Can Scotland stop Brexit, or only delay it? (and would that be useful?)

[DailyMailEthicalFail]

So, after Friday, May says she wont invoke Article 50 until all 'home nations' are happy.
Obviously, Sturgeon says Scotland is not happy (despite a million Scots voting Brexit which was enough in itself to sway the balance).

1st Qu:
However it seems she has gone on to say that Scotland can 'STOP' Brexit.
I thought that the SNP lawyers had been over this immediately after the result and assumed that they couldn't, technically, or would have been speaking about it before now.

So, is there fresh info afoot, or is NS just spouting off?

2nd Qu: would it be useful if Scotland could either stop or delay it?

presumably the Stop would be wildly popular among Bremainers.
but might the delay give time for the rest of Europe to have a re-think and we could hold on in a reformed EU?

Is this what May is hoping for?
ie, stand firm on Brexit but allow NS to be the one to 'prevent' it and then they are both happy?

[AddToBasket]

I thought this short blog post explained Sturgeon's EU reception quite well.

[prettybird]

That old canard again. England gets the government it wants: there has only been twice in post war years where the Scottish MPs have made a difference: once with an unstable majority of one (iirc correctly) and the other an unstable minority administration.

Even if Labour had won every single seat in Scotland, we would still have a Conservative Government today

That's FPTP democracy for you.

[HelpfulChap]

NS is full of hot air.

The EU have already said Scotland would have to meet the criteria to join the EU after gaining independence. This would take years. Not sure Scotland can manage to prosper for the intervening years between leaving the UK and joining the EU.

What currency would they use? Any purely Scottish pound is very likely to be weak against their main trading partner, ie, the rest of the UK. The ecomonic forecasts the SNP made using an oil price of $130 were patently ridiculous. The average price of oil since records began is $47.

NS is trying her best to get the best for Scotland but cannot stop Brexit on her own.

If Scotland leave the UK the chances of England and Wales ever having another Labour govt are very slim.

[akkakk]

Akkak you're continually comparing a country to your village, that's ridiculous.

really?!

I think that perhaps you had better actually read what I wrote! I used it as a tongue-in-cheek comparison as to whether a minority group or population had the ability to self-determine government in the light of the population voting differently... not referred to it otherwise, quite how that is continual I have no idea!

I am more Scottish than anything else -well I can trace my family there back 1,000+ years, so I think we have some form of connection :) and I love the country dearly - however there is a distinct lack of realism, Scotland stands no chance of surviving on its own - I am not quite sure how much more devolution there can be when you see what is decided locally to Scotland - you can't have an area making decisions for itself which affect other areas, so there will always be a limit to devolution - and the Scottish 'Parliament' is hardly covering itself in glory with how it is running the country... Agree that all politics contains an element of sound bites, but that still makes no difference - NS doesn't have the power / legal ability / mandate to take Scotland out of the UK, or back into the EU - so to make promises when it is clear that there is no chance of making it happen is a bit poor...

[bluebloom]

Akkak you're continually comparing a country to your village, that's ridiculous. Scotland is a country with a population of millions & its own parliament. A lot of us are very unhappy about the autonomy that we do lack, that's not something accepted unquestioningly. Lots of people who voted no in the indy ref did so on the basis of Cameron's promise of further devolution, something which scarcely came to pass.
All politics is soundbites when it comes down to it. NS & AS are by no means the only politicians to do this.

[LunaLoveg00d]

is NS just spouting off

Pretty much. She and her cronies have a LONG history of stating as fact things which are very far from being fact indeed. Like during the Indy Ref when they stated "Of course Scotland will continue to use the pound" when the Bank of England said they wouldn't be able to, and "Of course Scotland will stay in the EU" when the top bods in Brussels and the Spanish government said they wouldn't.

Problem is that the SNP faithful lap up every word she says and believe it implicitly - if she stood up and said she could walk on water down the Clyde some of them would believe that too.

I voted remain and would like there to be some sort of free trade, free movement deal reached for ALL of the UK. If crunch time came though, I'd still rather Scotland were with England, Wales and N Ireland than out of the UK and in the EU.

