AFTER the promise of a “once in a lifetime” vote on Scottish independence, the First Minister announced on Monday that she would be asking the Scottish Parliament once again to obtain permission to hold another independence referendum.

This was based on the claim that there had been a material change in circumstances – ie the UK voting to leave the EU.

However, within two days of the First Minister announcing her desire to hold another referendum, we hear that the stance on the EU has changed and they now won’t seek to re-join.

The fact that 25 per cent of the people who voted for independence in 2014 also voted to leave the EU made this stance difficult to understand.

The United Kingdom has also seen many positives since the EU referendum, which actually benefit Scotland, but of course the SNP conveniently choose to ignore these.

With the value of the pound lowering, it has actually increased exports of Scotch whisky and subsequent profits.

Euroscepticism in Scotland has been seen to increase in recent weeks, partly due to the positives being exposed, but also because of the way in which the EU has acted since Brexit and other countries wishing to follow our lead.

It may be as time goes on that Brexit is academic in the sense that if other countries leave, the EU may not even exist for us to leave.

It is time the SNP stopped their single-track pursuit of independence at any cost and focused on rebuilding the country from the last referendum.

Work with the other devolved administrations within the United Kingdom and the overall UK Government to work for the best outcome for all of us.

The SNP hold devolved powers, some of which they still choose not to use in order to further their grievance. It’s time they accepted responsibility and got back to their day job to improve the police force, health service, transport links, welfare and education.