Scotland has been conned, not once but twice.
First in the Independence Referendum.
Second in the Brexit Referendum.
And, so far as I'm aware, the public and the media haven't spotted the subtle but important ways in which those referenda were rigged in favour of an England-based, Convervative-led Government and its preferred outcome.
Perhaps I should explain what I'm talking about.
Did you realise that the electorates for the Scottish Independence Referendum and the Brexit Referendum weren't the same?
For the Scottish Referendum EU citizens who weren't citizens of the UK or Ireland could vote.
For the Brexit Referendum those same EU citizens who weren't citizens of the UK or Ireland could NOT vote.
In the Representation of the People Act 1983 those EU citizens who are citizens of the European Union but aren't citizens of the UK or Ireland are called "relevant citizens of the EU".
Let's think about how that subtle rigging of the election in favour of the Conservative Government at Westminster played out.
In the Independence Referendum the "relevant citizens of the EU" had a vote.
In a setting where the UK Government played the risks to Scotland of exiting the EU, those "relevant citizens" would, I anticipate, have largely voted "No".
How many "relevant citizens of the EU" live in Scotland? I don't know. Do you?
If the Independence Referendum had excluded those "relevant citizens of the EU", I think the result would, at a minimum, have been much closer.
Perhaps "Yes" would have won and Scotland would now be deep in negotiations towards Independence.
But in the Brexit Referendum, those "relevant citizens of the EU" could NOT vote.
If the 2 million or so "relevant citizens of the EU" had been allowed a vote I think they would overwhelmingly have voted to remain in the EU.
An extra 2 million or so votes to remain in the European Union could have avoided the current Brexit Madness.
Scotalnd has been conned ... twice.
And, as far as I'm aware, Scotland hasn't even noticed.
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