Being dragged out of the EU against the wishes of a sizable majority of the Scottish electorate and being obliged to accept Boris Johnson as Prime Minister has boosted support for the Independence movement. That is undisputed.

The experience of being reminded of Scotland’s impotence in decision-making of the utmost significance for our cultural, political, social and economic future, has been a reality check for many. The experience since then of the open contempt of the Tory Government for the views of the Scottish Parliament, in the process of negotiating the exit, has been like a slap in the face.

The election result in December 2019 and opinion polls since, have confirmed that a referendum decision, pre-campaigning, is already too close to call and support for the SNP is secure at a level by which they dominate the Scottish political landscape.

Already, we see signs that Tom Gordon’s assessment the impact of Coronavirus is wrong and that the virus seems more likely to be a threat to the Union than to the prospects of Independence.

In ways comparable to the Brexit experience, the Scottish people are being dragged out of a common global strategy to control an epidemic in the interests of small economic elites, wedded to an ugly and harsh philosophy. Just as Brexit was really about protecting those elites from the costs of EU policies on the environment, workers’ rights and on the fair taxation of profits currently hidden in offshore tax havens, so the Johnson regime’s ‘herd immunity’ strategy is all about protecting those same interests from the costs of shutting down parts of the economy to protect the old, the sick and the poor.

The UK is ‘out on a limb’ in this strategy in trying to time any shutting-down of schools and business activity so as to minimise the economic damage, using the pretence that their concern is for the ability of those most at risk and those with symptoms, to cope psychologically in an extended period of isolation.

We hear, from the Johnson regime and its chosen advisors, talk of ‘taking it on the chin’ from those who know their chins are protected by private healthcare already distanced life-styles and encouraging others, too young to do so, to remember the ‘Spirit of the Blitz.’

This talk will not resonate with many in England far less in Scotland, where the talk from politician has been about protecting the weak.

Gordon is correct to argue that, in the midst of an epidemic, no one wants talk of a referendum or indeed, of any politics not about the epidemic. However, when time has passed and people are able to look back and consider the outcomes of political decisions and the performance of public services, as with Brexit, ‘the chickens will come home to roost’ and the constitutional question will become more relevant.

Already, we have witnessed signs of a sharp divide between the more careful scientific consensus-based, WHO, approach of the Scottish Government and the risk-taking minority-opinion approach of Westminster.  Already we’ve had the ugly sight of Johnson and his tame media childishly condemning statements and actions by the Scottish Government before then following them as pressure to act before it is too late, mounts.

Distracted though we are, an increasingly negative view of the Johnson regime is already seeping into the collective consciousness. As events become more dramatic, as the deaths climb and as services struggle to cope, so the differences in both political actions and the performance of services will become clear.

Nicola Sturgeon will continue to suggest actions based on scientific advice and be accused of point-scoring by Johnson loyalists but, crucially, not all of media will line up behind him. The Express will attack directly with lies and distortion and BBC Scotland will attempt to hide anything that puts the SNP Government, NHS Scotland and other services in too good a comparative light, but the others including BBC UK, other broadcasters and much of the press will not be afraid to tell it as they see it.

As with Brexit, the middle-class educated media elite, which dominates in England, dislikes and fears the Tory right wing far more than they do the SNP. Though not by any means friends of the Scottish independence movement, they will, as they have done in the last few days, not hesitate to talk of Scotland ‘leading the way’ or of services here performing better than in some part of the rest of the UK.

Looking around last night and today, even the Herald was prepared to join in the strong criticism of the UK Government’s strategy and BBC Scotland is recognising the Scottish Government’s £320 million coronavirus rescue package for business.

None of us wishes for mass deaths among the old, the weak and the poor but the current reports of catastrophic failure to protect patients in many parts of NHS England offer little room for optimism in the months to come.

As we look back in months to come, might the statements and the actions of the Scottish Government along with a clearly more effective performance by public services here have produced a political landscape where independence makes more and more sense?