Finally, there is epidemic. Despite all its vaccination delays, Scotland has protected its population far more than any country in mainland Europe, big or small. He did this because he is a member of a consortium where resources are stored and risks are shared. Britain was sufficiently foolish to spend millions of pounds building the infrastructure to produce a local vaccine – to know if it would never work. The stakes are placed, the military has contributed to the deployment and is a success that is amazing (and more than a little jealous) worldwide.

When Scott comes out of lockdown, when the death toll starts falling, it will be a central dividend. Like the holiday program, an injection of support from some smaller countries can match. Last year £ 137 of public money was spent in Scotland for £ 100 paid in taxes: a higher proportion than any country in the world. No new independent state could lose 27% – but when Scotland’s finances are integrated with the world’s fifth-largest economy, much more is possible.

The Scottish Conservative told me yesterday that if Boris wants to help next time, ask him to send it to Sage Sunak. And not just because the Chancellor has a better personal approval rating. He became the Union’s financial network: a reminder, which was perhaps the worst time in the history of peace in Scotland, was the Union. It is not (only) about money: it belongs to the family of nations.

It is not that such arguments have failed in Scotland. It’s just that they still have to be built with the same energy and power that the nationalists have deployed – and that many people in London have already given up. John Steinbeck said in a letter to Jackie Kennedy, “You spoke of Scotland as a lost cause.” “But this is not true. Scotland is a failed cause.”

The same goes for the Sangh: it is not a lost cause at all. But this will happen when enough trade unions come to see him.