Scottish independence

There’s an interesting perspective in this recent article, about the notion of Scotland exiting the Union and rejoining the EU:

If Scotland leaves the UK that will further complicate matters as the EU will not accept a new country entering the EU which has an uncontrolled border with England outside the EU, perhaps uses the English currency, has English nuclear submarines in Scottish waters, and will seek to have its haggis and eat it by wanting to keep the same trade, investment relations with England as it would like to have with the EU. The high state officials I spoke to were just puzzled by any question of Scotland rejoining the EU in the event of secession. No-one in Bercy or the Quai seems to have considered it an important question. 

I found that surprising, as these French über technocrats are usually thinking about most everything a decade ahead, all the more so under Macron’s tenure, whose European ambitions are well-known by now. Maybe it’s a bandwidth issue.

Lot of haggisims from the SNP.

As part of the EU they will have two border checkpoints with England on the M6 and A1 but will leave 22 more road crossing upoliced.

But I'm sure like the Brexiteers did they will claim such anomalies are not a problem and some yet to be invented technology will solve the any potential issues.

Matt Qvortrup, a politics professor who specialises in democracy and referendums, told the Sunday Herald that the SNP can only win a Scottish independence referendum by being more populist.

Can't see Sturgeon's SNP going down that road.

It would be great if the ruling is that a referendum can be called, but it seems unlikely if the pundits are to be believed. What I'm wondering is if the verdict is negative, will that energise the Scottish public, or are people so jaded with the doom and gloom of politics right now that it will be met with a collective shrug?

It’s no surprise at all that it was rejected, ultimately leaving Scotland trapped.

I suspect the Scottish government knew it was likely to fail, so what’s their next move? Continue to play the long game or go for more extreme measures(e.g hold a non legally binding ref to pile political pressure onto Westminster)?

100% correct.

The reverse psychology of galvanising previously ambivalent people, by telling them they are banned from doing something by a remote body in a different nation, is the surest way to bring that something about.

Sturgeon playing a masterful long game with all this.

Its good that there is finally a legal proof of how unfair it is and I think those in England on both the left and right really have no clue about why anyone would want independence (highly ironic from brexit types). Even those on the left on the likes of r/ukpolitics are usually vehemently anti SNP or scottish independence but ive never seen anything close to a good moral argument against self determination from anyone in this case, it always falls back to emotion over the survival of the Union even from the most rabid anti royalist socialists.

I am personally rather pleased with the court's decision.

I also think that Sturgeon and the SNP should focus on her own domestic problems and issues inside of Scotland rather than ringing the independence bell all the time, whilst asking and wanting more money from Westminster.

I am not saying that an independent Scotland can't live by it's own, but it would certainly be a mess if it's done by the SNP.

The real problem in Scotland is the SNP and it's only the SNP's domestic failures which bring Scotland only closer into dependence of Westminster.

There is a colonial 'the natives are not fit to look after themselves' bang off that tbh.

I can't see this doing anything but increasing the independence vote. If it was a deliberate effort to expose what is at the heart of the Union it could be a masterstroke.

Tbh I can see the Indy campaign running out of steam after this. The drive for it in Scotland is still very halfhearted despite all the bluster over Brexit and a series of disastrous British governments. The last few years have been pretty disastrous for the pro-Union argument on nearly every level. But there just isn't the stomach for change among a large chunk of the population.

The Catalan independence movement had a much more powerful drive behind it a few years ago (and mobilised far more people) but it's been stuck in limbo for the last few years since the Spanish Government cracked down on its leadership/outlawed any referendum. Given how lukewarn so many Scots are in comparison I can really see their campaign petering out, at least in the short term.

The biggest mistake the Scottish ever made was not voting Yes to Independence the last time they had the chance too.

Of course they could never have seen Brexit coming or the disasterus Governments and leadership or shall I say lack or leadership that the UK would have after Brexit.

If they could I am sure they would have voted for Independence then and be on there way to joining the EU.

I am really not sure how they are going to get out of the mess that is the UK now. Maybe they could do as another poster said and have a referendum anyway against the wishes of there London masters or they could go the IRA route if they were really that desperate for it. But that might not be seen as too good by the EU either

I think they will have to try and compromise with there masters in London someway.