesn’t, then that will be in spite of the current Prime Minister, not because of him.

The polarising identity issue has caused British politics to grind to a halt for more than three years and counting.

If and when we reach an outcome, someone ought to compile a list of the casualties:

Two prime ministers. Countless ministers of state.

High- prof ile MPs who walked from Labour and the Tories in disgust at their respective Brexit policies.

A new mainstream party which was formed in its wake, then ate itself.

That’s before we get to a collective loss of nerve in the country and the countless billions spent on preparations.

It’s becoming increasingly apparent that Boris Johnson is quite prepared to add the Union to this list.

It has been said before in this column but it bears repeating: at the conclusion of any Brexit , the First Minister of Scotland has the perfect right to hold a second independence referendum.

If the UK was taken out on a No Deal , IndyRef2 isn’t something which merely can happen. It’s something which should happen. It ought to be considered an inevitability.

There wou ld be unfortunate side effects because of the inherently divisive nature of such a vote.

That ’ s democracy though. Change is rarely achieved without struggle.

It is t o N ic ol a Sturgeon’s credit, then, that she still appears highly engaged in the fight to stop an event which is seen by many nationalists as the key to their lifelong dream.

The idea of an SNP/Labour pact aimed at stopping Johnson in his tracks is an intriguing one.

Whether they’d have the numbers for a successful vote of no confidence remains to be seen. It would certainly be close.

The ripple effect it would cause across the UK might make Brexit look trif ling by comparison.

The risk for Labour is that it would harden English voters towards an exit – possibly even on a No Deal on principle.

That’s not Sturgeon’s concern though. By this time, she’d be a winner in either scenario...

Either as the First Minister who stopped Brexit with the mandate for a referendum guaranteed in a deal with a Labour government.

Or as the leader of a country being forced from the EU against its will.