How to judge the ‘majority will’?

The much-anticipated SNP manifesto will be launched this week and, as is the nature of political announcements, there will be little contained therein which is not already known, or at least guessed at.

The party has made its stance on tax, public spending and climate change clear since the campaign began.

That its members would still like Scotland to become an independent nation is also no surprise to anyone.

But will provision for a second independence referendum be contained in the paper to be produced on Wednesday?

It is that element which will have supporters, rivals and neutral commentators poring over every phrase and nuance and which makes this manifesto crucial.

Most observers agree party leader Nicola Sturgeon, who promised just the one referendum on independence in this generation, is not keen on another ballot so soon.

She must keep her party faithful happy so hints about “significant and material changes” continue to be dropped.

Such an event could be on the horizon, of course, with the EU referendum a little more than two months away and seemingly on a knife-edge.

What other factors meet the criteria? It seems somewhat subjective as, of course, it is designed to be.

The other trigger for so-called indeyref2 would be the majority will of the Scottish people.

Again, is there any way to judge this? How about some sort of ballot with those favouring independence on one side and unionists on the other?

Many argue an SNP landslide on May 5 would be such an indicator, regardless of the party’s manifesto contents.

The independence debate continues to loom large.