Ian Blackford's resignation is a chance to refocus for the SNP

Buried somewhere in the oceans of praise are a few tear drops devoted to some ­clangers that may have been dropped ­inadvertently along the parliamentary way. In short, nothing so becomes a ­politician “stepping down” as the act of him/her ­leaving the big stage.

The recipients of these obits are ­entitled to be somewhat bemused at the speed with which attention turns to their likely ­successor. The king is dead, long live whoever grabs the crown.

Thus do we find a flurry of features on ­Stephen Flynn MP, the man who ­assured us he wasn’t about to challenge Ian ­Blackford, on roughly the same day the latter ­assured us he had absolutely no intention of ­resigning his post. It’s not just the appalling Boris Johnson who can be economical with the actuality, as the late Alan Clark put it.

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The head of steam already built up ­behind Mr Flynn means, come Tuesday, he will ­likely be a shoo-in. Much of that ­enthusiastic backing comes from those who have heard and applauded his ­performances in the Commons. Which doesn’t include very many Scottish voters.

So his first task, if appointed, is to do some serious profile-raising. The fastest route to that will be to land some telling blows on the relatively new Prime Minister.

Rishi Sunak came into the top job with a fair headwind too. Many people, not ­natural Tories, hoped he meant what he said about his government having ­“integrity, professionalism and accountability at every ­level.” Heaven knows we needed some of that after the integrity-free zone of the Johnson years and the Trussonomics shambles.

Yet here we are, less than two calendar months later, with a Home Secretary whom a parliamentary committee said should never have been appointed, having driven a coach and horses through the ministerial code. A Justice Secretary facing charges of serial bullying in every role he held.

And, heaven help us, a group of Tory MPs are allegedly reporting a colleague to the police over accusations of rape because their own party hasn’t intervened. A job for the ethics adviser, you might think – except, since the last two resigned, they haven’t found anyone willing to grasp that properly poisoned chalice.

When they do, it will have to be someone with the autonomy and authority to get in there with the tacketies. We found out with Bojo what nonsense it was to have the PM being the final arbiter – essentially marking his own homework.

However, what might we want and ­expect from the new Westminster leader of the SNP in the Commons?

For starters, someone who doesn’t have their strings tugged by HQ. Someone with the courage to appoint a team on merit without regard to previous personality clashes. (There is NO party which is one big happy family; trust me on this. The SNP has as many big warring beasts as anyone else.) Someone, above all, who hasn’t gone ­native. Westminster has a very nasty habit of giving people such a sense of their own importance in that “venerable” chamber that they quite forget why they were sent there in the first place. Clue: it wasn’t to get comfy and overly cosy with other MPs from different parties.

There is a lot of talent in the ­Westminster team, and I’ve got a lot of sympathy with those who wish it were more robustly deployed in the cause of independence. Suggest as much; suggest that many could aid the cause more directly north of the border, and you get reminded that they are there to serve all constituents of all persuasions.

And they are. Which is why they hold constituency surgeries. And can raise ­local concerns in the “hallowed” ­chamber. But the folk who gave them a majority matter too, and they didn’t put a cross beside an SNP name because they liked their baby blue eyes!

Most of all, the changing of the guard at Westminster will make us focus anew on what kind of leadership we want, and which variety can get results.

Alex Salmond was a swashbuckler and a gambler. His style always had a whiff of danger. Provided he hit the jackpot ­often enough, his adherents were happy. As ­witness his manoeuvring David Cameron into a referendum. Yet also losing it. And we needn’t re-rehearse the sad saga of his falling out with his one-time ally and ­successor.

Nicola Sturgeon is cut from a quite different cloth. Hard-working and cautious. The perfect demeanour for seeing the country through the hard slog of a pandemic. Not a figure comfortable with issuing a rousing battle cry, however. Nor prone to delegation.

UNLIKE some, I have never doubted her lifelong commitment to independence. I do chafe at the pace adopted in order to have every legal i dotted and t crossed in advance.

If you look at the history of ­countries that gained independence over the last few decades, you will not come across many with a beautifully polished ­masterplan. What they invariably had was enough self-belief and chutzpah to bring more fearful compatriots along in their wake.

Keir Starmer and Rishi Sunak are ­actually quite similar personalities ­inasmuch as both are terrified of the more radical elements of their own party. Starmer is so focused on his tribe finally gaining power that there is no pre-election boat he would dream of rocking; no once-cherished promise he will not drop from the manifesto.

It’s almost touching how many of his adherents leapt with joy at his promise of ditching the Lords. Listen, I could ­re-paper my entire house with a half-drop pattern from previous identical ­propositions. Each sinking without trace, doubtless aided and abetted by those time-served members who fancy adding a daud of ermine to their winter wardrobe.

Meanwhile, Rishi, terrified at having another contest rather than a ­coronation, found himself in hawk to the right-wing ERG group. Which is why you find Steve Baker on the front bench (in Northern Ireland, of all places) and the ghastly Braverman at the Home Office from whence she can do maximum damage to human rights.

In short, what we need is a ­Westminster army with the sharpest focus on the goal of independence. Unlike ­Holyrood MSPs, they don’t have departmental ­responsibilities, nor public sector pay deals to sort.

Let’s face it, no matter how much they harrumph and holler about any other issue, the arithmetic of the commons means they have no serious skin in the Westminster game. In recent years, they have become a collective punching bag for those Tories who think shouting down opponents masquerades as wit.

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If these Neanderthals continue to get up and leave the chamber when a new SNP leader makes a contribution, I want it to be because they are scoring bullseyes. I want people scared of them.

In fairness to Ian Blackford, he ­regularly made more trenchant points to prime ministers than Starmer ever brought himself to do. Yet you sometimes felt his contributions were on the wordy side of sharp. In the terms of my own trade, he needed a good sub-editor.

This past fortnight, our movement has been searching for silver linings under the Supreme Court cloud. We’ve already had two pieces of research published which can only help underpin the cause. We’ve had evidence of the Yes Hubs making ­welcome common cause.

We now need a Westminster army ­prepared to go on a full-throated crusade, to ditch old enmities; to remember why they got elected.