A basic reality that advocates of Scottish independence should acknowledge - but won’t, for some obvious electoral reasons - is that it wouldn’t suddenly free them from the hated English Tories’ influence over their affairs. 1/?

Instead, those English Tories will simply rule the much larger country on their border, the cooperation of which they require to achieve the promised sunlit uplands. Except, with an rUK electorate combining a mix of hurt sadness (among many) and vindictive glee (among some), ...

...there will be precisely no political mileage to be made (for either major rUK party) in being “soft” on Scotland. The hurt - and associated vengefulness - will far exceed what rEU voters felt after Brexit. Meanwhile, Scots will have surrendered the 50 House of Commons seats...

...that could’ve made all the difference in periodically evicting those hated English Tories. Just as Brexiters promised to “take back control” - only to discover that they had to comply with practically all of the larger power’s stipulations in order to secure still-needed...

...cooperation - so too post-independence Scotland could look forward to an interminable future of English Tories’ influence over their affairs...just without the redeeming prospect of periodically kicking them out via the ballot box. In short, yes, you can change the...

...governance arrangements of an intra-British region. But only the sea and the weather can change Britain’s physical geography.