Constitutionally, for good or ill, Scotland will have moved on – if not to outright independence at least to major changes within the United Kingdom. Its present form is no longer fit for purpose.


As for the Princess of a quite dazzling political fairytale, few would begrudge Nicola Sturgeon her moment in the sun. She and her party have done the spadework over many years. Now they are reaping its rewards.


Politically, they and the Referendum have enthused and invigorated a nation.


But now the fairytale is drawing to an end and realpolitik – where the currency is raw power - is beginning.


No-one should underestimate the size of the task which lies before the SNP. It is immense. The nub of it is this: David Cameron does not require the


help of any other party to get his legislative programme through Westminster. He has a slim, but workable majority.


The question, therefore, is: what pressure can the SNP bring to bear in negotiating more powers for Scotland that go beyond the current ones on offer? Right now the electorate is riding high on a bubble of optimism and hope that the SNP will bring about change through its presence at Westminster as the third largest party. Nicola Sturgeon has said her party’s first goal is an end to austerity measures. But how do you achieve that?


June 2015 23


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