Rise of the political centre

Escaping the general election in Scotland for a couple of days, it was illuminating to listen to the political arguments south of the border. In fact, after a weekend in London it was possible to imagine that the campaigning there was for some distant country, unconnected to Scotland – and that was not just on account of the balmy weather.

Within hours of setting foot in the home of relatives I was embroiled in an ideological left versus right argument over the merits of Corbyn and May, high tax versus dementia tax, the redistribution of wealth and the survival of socialist instincts among middle class professionals. Differences In their typically leafy Thames constituency, where there is a choice of excellent local church schools, and property prices tend to start at seven figures, the majority of posters were either Liberal Democrat or Labour, or even Green.

This is the seat that Vince Cable hopes to win back from the Conservative Tania Mathias, who defeated him with a majority of around 2,000 in 2015. So it’s not surprising that the pro-EU veteran is flavour of the month again.

More inexplicable is the support in the wealthy enclave for Corbyn, and the strong distaste for May, but then this was a Remain heartland, as was much of the capital, and Brexit is still regarded as the greatest evil presently blighting Britain.

In Scotland, we have obviously got more serious matters to worry about. It is hard trying to explain to those living outside our political bubble why Europe does not dominate discussions the same way as it does in England.

Having emerged all too recently from a battle to save the union, Scots find themselves once again divided not by left and right but by Yes and No.

The nationalists now accuse the Scottish Conservatives of harping on about independence but this general election has become, in Scotland, a referendum on separation because the SNP has decided to fight it on those grounds.

This has driven voters to take sides once more on the constitution, rather than on policy differences, and as an increasing majority are opposed to re-running the 2014 ballot, it has boosted the prospects of the Scottish Tories. May and her party are expected to make big gains on June 8.

In London, she ignites passions that don’t appear to affect many Scots.

Thatcher might have been hated north of the border but the current prime minister is emboldened to make many appearances alongside her Scottish counterparts.

This is partly down to the popularity of Ruth Davidson, who had gone a long way to detoxifying the Tories before May entered Downing Street. Only alternative But given the weakness of Labour, the Conservatives, Brexit or not, are seen as the only way to stop the SNP – and another damaging referendum.

Passions in Scotland are reserved for Nicola Sturgeon, who in office has lost her sure touch and, with it, her movement’s momentum.

Now there are voters on the left as well as the right who will go to the ballot box in two weeks to vote against the SNP.

One young woman in Glasgow’s Shettleston, interviewed for a left leaning newspaper, said despite being a lifelong Labour supporter she would be voting tactically for the Conservatives – “It is a really sad day for Scottish politics that the only alternative to the SNP are the Tories,” she said.

But most people won’t be sorry to see the separatists taken down a peg or two. In London, there is talk of a possible realignment of the traditional parties in the wake of the anticipated humiliation of Corbyn on polling day.

If the Labour Party can’t save itself, its moderates could join forces with likeminded centrist politicians drawn from the Lib Dems and the pro-European Conservatives. Political shift This might have mass appeal (if no one mentions Tony Blair). Faced with an over-powerful political force, with too many seats for its own good, the phlegmatic British electorate casts around for something else.

Thatcher was the victim of her own success in the end, and Blair too. In Scotland, the realignment is already happening.

The backlash against aggressive Scottish nationalism began almost as soon as the SNP won 56 out of 59 Scottish seats in the last general election and believed it was indestructible.

Ruth Davidson has said she would be happy to work with Labour in a coalition if it meant replacing the SNP at the next Holyrood elections. This notion, of the Tories and Labour forming a government, sounds preposterous outside Scotland.

But here, with Labour voters proposing to vote Tory, and Tories voting Lib Dem, it is the new political reality. And for this dawning of reason and the rise of the political centre we only have the Scottish nationalists and their belligerent extremism to thank.

Scots find themselves once again divided

Picture: PA. Enough: And many Scottish voters have had enough, including Ruth Davidson, regarding the threat of a second independence referendum.