Anyone who has travelled the well-trodden path from youthful idealism to the centrist ground of adulthood, will recall the moment of realisation that politics can only ever be about equality of opportunity, rather than outcome.

The notion that everyone can, and should, be gifted the same rewards, irrespective of their efforts and skills, is the preserve of those in their salad days, and a few delusional pensioners like Jeremy Corbyn and Bernie Sanders.

And yet, today it seems that distinction is increasingly blurred. It’s not so long ago that, no matter where you stood on the left-right divide, there was at least a consensus about what politics was for.

Political leaders were enablers, and you voted for the person or the party you thought was best placed to create the conditions to help you better yourself and the prospects for your children.

Today, it seems, that most people now believe leaders are providers and that when they don’t provide enough, it’s time for a change of government.

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Neil Mackay: Trump and Farage prove there is such a thing as Scottish values

Joani Reid: SNP should leverage 'brand Britain' to attract more migrant workers

People in the US voted for Donald Trump, not because they thought he had the best ideas to widen access to education or healthcare, but because he promised to lower the price of eggs on the first day of his presidency.

In Scotland, successive SNP first ministers have promoted the idea of the leader as benevolent provider, by lavishing universal benefits on voters that the country can’t afford, and which are........

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