Despite serious question marks over the party’s performance in government, the SNP has been on a seemingly unassailable upwards trajectory for more than a decade.
First Minister Nicola Sturgeon has slept easy in the knowledge that no matter what happens she will wake up to increased support for her government and independence.
But not any more.
A Survation poll for the Sunday Mail has found Yes is no longer in the lead after 22 consecutive surveys suggested leaving the UK had become the settled will of the Scottish people.
The reason for the reversal in fortunes could not be more obvious – Sturgeon’s bitter war with her predecessor Alex Salmond.
In an astonishing appearance before MSPs last week, he accused his one time protégé of presiding over a government and party that is at best incompetent and at worst downright corrupt.
Salmond thinks the current leadership is too dysfunctional to govern a devolved Scotland. And support for an independent Scotland is now falling.
A key driver of support for the nationalists has always been the perception that Westminster politics is irredeemably rotten.
If people feel the same way about Holyrood the nationalist movement will be in big trouble.
Just a few months ago, Sturgeon’s target was a majority win in the Scottish Parliament election in May in a bid to force IndyRef2.
It is now a legitimate question to ask whether she will still be in office to fight that campaign, never mind deliver independence.
Sarwar should target the Tories
Anas Sarwar has won the race to become leader of Scottish Labour.
He is now the first Muslim to lead a mainstream political party in the UK.
His success is testament not only to Sarwar’s drive and determination but also to Scotland as an open and inclusive country. But he faces an uphill struggle if he is to transform Labour into an electoral force.
Replacing the Scottish Conservatives as the o cial opposition would be start and a huge achievement.
A neck of a sight
Giraffes are to return to Edinburgh Zoo for the rst time in more than 15 years as part of a plan to breed the species.
Let’s hope they don’t rubberneck on the panda enclosure were Tian Tian and Yang Guang have been attempting to procreate for the past decade.
