The elections in May brought extraordinary success to the Scottish Nationalist Party, finishing the Labour Party’s 50-year dominance north of the border. Whether he will be able to do it with his wafer-thin majority is debatable, but Alex Salmond, the SNP leader, was looking for a referendum on Scottish independence within three years. Having given regional assemblies to both Scotland and Wales, many would say to Tony Blair as he steps down this month as PM, ‘Well what did you think would happen?’