“The political class in England - and this includes my own party - must very quickly recognise the Scots' right to self-determination. I am married to a Scotsman. All members of our family in Scotland voted against independence in the 2014 referendum. But at the last general election in December, all of them voted for the Scottish National Party for the first time in their lives. And they would now vote for Scotland's independence differently than in 2014. Scotland will become independent. For me that is one hundred percent certain".
(Ben Bradshaw)
This is not so much about his partner's relatives as it is about Brexit. The fact he made the above statement in an interview to a German newspaper tells all. As an exponent of Project Fear he is keen to see all the dire predictions come to fruition - including the breakup of the UK. Ardent Remainers like Ben would rather see our country suffer than flourish post-Brexit, such is their bitterness at losing the argument in 2016.
In any case, regardless of what Ben's partner's family are voting for, the opinion polls in Scotland have barely shifted on independence since the 2014 referendum. While SNP election victories are often mistakenly taken as indicators of a Yes certainty, most Scots don't vote SNP - 55 per cent voted for other parties in last month's election. Just one opinion poll in the last two years has uncovered a majority in favour of a Yes vote, another was tied, while all other polling has a No vote still ahead from anything between 1 per cent to a whopping 23 per cent.
Still, if IndyRef2 was to proceed and independence decisively rejected again, Bradshaw could always revert to his old favourite of blaming the Russians...
