“WHY can’t they all just get on!”

If polls could express emotions then I like to imagine this is the kind of exasperation to which a poll published after the recent elections was giving voice. Commissioned by Our Scottish Future, the pro-Union think tank, it had two headlines. Less than a quarter of Scots think that the Scottish and UK Governments cooperate well today.

Nearly three-quarters want better cooperation. Not earth-shattering you might say. Human beings working together – it’s what we do, right? Amazingly, the poll found 7 per cent who disagreed. I had no idea the professional political class was so large.

Okay, so that last bit is a bit unfair. However, politics is a brutal and competitive business. Greasy poles are not climbed by being nice to your opponents. Point scoring is second nature. Little wonder the population watches on wearily, itching to knock heads together.

Nowhere is an inability to rub along more clear than in the fractious relationship between the Scottish and UK Governments. Lack of trust and confidence is rife on both sides. UK ministers question whether Scottish counterparts, whose mission is to break up the country, are acting in good faith. Scottish ministers complain the UK Government disrespects their constitutional position.

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As in any troubled relationship both sides have a point. I recall extolling to a senior SNP leader the virtues of improving how the UK works. His reply was short and commendably frank: “I’ve no interest in strengthening the Union”. And last year a senior UK Government ‘insider’ vouchsafed to this newspaper’s UK Political Editor the thought that Boris Johnson “outranks” Nicola Sturgeon and “has the pips on the collar”.

These remarks betray attitudes, which to outsiders appear petty and tiresome. The UK Government springs on devolved administrations a nasty surprise in the form of the UK Internal Market Bill. The Scottish Government refuses to collaborate on improving Scotland’s connections with the rest of the UK. And won’t play ball on developing Freeports, preferring exceptionalist Scottish Greenports – as if ports can’t be both free and green.

For both, this is short-sighted. Separating Scotland from the rest of the UK is a very bad idea. However, if that’s your poison, is it really smart to demonstrate you’re incapable of working constructively with your nearest neighbour?

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One whose currency you intend to use on departure, whilst leaving monetary policy in its central bank’s hands. And one on whose goodwill you’re relying to negotiate favourable ‘Scexit’ terms. That’s why Alex Salmond used to warble on about Scotland’s place in six Unions – including a UK social union – and turning Scotland from surly lodger to good neighbour.

If you think we’re better together, then the job is surely to show Scots the value of having two governments batting for them; that within the UK, Scotland doesn’t have to rely on a neighbour’s goodwill. Because when the UK Government negotiates with the Scottish Government a new post-Brexit subsidy regime, governance of the UK Shared Prosperity Fund, internal market exemptions or Scotland's fiscal framework, it’s not promoting England’s interests, but those of the whole country including Scotland.

Fostering greater trust and confidence isn’t impossible. Building better relationships, however, requires investment of time and effort.

Sadly, it’s not de rigueur these days to speak warmly of David Cameron. Yet in 2017 Nicola Sturgeon said this about him: “David Cameron, whose politics and mine are very far apart, always managed to have a personal rapport. You could sit with David and have a fairly frank discussion, agree on the things you could agree and accept you disagree on everything else, and have a bit of banter as well”. The fruits of that relationship were a fiscal framework agreed, City and Growth Deals for every part of Scotland struck and much more besides.

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With the elections behind us, is it too much to hope for a move from Cold War to a new spirit of detente? More in tune with the national mood and an overwhelming desire to pick ourselves up after Covid.

Early signs encourage. The PM is right to reach out to devolved leaders, inviting them to an early summit. And just before the recent election campaign, the UK Government published proposals, developed jointly with devolved governments, to strengthen how they work together. They reveal an impressive package of necessary reforms, most of which is already agreed. Remaining gaps seem easily bridgeable.

Are they really going to fall out over what to call the new devolution council? Word of advice – the more clunkily contrived the name, the more likely the media will apply a colloquial, short-hand, alternative.

And some UK ministers are apparently reluctant for the Foreign Office to establish an inter-ministerial forum for dialogue with devolved administrations because foreign policy is reserved. This is the tin-hatted defensiveness too often bedevilling inter-governmental relations. Is this really the ditch in which some ministers are prepared to die rather than have a package agreed? Unless Scottish ministers’ passports are to be revoked, wouldn’t it be better to take opportunities to explain to them why trashing abroad the UK’s brand isn’t the best way of promoting Scotland’s?

Boris Johnson is a warm and engaging character. His charm now needs to be deployed to improve relationships. And devolved leaders should reciprocate. The PM’s position within the UK is unique. He’s the only head of government whose responsibilities embrace all four nations. On his shoulders falls the duty of bringing people together. To put the full authority of his office behind change. To show the leadership of which he is capable. Chairing twice yearly meetings with devolved leaders is the bare minimum for a self-appointed Minister for the Union seriously committed to its preservation.

So get that package of reform agreed as soon as possible, Prime Minister. Wouldn’t that be the best shot in the arm for a country in need of a booster at this watershed moment?

Andrew Dunlop was an adviser to former Conservative prime minister David Cameron during the 2014 independence referendum

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