FROM outside Scotland, the SNP getting a fourth term in office looks impressive. All the more so given their record. The SNP have failed to deliver on education, health inequality, care homes, ferries, renewable energy and have slashed local government while boasting of tax freezes for business.

But expecting matters such as these to be of significance is to mistake the nature of contemporary Scotland. We have moved beyond issues of delivery in government, or even accountability. In today’s Scotland, flags beat facts.

To give just one example: Scotland has an appalling track record in tackling drug abuse. Deaths in Scotland are more than three times the UK level. Scotland has a fatality rate worse than any EU country. The scandal reached such a level that Nicola Sturgeon had to sack the relevant minister — Joe Fitzpatrick.