AUTUMN: a time when the first leaves fall from the trees, and something stirs in the undergrowth at the annual SNP conference – namely, excited, impatient calls for another independence referendum.

It is as well to acknowledge the genuine passions behind the march in Edinburgh last Saturday, when tens of thousands of nationalists demonstrated in favour of a re-run of the 2014 referendum. SNP MP Tommy Sheppard declared that the march would be “the final decisive phase of independence for Scotland”.

The staging of the annual conference in Glasgow during such febrile political times is a platform for pro-independence forces to assert themselves, eager to kickstart the process whereby Scotland can finally secede from the Union. But there is a certain inconsistency in the party’s collective position. Thus an SNP MP, Angus Brendan MacNeil, suggests that the party stop dithering and find a way round the all-too-probable absence of an official Section 30 order that would permit a legally binding referendum. A fellow Nationalist MP, Joanna Cherry QC, says independence could be achieved through a “democratic event” such as a General Election. Both were playing to the gallery, reflecting frustration over what they see as the glacial pace of change, but both surely know they are whistling in the dark.

SNP MPs noisily threaten “maximum disruption” in the Commons in order to keep Scotland in the single market and customs union. Theresa May, meanwhile, still trying desperately to put together a deal that covers a withdrawal agreement and future frameworks, urges Nicola Sturgeon to respect the result of the 2014 referendum.

In interviews yesterday Ms Sturgeon again sensibly refused to be drawn on the exact timing of a new independence referendum. She is playing a long game.

Is it too much to ask the more impulsive voices in the party to calm down, and follow the leader?