James Cook

I'm a Democrat.

I'm going to make the case.

I'm going to argue the case.

Or, and I think this is more likely, he'll have more of a subtle approach.

I think he has to keep his...

key core supporters who voted for him for independence happy and he's not going to say I'm giving up on the idea by any stretch of the imagination but I think we will see him in the coming days and weeks saying I have heard what you the voters have said about the importance to you of tackling the cost of living, of making life more affordable, of fixing the health service and in his key priority of bringing down poverty.

And I think he will try to do what arguably the SNP did under Alex Salmond's first term from 2007 onwards, try to rebuild then or rebuild now a reputation as a competent, stable government and use that reputation

as a platform to argue for independence.

That is to say, I do not think he's going to be at the gates of Downing Street demanding an immediate referendum, because I think he recognizes the reality of where the public are.

Yes, support for independence is high at around 50%.

But what pollsters talk about, they talk about salience.

And the salience of independence has fallen away in the last few years as the issue that people want to be fixed right now.

I'm not saying everybody.

Some people desperately want independence immediately.

But that salience number has fallen.

So I think there might be a more subtle approach to it.

And also...

If he does that and tries to rebuild, and I'm not saying he can, and some people will say, you know, the SNP shouldn't have another go and they've, you know, public services, they won't, they don't have a recovery plan that will work.

And those debates will continue in the parliament behind me here at Holyrood.

But...