Nicola Sturgeon and Rishi Sunak's smiles mask a deep political divide

Legend has it that my brilliant, precocious workfellow Kenny Macintyre erstwhile secured an interrogation with Margaret Thatcher by jumping retired of a broom cupboard successful her hotel.

Times person changed somewhat.

These days astir journalists are fortunate to get wrong a mile of a premier curate connected a governmental visit.

Rishi Sunak's travel to Scotland was nary exception. It was cautiously choreographed and tightly controlled.

Watched by a precise tiny set of invited media, helium began his sojourn to the Highlands by toasting marshmallows with Sea Scouts, and chatting astir hunt and rescue with exigency workers.

The antheral who famously loves Coca-Cola fizzed with vigor and seemed extraordinarily enthused astir it all.

Not that immoderate passing subordinate of the nationalist would beryllium apt to witnesser that for themselves.

When Mr Sunak arrived for meal with First Minister Nicola Sturgeon a flashy Land Rover with an authoritative operator shuffled backwards and forwards blocking our cameraman's valiant efforts - ineligible and connected nationalist onshore - to movie him entering the hotel.

Photographs issued aboriginal by Number 10 showed the 2 leaders shaking hands and smiling broadly.

The person of the Conservative and Unionist Party had meal with the person of the enactment committed to ending the union, and the River Ness continued to unreserved to the sea.

You mightiness deliberation that specified big enactment is simply a debased bar, the implicit minimum we could expect from our governmental leaders. After all, careless of their differences, some politicians tally governments which simply indispensable enactment unneurotic time successful time out.

Maybe, but successful information that barroom has not ever been cleared successful caller years.

The archetypal curate struggled to fell her contempt for Boris Johnson. Liz Truss promised to disregard Ms Sturgeon and, during her little tenure successful Downing Street, was arsenic bully arsenic her word.

Still, the Sunak/Sturgeon love-in lone goes truthful far.

It was striking that some went retired of their mode to debar being seen successful nationalist together.

Although a woody to make 2 "green freeports" connected the firths of Cromarty and Forth was billed arsenic a associated announcement betwixt the UK and Scottish governments, lone 1 of the 2 - Mr Sunak - was contiguous for the formalities successful Invergordon.

Ms Sturgeon was backmost successful the cardinal loop chairing a situation gathering astir the exigency successful the NHS.

In information aft Thursday night's dinner, which lasted abour an hr and a quarter, the archetypal curate was disconnected similar a rocket, giving the astir perfunctory of interviews to the BBC successful the murk extracurricular the hotel, her enactment frosting connected the chilly Highland air, earlier heading backmost down the A9.

A elder subordinate of her retinue who complained astir the acold was fixed abbreviated shrift by a writer (OK, me) who had been lasting extracurricular for respective hours.

Both sides described their chat arsenic "cordial", but let's not get carried away. The wide grins successful the authoritative pictures belie heavy governmental differences.

I'm told that topics which came up astatine the gathering included nationalist assemblage strikes, wherever the Conservatives and the SNP are sharply astatine odds.

The UK authorities has tabled authorities which would springiness its ministers the powerfulness to guarantee minimum work levels during concern enactment successful definite captious sectors - specified arsenic hospitals, firefighting and the railways - which would curtail the close of immoderate workers to strike.

It says the projected instrumentality - which would use successful England, Scotland and Wales - is indispensable to "ensure the information of the British public".

Labour telephone it a measure for sacking nurses. The Scottish authorities says Westminster already has immoderate of the astir restrictive anti-strike authorities of immoderate ideology and describes the proposals arsenic a further onslaught connected workers' rights.

There is besides disagreement astir NHS funding.

Ms Sturgeon wants much wealth from Westminster. Doesn't she always, accidental her critics.

Mr Sunak says backing is already astatine a grounds level - and rising. The taxable of the existent exigency successful the NHS reportedly took up much than fractional of the talks.

Another country of quality is Brexit. The brace stay astatine likelihood implicit the economical interaction of the UK's exit from the European Union, which was opposed by 62% of Scottish voters successful the 2016 referendum.

Then - you knew it was coming - determination is independence, connected which subject, I americium told, determination was a "robust" speech of views astatine the meal table.

The arguments are well-rehearsed. The SNP person insists she has a cast-iron mandate for different referendum due to the fact that successful 2021 Scottish voters returned a bulk of MSPs (SNP and Greens) to the Scottish Parliament who had made manifesto pledges to clasp one.

Mr Sunak says the radical of Scotland would similar a "relentless focus" connected the rising outgo of living. His allies accidental the past happening anyone needs close present is much divisive law upheaval.

The nationalist question is not going distant though. Polls suggest Scotland is divided much oregon little down the mediate connected whether oregon not to permission the UK and go an autarkic country.

Expect to perceive a batch much astir this arsenic wintertime turns to spring, with the SNP holding a peculiar league to sermon Ms Sturgeon's effort to crook the adjacent wide predetermination into a de facto referendum connected the subject.

And yet determination is astir apt the astir contentious contented of the hr - gender.

Last period the Scottish Parliament voted successful favour of making it easier to legally alteration gender, clearing distant aesculapian and administrative barriers successful favour of a process of self-declaration.

But earlier immoderate Holyrood authorities tin person royal assent, the UK authorities has a model successful which to determine whether it wants to object.

One means of doing truthful is acceptable retired successful Section 35 of the Scotland Act 1998 (the instrumentality which sets retired the model of devolution) which allows for the Scottish Secretary Alister Jack to artifact the measure from receiving royal assent if helium has "reasonable grounds to believe" that it "would person an adverse effect" connected the cognition of the instrumentality arsenic it applies to matters reserved to Westminster, alternatively than devolved to Holyrood.

That atomic enactment has ne'er been utilized - but Number 10 is said to beryllium considering it this clip connected the grounds that the caller Scottish instrumentality mightiness beryllium said to interfere with UK-wide equalities legislation, which provides for the proviso of female-only services.

The archetypal curate insists it does thing of the sort, saying the measure is some the close happening to bash and wrong Holyrood's legislative competence.

Apparently the 2 leaders focused connected the legislative process alternatively than debating the substantive contented connected Thursday night.

He added that his authorities was awaiting last proposal connected the substance earlier deciding however to proceed, a signifier helium described arsenic "entirely standard".

Ms Sturgeon's authoritative spokesperson told maine the Scottish authorities would "vigorously contention immoderate effort to undermine the antiauthoritarian volition of the Scottish Parliament".

The deadline for a determination is adjacent week, mounting the signifier for a imaginable battle, encompassing not conscionable the civilization wars but the highly-charged contented of the constitution.