By Rab Bruce’s Spider

The latest poll by IPSOS MORI shows Yes on 55%. If we take the word of Unionists, that’s a decisive figure, although naturally the media aren’t mentioning that.

It is, of course, only a single poll and could be an outlier, so there’s no cause to get too excited about it.

What bothers me at a basic level is that the reactions of voters are once again focused on the individuals heading either side of the argument, i.e. Nicola Sturgeon and Boris Johnson. As I’ve repeatedly said, Johnson is not the problem, he is merely the latest symptom of the underlying problem. Nor, for all her qualities as a politician and communicator, is Nicola Sturgeon the solution, she is simply the current leader of the Party which should have the solution in its hands. Neither of these politicians will be around forever, yet becoming a normal, self-governing country is a permanent change.

I do understand that the messenger is as important as the message when it comes to politics, and I’d far rather have good communicators on our side than not because we need to persuade a lot of people to shift their views if we are to establish a solid and permanent lead in the polls, but it really is quite disappointing that some voters might suddenly switch away from Yes if Boris Johnson were to be replaced as Prime Minister. Can people not realise that this would not be a solution at all? The problem would still be there.

Still, I suppose that, as long as the arch-clown remains in office, the more people might come to appreciate the extent of Scotland’s situation. Perhaps some of them might decide to stick with Yes once they realise that someone else very like Johnson or, heaven forbid, even worse, could easily gain power thanks to the inherent unfairness built into the Westminster election process.

So, let’s keep working on promoting the cause of normality. Independence is normal. That’s the message people need to understand.