If Brexit confirms anything it is that the UK is a source of disunity rather than unity across the British Isles. Established in 1707 in the interests of a rising mercantilist class with colonial ambitions, in 2018 though the British Empire that was forged in service to those ambitions is not thankfully no more, the ideology and warped worldview it cultivated remains rigidly present within its ruling class.
Scotland is not and has never been a region within the UK. It is and has always been a partner nation of the UK. But as the crisis spawned by Brexit continues to intensify, it is clear that for the UK political class Scotland should know its place as the former, rather than expect to be respected on the basis of the latter.
It is why, just four years after the referendum on Scottish independence in 2014, the issue of Scottish independence is not only back on the table, but back on it with a vengeance.
Academic and former Scottish National Party MP, Paul Monaghan, joins us to help us navigate our way through the rapids of a Brexit crisis that is not the cause of the unsustainability of the UK, but instead is merely its most egregious manifestation.
Hard Facts is out Wednesday. You can join in the conversation here.