THE latest State of the Union podcast has now been published, with the new parliament and its new mandate for independence under the spotlight.

National columnist Stephen Paton looks at what we learned from the Holyrood election results, and what we still don’t know.

With Scotland effectively split down the middle on the question of independence, isn’t that the perfect time to hold a referendum?

Surely, these votes are needed in times like this to answer key questions, not when the people’s setlled will is already clear.

READ MORE: Holyrood-run indyref2 may be deemed legal by Supreme Court, Adam Tomkins says

So when should indyref be held and what does it mean when politicians say it should come “after the Covid recovery”?

Stephen looks at all these questions and more in this week’s State of the Union podcast, which you can hear in full here: