AT PMQs in the Commons on Wednesday, SNP MP Philippa Whitford asked Rishi Sunak to clarify whether he believes that the UK is a voluntary union, a claim which has been asserted by British politicians for decades but which was contradicted by the recent UK Supreme Court ruling in the indyref case, where the judges decided that Holyrood does not have the right to hold an independence referendum, and for good measure added that Scotland has no right to self-determination under international law. As far as the British state is concerned the people of Scotland have no legal right and no effective means to decide for themselves whether they wish to revisit the question of independence, they must depend upon permission from a Prime Minister from a party Scotland has rejected at the ballot box.

Despite this obvious contradiction of the claim that the UK really is a voluntary union, Conservative and Labour politicians are keen to maintain the fiction, because they are aware of the damaging political consequences of admitting that they have been lying to the people of Scotland for decades.

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Philippa Whitford not only asked Sunak if he believes that the United Kingdom is a voluntary union, she asked him, if he does indeed believe that, if he could explain the democratic route by which the people of Scotland can choose whether to stay in it or not. If the UK really is a voluntary union, such a route must logically exist, otherwise, Scotland is stuck in a locked room without a key and British nationalist politicians are insisting that Scotland can leave any time it wants, but are refusing to say where the key is, or even to admit that a key exists.

To the surprise of absolutely no one, Sunak dodged the question, saying only: "We fully respect the decision of the Supreme Court and believe strongly in the United Kingdom."

As far as answering the question is concerned, he'd have been as well replying: "I love two sausages and a fried egg for breakfast."

This would be an answer which would at least have the merit of providing us with some concrete information.

Now the new SNP deputy leader Mhairi Black has written to Sunak asking him to set out what the democratic route to another independence referendum actually is, given that both the Scotland Secretary Alister Jack and the Levelling Up Secretary Michael Gove have recently claimed that "if an independence referendum is the settled will of the Scottish people, one will occur".

The people of Scotland made their settled will clear in 2021 by voting for a Scottish Parliament with the largest ever pro-independence majority ever, elected on manifesto commitments to deliver another independence referendum. This week's opinion poll for STV found that 52% believe there should be another referendum within the term of the current Scottish Parliament and a further 17% want another referendum but on a longer timetable. This means that 69% of people in Scotland want another referendum, most of whom want one sooner rather than later. Only 26% never want another referendum. If that is not the settled will of the people of Scotland, it's hard to see what would be.

Of course, we know that Sunak will fob off Mhairi Black with another non-answer, but that is all the more reason to continue to put pressure on this government because doing so exposes the deceitful foundations of this so-called union and ensures that Anglo-British nationalists like the Conservatives and the Labour leadership are not allowed to wriggle off the hook. This assertive approach from the new SNP leadership team is greatly welcomed, it demonstrates that Scotland is not content to be a supplicant and will not be fobbed off with Sunak's lazy and dismissive non-answers.

If those politicians wish to continue to assert that the UK is a voluntary union, the onus is on them to demonstrate how that claim is meaningful, and that can only be done by them clearly laying out how the will of the Scottish people is to be respected, especially if that will is not to the liking of the leaders of the Conservative and Labour parties. It is simply not good enough for Starmer and Sunak to paternalistically lecture us on what they think Scotland's priorities ought to be. The essence of democracy means that the people speak and the politicians listen, but Sunak and Starmer are still rehashing arguments from the 2021 Scottish Parliament election campaign, an election which their parties lost.