For an image of the ‘progressive nationalism’ that has disfigured Scottish public life over the past decade, look no further than the Scottish Green party MSP Maggie Chapman. She was one of the driving forces behind the SNP-Green government’s attempts to make Scotland a testing ground for transgender ideology. Along with her Green party colleagues, Chapman is a major reason why Scottish voters are turning against the coalition government.

SNP members increasingly regard Chapman and her Green colleagues as an electoral liability they can ill afford. The green tail has been allowed to wag the SNP dog too often: over issues like gender reform, the disastrous deposit return recycling scheme, banning inshore fishing in some Highland communities and most recently banning wood-burning stoves in rural new builds. Many wonder why a party that returns less than 10 per cent of the popular vote in elections is allowed to dictate policy in so many sensitive areas. It’s a mystery that will probably remain unsolved until polling day, when the full cost to the SNP of its alliance with Ms Chapman and her chums becomes obvious.

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