5 ms·
If people are generally upset about state of things for possibly various different reasons, and you only give them one lever to pull to "fix it", they're going
by ipqk 6y ago
If people are generally upset about state of things for possibly various different reasons, and you only give them one lever to pull to "fix it", they're going to pull that lever.
And that's how you get Brexit.
- tomxor 6y agoI have heard people explain (in person) this as the reason they personally voted yes! I think this is one of the three major factors that got it anywhere near a 50/50 outcome: 1. Voting on something as vauge as can be, 2. lies and manipulation, 3. single lever problem
- petre 6y agoIt was Cameron bluffing and the lever was the nuclear option. If it went the other way, he'd probably have more leverage to negotiate. Well, surprise. Too bad. I already miss the poor buggers. If Scotland holds another referendum, they're pretty much screwed because Northern Ireland is going to be next. I hope Nigel is happy now.
- rsynnott 6y agoWell, also, Cameron would never have expected to be in a position to hold the referendum. He made it as an election promise in an election where pretty much no-one expected a Tory majority; at best they were expected to be part of a coalition. Then things changed, and here we are...
- ben_w 6y agoI’m not a constitutional expert so I don’t have high certainty in my own belief, but: Can Scotland actually do anything about it if Boris Johnson just stamped his foot and says “no you cannot have a referendum”?
- petre 6y agoThey certainly can and have also exercised this. The UK was part already in the EU when the Good Friday Agreement was signed. "In March 2017 the Scottish Parliament authorised the Scottish Government to seek to hold a proposed second Scottish independence referendum." https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Proposed_second_Scottish_independence_referendum https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Proposed_second_Scottish_indep... "The agreement reached was that Northern Ireland was part of the United Kingdom, and would remain so until a majority of the people both of Northern Ireland and of the Republic of Ireland wished otherwise. Should that happen, then the British and Irish governments are under "a binding obligation" to implement that choice." https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Good_Friday_Agreement#Status_of_Northern_Ireland https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Good_Friday_Agreement#Status_o...