Morning View: Irish nationalists are not the only ones trying to capitalise on Westminster upheaval - Scots separatists are too

Irish nationalists are not the only separatists trying to capitalise on the upheaval at Westminster. In Scotland, the SNP’s answer to every political conundrum is a fresh push for ‘independence’.

Last week, Nicola Sturgeon attempted to seize upon the Liz Truss disaster by presenting an economic plan for a separatist Scotland. The paper was quickly trashed by economists, including the macroeconomics expert Professor Ronald McDonald, who described it as ‘completely incoherent’.

One of Scotland’s leading businessmen, Sir Tom Hunter, who is open in theory to the idea of independence, pointed out: “It is not credible to talk up the benefits of EU trade, while ignoring the perils and costs of new restrictions on UK trade and border controls.”

It is a salient point and one that is relevant to Northern Ireland, where the protocol created barriers with our most important market in GB.

Invariably, separatists make the case for splitting up the UK either by ignoring economic debates, skating over the details or producing fantastical figures. In Northern Ireland, nationalists rely on the ludicrous idea that the government at Westminster would continue to pump money into the local economy, many decades after the Union had been destroyed.

None of this is necessarily fatal to the separatists’ cause, because their politics are fuelled by stoking grievances and resentment. In Scotland, doubters are accused of ‘doing Scotland down’ if they insist on deconstructing nationalists’ fantasies. In Northern Ireland, separatists simply ignore all the evidence that shows the protocol is causing harm.

Even in the current atmosphere of instability, the economic case for remaining in the UK is unanswerable. It’s important that the benefits of our Union are articulated consistently and clearly, even when the domestic political situation is turbulent.