The results could not be more stark.

South of the border a party calling for a complete divorce with the EU romps home.

In Scotland a party fighting for close ties with the trading bloc wins a comprehensive victory.

Three years after England voted to Leave and Scotland to Remain, the results of the 2019 European elections would suggest divisions have only grown.

Political commentators will spin the results any way they want, but one thing can’t be ignored — the two nations are fundamentally different.

The SNP, in power north of the border for well over a decade, show no signs of diminishing popularity. Theirs is a remarkable achievement.

Scots know they stand for independence and in election after election they win comfortable victories.

The inevitable conclusion is hard to ignore.

The anomaly, of course, is the SNP’s failure to gain independence when the nation voted in 2014.

One might have imagined that support for the party would be eroded after that defeat, but it has remained strong.

The question is, have they or can they convince the extra 5% required to swing the 2014 result in their favour? Certainly they have a chance. That Scots are disillusioned with the politics being served up at Westminster is beyond dispute.

Whatever happens with Brexit — and the shambles surrounding it can only play into SNP hands — the calls for a second independence referendum will become increasingly hard for those in London’s corridors of power to ignore.

The divisions between political sentiment and believe north and south of the border have never been more apparent — and that can only mean Scottish independence is closer than ever.