Talking Politics 197: Not Over Yet
The Editors
In the latest episode of the Talking Politics podcast, David Runciman, Helen Thompson, Catherine Barnard and Chris Brooke discuss where we might be heading. Does Boris Johnson have enough to persuade the wavering MPs he needs to get his Brexit deal over the line? Do his opponents have enough to stop him? Can European leaders still force the issue? If there is an election, does it all change again? What's actually in the Withdrawal Agreement Bill? And what does it all mean for the future of the Union?
‘It is worth remembering the Conservative is a Conservative and Unionist Party and they allege that they are committed to the integrity of the Union as a whole. Of course then there’s a further dance going on vis-à-vis Northern Ireland apparently having a more favourable regime for understandable political, historical reasons, but of course Scotland feels that they haven’t been listened to at all. And this will start aggravating a tension that already exists and the question then is: OK, there might not be a Scottish referendum in a year or two years’ time, but within the next decade? I think it’s quite likely.’ – Catherine Barnard
Related pieces in the LRB:
Sionaidh Douglas-Scott on the constitutional implications of Brexit (May 2018)
Colin Kidd and Malcolm Petrie: Our National Hodgepodge (June 2017)
Tom Nairn: Unionism’s Graveyard (March 2009)