The National:

THE tears poured, and families and communities were ripped to shreds by it. The Scottish independence debate in 2014 caused unimaginable trauma right across the country. 

At least that seems to be the view of Scottish Tory chief whip Stephen Kerr. 

It's not quite what any of us remember, but on Twitter he claimed the lead-up to the referendum eight years ago was "gruesome" and any new version would be EVEN WORSE.

He said: "Thinking about it, one of Sturgeon's most incomprehensible claims was that the Indyref2 argument will be a peaceful and wholesome debate. It'll tear our country apart; 2014 was gruesome, and any new version would be worse. Dividing families, communities, and towns."

READ MORE: Boris Johnson responds to new indyref2 campaign launch

Does anyone recall anyone losing their leg or being beaten up in the street or disowning their entire family because of a wee X they put on a ballot paper? Didn't think so. 

As for the "new version would be worse claim", okay, maybe it might be a little more intense. It's Round 2 after all (ding ding!), there may well be some more bite. I mean, we kind of hope so!

But let's face it, it's quite hard to picture any Braveheart-type scenes with bodies strewn across fields and queues of couples outside divorce lawyers' offices because they can barely watch TV anymore without thinking about their different views on how the country should be run and the utter strain it's having on their relationship. 

In the words of Douglas Ross, give it a rest, will you?