It may actually be in Ukip’s interest to lose the EU referendum

Will the country be torn apart by the EU referendum? That’s the argument made by Chris Deerin on the capitalist running dog website CapX. Deerin, a Scottish Unionist, says it’s now Great Britain’s turn to go through the same painful and divisive process that Scotland endured last year.

Personally I doubt that will happen, although it’s possible that a slender vote in favour of remaining in the EU may in the long term be divisive.

The main problem with the analogy is that there is just no Ukip equivalent of the aggressive Scottish nationalists who shouted at Jim Murphy. There is a Kipper version of the Cybernats, but even online they are proportionally smaller, and less demented. Sure the party has plenty of oddballs, but it’s not comparable to the SNP’s real-world aggression; for one thing they have nothing like the critical mass.

Many Scottish unionists spoke of a feeling of intimidation last year, which scared them off putting up No placards, but such an atmosphere would be extremely unlikely in England in 2017, even in the most eurosceptic parts of the East Midlands and East Anglia.