The SNP is a coalition that behaves like a megachurch and when the spirit is low, the congregation remembers its schisms. One such departure is defence, because, for all they appear a homogenous rabble of bomb-banners to unsympathetic outsiders, the Scottish Nationalists are quietly but keenly divided on security. The combination of their current political funk and the poisoning of Sergei and Yulia Skripal has forced this into the open.
Nicola Sturgeon’s response to the Salisbury incident surprised some of her opponents and appalled some in her party. Her instinct was to tweet in support of Theresa May’s statement and package of sanctions, including the expulsion of 23 Russian diplomats. While Jeremy Corbyn went out of his way to avoid condemning the Kremlin, Sturgeon insisted:
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