Scotland at the crossroads

**NeverFeltBetter** · 09/05/2021, 5:00 PM

Round 2 then?

**John83** · 09/05/2021, 8:58 PM

I assume Boris would have to be dragged kicking and screaming into a referendum. In general, surely any British PM for quite some time is going to be wise to the risks of running a referendum they could lose, so how does Scotland make this happen? Mass demonstrations? I don't see any appetite for that.

**backstothewall** · 11/05/2021, 12:59 AM

Originally Posted by John83

In general, surely any British PM for quite some time is going to be wise to the risks of running a referendum they could lose, so how does Scotland make this happen?

I wonder has anyone considered taking over a post office...

**John83** · 11/05/2021, 3:08 PM

Originally Posted by backstothewall

I wonder has anyone considered taking over a post office...

I don't see that happening for now. Not enough unrest. When's the last time it happened in a Western democracy anyway? The ballot box is a big pressure valve.

**pineapple stu** · 14/05/2021, 8:35 PM

Not enough telegrams being sent these days either in fairness.

I wonder how comparable the scenes at the Capitol were to the GPO?

**John83** · 16/05/2021, 11:35 AM

Originally Posted by pineapple stu

Not enough telegrams being sent these days either in fairness.

The last telegraph office only closed in India about a decade or so ago!

I wonder how comparable the scenes at the Capitol were to the GPO?

Maybe an interesting comparison, and maybe a valid answer to the question I asked. I think there's a significant difference though between an attempt to overthrow an external yoke and an internal power grab, at least in the prospects for a stable democracy afterwards. The FPTP system the US uses has seriously undermined their elections as a pressure valve - you don't vote for who you want in power, you vote for the less ****e of two options - so I barely consider them a functional democracy anyway. People underestimate how much the Greens, Labour, PDs, PBP, Democratic Left, Social Democrats, etc., even Sinn Fein have been a stabilising force here. They all act to drag the policies of FF and FG towards more populist positions for fear of having their vote eroded. I won't say it keeps them honest, but let's just say you don't have to imagine how much worse they'd be if they didn't have those pressures on them.

**pineapple stu** · 16/05/2021, 12:59 PM

Yeah, America can't declare independence from itself, so it's not directly comparable, but I think there's enough to conflate the two still. The GPO was seized as the comms hub here; that's irrelevant these days and a more symbolic place would be taken instead (such as the Capitol)

It's not going to happen any time soon in Scotland of course.

**backstothewall** · 19/05/2021, 3:11 PM

Originally Posted by pineapple stu

Yeah, America can't declare independence from itself, so it's not directly comparable, but I think there's enough to conflate the two still. The GPO was seized as the comms hub here; that's irrelevant these days and a more symbolic place would be taken instead (such as the Capitol)

The strategic place to go after would be Faslane Navy Base. Holding a load of nukes hostage strengthens your bargaining position like nothing else.