THE First Minister has reaffirmed her commitment to holding a second independence vote in this parliamentary term - saying that to deny the SNP's mandate would be undemocratic of the Tories in London.
But do the Tories in London care much about democracy? Moves to introduce voter ID, which have been widely interpreted as an attempt at voter suppression, would suggest otherwise.
Another undemocratic part of the UK, the royal family, has also hit the headlines recently.
READ MORE: Prince William and Kate hold secret talks with Gordon Brown on independence
Prince William has given a special speech, just one part of the coming intervention in the pro-Union propaganda drive.
National columnist Stephen Paton looks at all this in more in the latest State of the Union podcast.
You can listen to it in full here:
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