[DailyMailEthicalFail]

someone below the pic has described NS as:
' a meddling wee fidget'.
I cant bear it when people describe female politicians by their appearance (which part of the rest of the comment does, which is why I've not copied it) but I do think the 'meddling wee fidget' is apt. In this pic NS expression is just like my 8 year old dd when she is planning trouble for her big brother!

[DailyMailEthicalFail]

sorry. not good at links. perhaps someone could come to my aid as it's a very funny pic (from Scotsman) of NS giving May the evil eye as May determinedly ignores her!

[DailyMailEthicalFail]

<a class="break-all" href="http://res.cloudinary.com/jpress/image/fetch/w_700,f_auto,ar_3:2,c_fill/www.scotsman.com/webimage/1.4179111.1468750107!/image/image.jpg" rel="nofollow noindex" target="_blank">res.cloudinary.com/jpress/image/fetch/w_700,f_auto,ar_3:2,c_fill/www.scotsman.com/webimage/1.4179111.1468750107!/image/image.jpg

Theresa May and Nicola Sturgeon pose for the cameras in Bute House. Picture: James Glossop/Getty

[RortyCrankle]

newstral.com/en/article/en/1033241567/scotland-does-not-have-a-veto-over-when-to-leave-the-eu-nicola-sturgeon-s-office-admits-as-theresa-may-tells-her-brexit-is-happening-whether-she-likes-it-or-not

I'm very pleased to see this.

[Corcory]

But I don't think Scotland would meet the financial criteria to be a member of the EU. Also Scotland is not a net contributor, England is so has little benefit to the EU.

[akkakk]

Akkak right but presumably your village doesn't have its own government, first minister & a recent (close) referendum on whether to leave the UK

It can be arranged :)

to be fair - Scotland doesn't have a full government either they certainly don't have autonomy

it is important to remember that a lot of Scottish comments by NS and AS before are bluster / media sound bites - no-one in her position can say we will do xyz when they don't have the power to deliver it...

AS saying that with independence Scotland would have Sterling was an absolute nonsense, he had no power to insist on that and it had been made amply clear that it wouldn't happen...

So with NS and her comments that Scotland will take independence and join the EU - nonsense and sound bites, there is no current mandate to become independent - nor does she have the power to even have a second referendum and Westminster had made it clear that it was a one off, so independence won't happen - and if it did there would be no ability to join the EU - the barriers are huge and the EU has made it fairly clear that it won't happen

as for The UK is one of the largest economies within the EU, and I think most countries would be in favour of trying to keep some of it if they had the opportunity, so it is in their economic interest to let Scotland join the EU. Really?! the UK is one of the largest economies in the EU, but that isn't a logical step to wanting to have Scotland in the EU - the financial significance and contribution from the UK is primarily in London, not in Scotland which on its own is really not an attractive proposition!

[Coffeethrowtrampbitch]

That's not entirely the case Kennington.

Spain have explicitly said they will not hear of Scotland remaining in the EU whilst being part of the UK. In 2012 Rajoy said 'No one would object to a consented independence of Scotland'. They would not object to an independent country joining, only a dependent one.

There are a few EU countries with officials who have spoken out in favour of Scotland remaining or being fast tracked into the EU, Ireland, Germany, and Poland.

The UK is one of the largest economies within the EU, and I think most countries would be in favour of trying to keep some of it if they had the opportunity, so it is in their economic interest to let Scotland join the EU.

[Iggi999]

Can we remember sometimes that the SNP did not hold a monopoly on people who wanted independence? They were not even the only party wanting independence.

[Kennington]

Scotland has few allies in the EU who support Scotland as a fully independent country. Belgium and Spain in particular don't want to encourage seperatism at all.
Another referendum on the Scottish question isn't in sturgeons interest now. Even if the scots voted to leave the UK , the rest of Europe wouldn't be too keen on agreeing to have Scotland back in the EU. This is all hot air. I think!

[ManonLescaut]

As to the Scottish population who didn't vote, one can only assume they aren't unhappy enough with the status quo to vote 'leave'.

