A really bad idea...

[birguslatro]

Nicola Sturgeon threatens to block Brexit.

That, like the suggestion to have another Brexit vote, would be a very bad idea. The reason's simple...

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2011_England_riots

Comments

[matgb]

Not sure what the riots have to do with anything. Have the police shot a man then beaten a teenage girl senseless when she threw something at a protest?

[birguslatro]

There was a vote to stay in or leave the EU. The vote was to leave. Those who voted to leave will rightly be angry when told they're not going to leave.

You're playing with fire when you talk about ignoring such a vote.

[matgb]

Scotland voted to stay in, she's the glorified council leader in charge of Scotland. She was very clear all the way through that a vote to leave the EU was a vote to destroy Britain, lots of people didn't believe her, now she's playing it as best she can.

And lots of people that voted to leave are already angry they were lied to.

I think we should probably actually go through the motions of leaving then have a second "did you really mean that you fucking morons" vote, because it'd go the other way if it was held today, let alone in 6 months time.

[matgb]

Having said all that, what she believes and factual reality are detached here, Westminster can overrule Holyrood on this, she can't actually do what she says. But she's playing the cards she's got well because there's enough leeway in the legislation to require a court ruling.

[birguslatro]

If she's sensible, she'll use the threat of it to get another independence referendum. She runs the risk though of Scotland being used as the scapegoat for leaving being put on hold.

I'm pretty sure sanity's going to prevail though. Sanity being in this case Scotland (and perhaps Northern Ireland) going independent and staying in the EU and England and Wales leaving. And it all being put in place before Christmas. Anything else will be a horror-show for you.

[matgb]

It already is.

The problem is that Spain will block any seceding country from joining, regardless, as they fear Catalunya and Euskadi doing the exact same thing.

Her only real chance is for Scotland and possibly NI to inherit UK membership while E&W leave the UK. Which is really messy and can't be done quickly.

Plus it'd probably need a referendum to ask E&W if they really did want to break up Britain (which is frankly doomed at this point anyway, it only just survived last time and the demographics point the wrong way unlike EU membership).

There's also talk of Northern England splitting off, not sure where that came from as the leave vote was just as strong, but it might actually work.

It's all gone horribly weird and I doubt anyone has the political authority to sort it out before Christmas. Except her.

Certainly no one at Westminster.

[birguslatro]

Spain would be arm-twisted by other EU members not to block Scotland from joining. (Assuming the EU would actually want Scotland. I can see reasons why they might not, as it'd say it's OK for member countries to dice themselves up.)

"It's all gone horribly weird and I doubt anyone has the political authority to sort it out before Christmas."

Realpolitik will prevail, I suspect. Too much money dependent on it not doing so.

[birguslatro]

You're in denial. Do you think the rest of the EU (or the world) will put up with those kind of shenanigans? You voted to leave. And you won't stop bleeding until the divorce is over.

[matgb]

Put up with it, no, and rightly so, but it's definitely the heir presumptive's plan, there's no way Johnson is thinking of actually leaving, it's all a stupid power play by idiots who've conned the voters with lies.