Implications of Brexit

In a New Statesman article quite critical of newly elected PM Boris Johnson (which article I distrust somewhat) there is nevertheless a YouGov poll cited (with no link) that has some interest. With the caveat that it may have been cited inaccurately, or out of context, let me share it with you. You need to know that a majority of Scots and Northern Irish voted against Brexit.

None of that bothers Tory party’s monomaniacal members: according to a YouGov survey, 63 per cent of them would apparently prefer to lose Scotland from the Union than forego Brexit, and 59 per cent would prefer to jettison Northern Ireland than stay in the EU.

What this basically tells you is that most Tory party members are essentially the English, not to be confused by clueless Americans with “the British.” The latter also includes Scots, Welsh, and Northern Irish.

Brexit is basically English nationalism, rather than British nationalism. It should be noted that the English make up 84% of the U.K. population and the Welsh (another 5%) also favored Brexit.

It is possible the “United Kingdom” might become less united as a result of Brexit. It might shed Northern Ireland, Scotland, or conceivably both.

Ironically, the EU isn’t happy with Scots’ separatism; major members like Spain and Belgium struggle with their own separatist movements. OTOH the EU has no problem with Northern Ireland shifting its allegiance to the Republic of Ireland, if it so chooses. The difference being that N. Ireland does not aspire to independence, as Scotland does.