[ManonLescaut]

Nah, we won't. We won't because The SNP has no answer to the currency question and no solution is mentioned other sterling. And the truth is some Scots want to tell Westminster to F off but not so much that they want to be outside the EU and the U.K.

That's not true. A floating currency pegged to the pound is a possibility. (As Danish currency is pegged to the Euro). It's not without difficulty, but given the economic disadvantages imposed on Scotland by a Brexit, it becomes a more attractive option than it was at the last referendum.

[Coffeethrowtrampbitch]

1. Could Scotland block Brexit? Technically, yes. For Brexit to happen, the repeal of the European Communities Act (1972) is necessary. Power to repeal this Act was partly devolved to the NI Assembly and the Scottish Parliament, and would require a simple majority vote to repeal.
   

The SNP could not block this, as they don't have a majority, but the Parliament could if any other party voted with them against repealing it.

The situation in NI is even more complex, as this legislation was also used to create the Good Friday Agreement, which may have to be scrapped if it's repealed. This would be unlikely to be popular, to put it mildly.

1. Will it be useful to delay/stop Brexit?
   

Too early to tell. The excuse 'The Scots wouldn't let us' would not be popular in England and Wales, quite understandably, but as Brexit could be halted by Scotland or Northern Ireland at least temporarily, it could be used to delay it if it suited the government. If there is an Indyref 2 which leads to independence, England and Wales would have to proceed with Brexit, and if it is a remain vote it will be a mandate for exit for Scotland, and the Scottish Parliament may repeal the E.C. Act. Then the UK would leave together in 2 (ish) years.

It will be interesting to see how long it will actually take.

[Corcory]

As for the currency question. Well I seem to remember Alex Salmond making such a big deal out of Scotland keeping the £ if we were independent but of course if you want to be a member of the EU you would have to accept the Euro no question. Alex Salmond is now saying that doesn't matter we will just have the euro! Two faced me thinks. Well I for one still want the £ and I like my Scottish £s thank you very much.
Seems to me that it is independence at absolutely any cost and that all but the most stringent NSP supporters should see that.

[peggyundercrackers]

All we can ever work with is the number of votes cast. That's the basis of democracy. If people choose not to utilise their vote then they have to accept what the majority of voters went for.

I agree with this but the majority of scots didn't vote to leave the EU - to claim this is only something a spin doctor could come up with...

[peggyundercrackers]

I think Sturgeon is a fantastic leader

deluded - she isn't a leader she is a dictator who's downfall will be her belief in herself, she is blinded by her own arrogance.

Imo May will desperately try to pull her to heel and fail, the Scots will vote for independence, form their own currency and stay in/re-join the EU.

Definitely not gonna happen. The people of Scotland wouldn't wear that even though there is a hardcore of SNP supporters. They are loosing support quickly through some of their policies and I think they are struggling just now - I don't think their support is a strong as they believe it is.

[Sooverthis]

41% voted to remain 59% voted Leave or didn't care NS really should be pulled up on this more

[Iggi999]

All we can ever work with is the number of votes cast. That's the basis of democracy. If people choose not to utilise their vote then they have to accept what the majority of voters went for.

[RortyCrankle]

I'm sick of hearing about how they voted blah blah blah. Up until now I have not wanted them to leave the UK but now I wonder if there's any chance England/Wales/NI can have a referendum to leave Scotland?

And whoever said we are not leaving the EU is WRONG.

Sturgeon is stuffed. Economically with oil at rock bottom, there is no way Scotland could survive. Secondly, she will have to join a long list of countries who want to join the EU and countries like Spain with their own separatist movements will be voting against.

Lastly, no way should the way 4 million scots voted, have any effect on the outcome voted by 17 million.

[peggyundercrackers]

But 62% of Scotland didn't vote to remain in the EU. Scotland has approx. 4.1 million people registered to vote - only 1.66 million voted to remain, the rest couldn't be arsed. Surly that means only 41% of scots voted to remain NOT 62% as the SNP and the media keep repeating.