Five years ago today, voters went to the polls in the 2015 General Election. Fifty per cent of voters in Scotland voted SNP and the party returned 56 out of the 59 Scottish MPs. The outcome was unprecedented and was described by some as the SNP Tsunami. I was lucky enough to be one of those 56 MPs and I have been reflecting on the experience and the lessons to be learned.  For me, the biggest lesson is that simply winning elections under the current constitutional set-up of the United Kingdom is not enough to further the cause of independence. 

It is not surprising that during the Covid crisis Brexit and the progress of the UK negotiations with the EU have gone off the radar for most people. Fortunately, now that the Westminster parliament is sitting again, it is becoming more difficult for the UK Government and their Chief Negotiator, David Frost, to evade scrutiny. 

On Monday the Select Committee on the Future Relationship with the European Union (formerly the Brexit select committee) sat remotely to take evidence from Michael Gove to try to make sense of the Government’s position. It would seem that information is still thin on the ground, with the Scottish Government, in particular, being left in the dark.  

After the excoriating Sunday newspaper critique of Boris Johnson and his government’s mishandling of the current crisis, a lot has been written about whether Scotland should be taking a different path.  Many argue that the facts speak for themselves.  However, although I know it may disappoint some, I am not going to second guess Nicola Sturgeon’s strategy in this column.  Put simply she has the responsibility of running the country. I don’t. She also is privy to information and advice which none of the rest of us have. 

Some excellent analytical pieces have been written in this newspaper by independent commentators like Lesley Riddoch and Kirsty Hughes.  The FM herself has said her government’s strategy may diverge from the UK government’s strategy going forward and we will hear more about that later this week. 

In order to beat the coronavirus crisis our lives and our civil liberties have been curtailed in a manner almost unimaginable even a couple of months ago.  Last weekend millions of people across Scotland and the UK endured a sunny Easter holiday in lockdown. For many people this meant foregoing traditional family gatherings and celebrations, trips to the DIY store and holidays away. It is only natural that, as we approach our fourth week in lockdown, more and more people are starting to talk about an exit strategy.