It is worth pointing out that the referendum on the single question of independence may have happened, but we have not yet had a referendum on further devolution or home rule. That would almost certainly pass!
There are many things that could be done to prevent one, but I doubt that will happen. Ignoring the whining of the sore losers would be the best approach, followed by a referendum organised by central government in the mid 2030s.
In your humble opinion.
The population of Scotland might disagree.
Nicola Sturgeon is a panellist on Questiontime tonight.
Yes, obviously it’s my opinion. What do you think you prove by saying that every time I post my opinion? And, FYI, there’s nothing humble about it, it’s well though out and based on knowledge about the situation.
Specifically, the knowledge that independence for Scotland would be economically bad for the UK, and constant uncertainty almost as bad. That, by the way, is not opinion, and was well cited in your Scotland threads.
So, it is my opinion that national government should ignore calls for Scottish independence, considering the question settled - as all sides agreed to before the referendum - and instead concentrate on what’s best for the UK as a whole. If some Scottish MPs or voters aren’t willing to do that, they should be frozen out of government as far as possible.
Hopefully the majority will agree with me. I suspect it might take a few years of SNP meddling before they do, but no later than 5 years from the next election they, or any successor nationalists, will become irrelevant.
The political atmosphere here is febrile with the SNP likely to multiply its Westminster cohort by five or six, and to win a landslide on a devomax/home rule/independence manifesto. LibDems are close to being wiped out and Labour maybe retaining a handful of MPs. The Tories might keep their single. MP.
The 20160result looks likely to be a Labour rout as they are broadly seen as red Tories. The SNP will almost certainly remain the governing party.
Together with further powers won from a confidence and supply agreement, the future is rosy for a second referendum this decade.
Yes, which is why I’m against any party entering into such an agreement with the SNP. They agreed to be bound by the previous referendum, and should not be supported in breaking that promise.
Maybe you’re right, and they’ll get what they want. But maybe not, and they’ll overreach, piss off the rest of the Union, and in a few years we’ll end up with a Tory government that actually doesn’t give a shit about Scotland (unlike the current one that’s bending over backwards* for them, despite all the abuse they’re getting from up there).
*Honestly, the only way many Scots would be happy is if everyone from further south was bending over forwards for them…
The main point to recognise is tat so long as there is a demand for further devolution among the Scottish people (which all the polls show) and until that and possibly independence are dealt with in a referendum, the problem will not go away. If, as seems likely, the SNP will replace Labour as the Scottish left of centre party, and continue to dominate Hollywood, the problem will remain current.
Cameron forced the option of devomax off the ballot paper and that will come back to bite the Unionists.
No, there isn’t. We had the vote last year, remember?
Did we?
I must have been so caught up in the Independence referendum that I missed the vote on further devolution.
When exactly was that one?
As Arch Trout says, with the additional fact that opinion polls prior to and subsequent to the referendum show a consistent high demand for considerable further devolution ranging from additional powers to Home Rule to Independence.
So long as this sentiment dominates Scottish public opinion, ‘unionist’ and ‘nationalist’ alike, there will be a referendum problem for the UK to handle.
Not really, no. Central government can simply ignore any calls for a referendum, correctly stating that the issue was settled in 2014. In 20 years time, that might become an issue, but not before then.
Also, any MP who goes to Westminster with an agenda of breaking up the Union is a traitor, and should be treated as such. If the SNP work for the benefit of the Union, fair enough, but if they act to try to harm it they should be thrown out.
Your humble opinion again.
As Harold Wilson said, “a week is a long time in politics”. Continued pressure from the people of Scotland will ensure that the problem of further devolution through home rule to independence will be a live issue in the coming decade.
There is no legal or rational reason for treating nationalist MPs any differently from Unionist ones. The Union between Scotland and England was voluntary up to a point, and can be as easily dissolved as that between GB and Ireland, or as easily as decolonisation was eventually achieved despite backwoodsmen calling those fighting for independence traitorous.
Have you considered moving to the nineteenth century?
This is utter undemocratic shite. An SNP MP has a mandate from their electorate, same as any other MP. Traitor, ffs.
So clearly and concisely put. But I didn’t risk it.
As soon as you start excluding groups or representatives for believing something different, you are on a slippery slope.
Not beliefs, actions. Hijacking government of the Union with demands to break up the Union is not acceptable.
To whom? How do you feel about UKIP MPs, elected to break up another treaty?
I find UKIP generally reprehensible, and would have no problem with them and other nationalists being kicked out of the European Parliament. There’s a massive difference between breaking up the EU and breaking up a country, however, and the EU is nor sovereign over the UK in the way the UK is over Scotland, so the comparison isn’t accurate.
Any decision over Scotland’s leaving the UK should be made by the whole Union.
The comparison isn’t exact, of course, but we are still talking treaties ultimately here. It is entirely right for any SNP MP to act on behalf of their constituents. Same for UKIP, and Sinn Fein for that matter (although the latter is a bit of a special case wrt Westminster). Ditto anyone elected to the European Parliament, no matter their views.
In a democratic union it most certainly is.