In the wake of their defeat at the hands of Labour earlier this month many parts of the SNP turned to internal recriminations and blame games. Those involved were, rightly in my view, derided by their colleagues in public and, more often, in private. Parties do not win back the voters' trust by turning on themselves. They do so by understanding why they lost and responding to voters’ concerns.

To their credit, most in the SNP have taken that latter approach, at least publicly, pointing out the weaknesses in the SNP’s record and offering to voters, with a particular focus on the constitutional question.

The SNP’s focus on independence went from being the cornerstone of their electoral coalition to a drag on their ability to win voters focused on other issues. Much of the early thinking on how the SNP adapt to this has suggested that they find a way to talk around the issue, rather than focusing on it. That may be wise, but where would this leave the independence cause itself?

During Alex Salmond’s second tenure as SNP leader, they focused on building support for independence by creating the perception that the Scottish Government could govern Scotland more competently and capably than governments at Westminster. The logic ran that if Scots felt that the Scottish Government was more capable than Westminster, demand to empower Holyrood would grow and support for independence would grow alongside it.

Pro-independence campaigners along with MSP's march through the streets of Edinburgh to Carlton Hill. Picture by Stewart Attwood (Image: Stewart Attwood)

Over the SNP’s first term, this approach bore fruit to a certain extent. Unsurprisingly,........

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