The writer is author of ‘Untied Kingdom: A Global History of the End of Britain’
In November 1967, a historic by-election in the South Lanarkshire seat of Hamilton catapulted the cause of independence for Scotland to national prominence, when the Scottish National party’s Winnie Ewing scored a spectacular victory in a staunchly Labour seat. Last week, those roles were reversed with Labour’s trouncing of the SNP in the neighbouring constituency of Rutherglen and Hamilton West, securing a massive swing of 20 per cent.
Labour’s win has been billed as a full-scale revival of the party’s fortunes in Scotland. But will it also put independence to the sword?