The negligence of Councillor Alex Gallagher : three killer questions about independence he has yet to ask

Star blogger "Braveheart" (aka the newly re-elected Labour councillor for North Coast and Cumbraes) continues in his fearless quest to randomly put the word independence in inverted commas at every available opportunity -

"Agree Lab/SNP cooperation could be a good thing. Don’t understand: if Lab/SNP cooperation can solve the problems in Edinburgh, what’s the point of “independence”, which cannot?

...why destroy a working system? How would “independence” add value?"

Quite so. It's even more inexplicable that the SNP were actually trying to win the election in Edinburgh outright - now that really would have been a mortal blow to the cause of separatism. But what really puzzles me is that Alex regularly hits the nail on the head with killer questions like that, but never seems to get round to posing these equally vital ones -

1. If the combined effects of the gravitational forces exerted by the Moon and the Sun and the rotation of the Earth can already efficiently regulate the tides of the sea, how can "independence" add value?

2. Thousands of yellow wagtails successfully arrive in southern Scotland every spring after spending the winter in warmer climes. How would "independence" help?

3. Jocelyn has been very happily married to Brian for thirty-seven years. They enjoy bowling and talking to their pet parrot. Wouldn't "independence" just get in the way?

Of course, none of these questions become any the less perplexing if you replace the word "independence" with the words "a Labour government" - and nor does the question Alex actually asked, for that matter.