Sniping from the sidelines must stop

The country appears to be trapped in an endless spiral of elections and referendums. We voted on Scottish independence — where Scotland’s role in Europe was a key debating point.

Next up was the poll on the UK’s membership of the EU — where Scottish independence was a key debating point.

Now we could be headed for a second referendum on Scottish independence — all thanks to the result of the EU Leave vote.

In between all of that, of course, we have had both Scottish and UK parliamentary elections. To say it has been a somewhat bewildering time would be an understatement, yet still we are not out of the woods.

If we have learnt one thing from the last three years, it has surely been that no opportunity to score political points will be ignored.

Had adversaries been prepared to put their differences to one side and engage in meaningful and helpful discussion, rather than repeatedly sniping at one another, progress on Brexit could have been made long before now. Instead we have endured a painful period of claim and counter-claim, with facts conspicuous only by their absence.

Theresa May yesterday made a concerted and genuine attempt to move the matter forward, but it did not take long for opponents to sense blood. An outbreak of consensus was probably too much to hope for but it is surely time for a more measured approach to the issues facing the country.