Second, the SNP shifted steadily to the anti-business, environmentally-obsessed left.
It pushed up income tax beyond even the exorbitant levels endured south of the border.
It campaigned relentlessly against the country’s most lucrative industry, the oil and gas under the North Sea.
The party tied itself in knots over the windfall tax, initially supporting the policy before then complaining it disproportionately impacted Scottish industry and should, instead, be applied to “all companies posting significantly higher profits”.
Many other policies, such as rent controls, displayed a similar disregard for both economic theory and history, while it splurged on various projects such as new ferries to connect the islands to the mainland.
The SNP’s alliance with the Greens led to crackpot initiatives, including a Deposit Return Scheme that looks set to pile costs on businesses.
On top of all that, it spent much of its time blaming Whitehall for the nation’s problems, while presiding over collapsing public services, declining educational standards, rising drug-related deaths, and an ever-lengthening NHS backlog.
Historically, Scotland, and especially the Edinburgh, Glasgow, Aberdeen axis, has always been one of the richest parts of the UK, at times rivalling London and the South-East in terms of prosperity.
Under Nationalist rule that has been on a downwards trajectory. Under Sturgeon, the deficit reached a staggering 22pc of GDP, only sustainable because of support from the rest of the UK.
While the pandemic may have been an exception, since 2015 the Scottish deficit has averaged 9pc of GDP compared to 3pc for the UK as whole.
If it were a separate country, the bond markets would surely sink it within seconds.
