Polling

It is a commonly touted assertion of the SNP that all elections, Westminster or devolved, will be referendums on independence and if they achieve a majority of some kind then this will give them a mandate for independence. But what does ‘mandate’ actually mean? 

A standard definition (via Google) of a mandate is:

The authority to carry out a policy, regarded as given by the electorate to a party or candidate that wins an election.

Once thing is certain: the polls were wrong, again. There was no Blue Wave. There was no Biden landslide. Despite being a 'racist', Trump increased his vote among Latinos and Blacks.

One would think that the media would know better by now. In 2016, The New York Times' favourite pollster, Nate Silver, famously predicted that there was only an 8% chance of Trump winning. It was in the bag for Clinton.