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Amazing that it’s five years to the day since the Scottish indyref. Remember watching the joyful pro-independence celebration outside the Scottish Parliament as polls closed. Could barely see a pro-Union flag or placard in central Edinburgh - and felt like everything had changed.
Scottish independence is a very different kind of nationalism from Brexit but that day felt like the start of a permanent constitutional convulsion. The decades-long certainties about Britain’s stability, global role and sense of self changed. Voters were ready to break things.
When question comes again, which it will, the Scottish people may easily change their mind. After the way they’ve been treated I wouldn’t blame them. Wales and N Ireland could easily follow. Depending on what happens in the next few months, much sooner than many people assume.
The days when we could assume that, for better or worse, the UK would always survive as a political unit, that it would be an integral part of EU and a reliable global partner and player, have gone forever. This is the age of revolution, and it’s only just beginning.
