The National: ‘Can an independent Afghanistan offer lessons for Scotland?’

It’s a tough time for Scottish nationalists these days. Polling for indyref2 remains static while the SNP’s own ratings have tanked. There are still no ferries or any sign of a workable bottle return scheme. And the Dear Leader has left the stage to be replaced by hapless Humza Yousaf: the biggest downgrade since Ian Blackford succeeded Charles Kennedy.

So no wonder then that the National – a self-identifying newspaper in breach of the Trade Descriptions Act – is forced to look elsewhere to make its case for independence. In their zest to cast off the British yoke, the hard-of-thinking editorial team have stumbled on a brilliant idea: why not study the 65 countries that left the British Empire and how they became independent?

Naturally, the National has chosen to gloss over Scotland’s own imperial past, with Scots at one stage holding a third of all top jobs in the Empire. But amusingly, their ongoing quest to proclaim the virtues of self-determination has led them to cite some unusual case studies from around the world.