What happens if there is no indyref2 before the next Holyrood election? I am of the view that the SNP (and other secessionist parties) have several mandates going back to 2016 which allows them to demand indyref2 because of Scotland being dragged out of the EU against her will. But what I think as Englishman is irrelevant, what matters is the views of the SNP and independence voters and supporters. Will they really enjoy not having the indyref2 they were…
Governing by opinion polls is a disaster in the making especially on nation changing matters. On Friday it was reported A second Scottish independence referendum could take place if polling consistently shows 60 percent of Scots desire a fresh vote, according to a senior U.K. Cabinet minister. The Scottish National Party has pushed for a second independence referendum since they lost a 2014 vote. They were emboldened earlier this year after pro-independence parties won a majority of seats in May’s Scottish parliamentary…
Just 33% of Scots want Team Scotland to represent them at the Olympics. This poll contrasts strongly with a Survation poll back in early January which showed 47% of Scots wanted a Team Scotland at the Olympics rather than be a part Team GB as happens in the Commonwealth Games whereas 42% of Scots wanted Scots to keep on representing Team GB (which translates as 53% v. 47% excluding don’t knows.) I suspect the difference between the pollster is the…
In my best Game of Thrones voice: INDYREF2 IS COMING I have been staying out the year of the next Indyref betting markets because it could get messier than the blocked waste pipes in the toilets of a large and busy Indian restaurant because the terms of the bet and whether the referendum was lawful could complicate things, however that might change because of the recent story in The Sunday Times. Senior Tories, including cabinet ministers, believe this position [saying no…
As Sting once sang, you can’t control an independent heart. Boris Johnson, however, seems set to try. In the face of opinion polls showing that the SNP are heading for an overall majority at Holyrood with a mandate for a fresh referendum on Scottish independence, he is giving every impression of a man who intends not to agree to one being held. Scotland is not yet a colony of Westminster. If, however, the UK government tries to block the clearly-expressed…
Rachel Ormston of Ipsos MORI Scotland and Ailsa Henderson from the University of Edinburgh look at the numbers. The story of Labour’s woes in Scotland is by now a familiar one. Having dominated elections in Scotland from the mid-1960s to the mid-2000s, the notion that they would return only one Scottish MP was once inconceivable. Yet in 2015, that is exactly what happened – a fate that was to befall them again in 2019, when, following a very poor showing…
If you’re a (Scottish) Unionist then it isn’t looking good, the tweets above indicate the worrying issues facing the Union right now. There’s some scope for hope, from this observer’s view it appears that debate is being framed as Scotland v. The Tories/Boris Johnson, with Scottish Labour and the Lib Dems absent from the debate. Once those parties join the debate we might see the arguments change. However relying on a party led by Richard Leonard to be the Gebhard…
Scotland could become an independent nation without another referendum if Scots elect a large majority of SNP MPs or if the SNP win a majority of the vote in Scotland at a Westminster GE. The SNP won 35 out 59 seats at GE2017 with under 37% of the vote.https://t.co/HAIRzuSZ58 pic.twitter.com/gElzpubu8c — TSE (@TSEofPB) December 2, 2018 Even though I’m someone who considers Brexit the greatest blunder this country has undertaken since appeasement I’m not a fan of another referendum until…