Time to resolve indyref2 battle

WHEN Theresa May addresses the Scottish Conservative conference in Glasgow this morning it will be just 869 days since Scots said No to independence.

An awful lot has happened in the intervening 124 weeks and one day.

We have a new First Minister and Prime Minister.

The leader of every major political party has changed.

The SNP have transformed Westminster’s electoral map.

And, most importantly of all, the UK has voted to leave the European Union.

But one thing has not changed in the slightest – the independence question still overshadows every other aspect of Scottish politics. It was all meant to be so different. Prior to the 2014 referendum, the SNP told us the vote would be a once-in-a-generation or even a once-in-a-lifetime event.

Even as recently as May last year, Nicola Sturgeon pledged education would be her top priority in government.

Instead, as yesterday’s dismal First Minister’s Questions at Holyrood proved yet again, the day-to-day business of devolved government is being neglected.

Literacy and numeracy rates are in decline and the NHS lurch from one crisis to another.

Constitutional wrangling won’t change any of that.

Nevertheless, Brexit has undoubtedly recast the case for independence and May’s response to this Scottish dimension has been completely cloth-eared.

The question is what should be done about that?

The next few weeks should bring clarity about if and when it will mean a second referendum.

The conference speeches of May and Sturgeon – two women who won power when their predecessor lost a referendum – should tell us what we need to know.

Independence activists are demanding Sturgeon call another vote at her party’s gathering in two weeks.

May is under equal pressure from her supporters to block any move to do so.

Whatever happens, there is one thing we can say for certain: Scotland can’t afford to waste much more time and energy on this unrelenting war of attrition.