Independence in the EU will catch Sturgeon out – people don’t want either

Keith Howell is withering on the First Minister’s prospects while leading a failing government

Dinah Washington sang ‘What a difference a day makes’ in 1959, popularising a song which went on to be covered by many artists, right up to the present day.

In 1964, Harold Wilson was credited with the political equivalent with the oft-repeated phrase about the vagaries of political fortunes, ‘a week is a long time in politics’.

Perhaps Nicola Sturgeon had such sentiments in mind when she made her recent indyref2 statement, feeling that another year or so would be plenty of time to turn round the predicament she finds herself in.

Last year, after the EU referendum result, she set the wheels in motion for a second independence referendum before it was clear if people wanted it, or that they would support it in greater numbers. Since then, neither the electorate’s reluctance to go through another referendum, or the current negative public perception of the SNP’S ten years in office, looks to be showing any signs of change. The SNP has developed a reputation for the divisiveness of its independence drive, whilst at the same time overseeing a demonstrable fall in the standards of Scottish education. Meanwhile, it continues to stir grievance over anything the UK government does or plans, most particularly on Brexit.

Any political party in power for ten years would struggle to disguise its shortcomings. The SNP is no exception. The evidence of the SNP government’s poor performance is clearacrossaspectsof education, healthcare, and the economy, along