THOSE stalwart infantrymen of the grand old Duke of York’s hill-climbing regiment might understand how a modern Scottish nationalist foot-soldier might be feeling right now. These last few summers have been marked by several alarums and excursions about an impending referendum on independence as it seemed that Nicola Sturgeon was about to sound the bugle. We’ve had summers of independence and assorted boot-camps for the SNP officer class to train for the oncoming struggle.

The recent massive independence marches in Glasgow, Edinburgh, Dumfries and Inverness have also suggested that the giant is stirring again and that the second referendum is nigh. And while the UK Government’s chaotic and dismal performance during Brexit negotiations has increased support for Scottish independence no clear signals have emerged from Bute House about the most propitious time for a second referendum to be held.

Following her meeting last week with Theresa May, Ms Sturgeon hinted that she would issue an update in the autumn about her thoughts on the timetable for a second referendum but this has caused nary a ripple in the Nationalist firmament. They have been here before and often. Those who favour an early referendum take solace from their belief that at the very latest it must occur before the next Holyrood election in 2021. To tarry longer, they say, would run the risk of the dream being scuppered by the failure to return a Yes majority in parliament. This possibility though, rests on a strong showing by either the Scottish Tories or the Labour Party in Scotland. Either is unlikely. Ruth Davidson and the band she leads have gained the dubious accolade of being by far the worst opposition ever witnessed at Holyrood. Nothing of any note has been said or achieved by the Holyrood Conservatives unless you want to include an assortment of racist, homophobic and anti-Catholic squawks from Billy Bob and Cletus in the banjo and flute section.

Nor are there any signs that Richard Leonard has what it takes to mount a serious challenge to the SNP. The performance and conduct of Scottish Labour and its leader have been overshadowed by the latest well-planned political hatchet-job on Jeremy Corbyn south of the Border, an onslaught that he and his lieutenants ought to have seen coming from a mile off, and not withstanding the laughably pompous reactions from Labour gnomes like Tom Harris and the aforementioned Murphy. Mr Leonard’s attempts at staging a long-awaited recovery for Labour in Scotland are further undermined by the remaining presence of so many senior people in his party who weekly appear to have disappeared further and further into the red, white and blue folds of the Union Flag.

As Ms Sturgeon ponders her next move on the constitutional chessboard she would do well to consider the radio interview last month with the Right Honorable Jacob Rees Mogg, the member for Old Sarum. In this the UK’s chief Brexiter cheerfully and politely admitted that it may take 50 years following Brexit for the UK economy to settle down. This was perhaps the most honest of Mr Rees-Mogg’s many pronouncements about Brexit. It should also signal to Ms Sturgeon that if she’s waiting for that moment when the Brexit situation becomes clearer before calling for a second referendum then she may be waiting for a long time.

This, though, hasn’t acted as a deterrent to two of the cornerstones of the UK establishment in terms of its attitude to the prospect of Scottish independence. In two extraordinary episodes the Ministry of Defence and the BBC have signalled it knows who the enemy is; that it must be engaged and that by jingo they don’t like it up 'em. Say what you like about the Bullingdon types who run these organisations they don’t waste time pretending we’re all in this together and signing up to rum platitudes about inclusiveness and woolly concepts about us all being equal before the law.

In 2016 the MoD revoked the security clearance of Chris McEleny, then working as an electrician at its munitions site in Beith, for his decision to run for the deputy leadership of the SNP. He was subsequently visited at home by MoD officials and questioned on his views about a range of subjects that included Northern Irish politics to, ahem … matters pertaining to Rangers Football Club. Now, children, can any of you guess why Ministry of Defence officials might be interested in Mr McEleny’s opinions on these subjects?

I’d say that Mr McEleny was jolly lucky not to have found himself kettled by MoD police on his way into work the next day. Soon afterwards he felt forced to resign his position. Happily, his contention that he was unfairly targeted for his pro-independence views found favour with Judge Frances Eccles at an employment tribunal who agreed that his support for independence qualifies as a “philosophical belief”. Thus, it was liable to protection under equality laws and the case now proceeds to a full hearing.

While the MoD’s behaviour here might be interpreted as sinister, albeit with a Dad’s Army edge, the BBC’s pursuit of two pro-independence websites was simply stunning in its incompetence. It didn’t quite match its stupidity in sending up a helicopter at the taxpayer’s expense to film Cliff Richard’s house but it was still something to behold. The BBC came off second best in the Cliff Richard shambles and in so doing scored a massive own goal for press freedom. Its strike on the websites, including the rebarbative but compelling Wings Over Scotland, was simply a ham-fisted attack on freedom of expression and its ultimate humiliation here too was virtually guaranteed. Its clumsy attempt to shut down the YouTube channel of Wings by citing licensing irregularities was exposed as an amateurish scam on the part of its London operation. It also deeply embarrassed the corporation’s Scottish employees who have often been the subject of unfair accusations of anti-independence bias owing to profound lapses in judgment by London executives.

The UK establishment got a fearful fright at the first independence referendum and it appears they still have nightmares about it. This has been a mere glimpse of what to expect during the second one. So bring it on and let’s not hang around any longer.