Andrew Sullivan: evaluation

Transcript context

…But don’t they want to leave and keep the pound and the Queen and everything else, and just say “buzz off” to the English? Where can they go, really? Trade, language . . . ? I agree with you. Every time they’ve come up to this decision, it looks like you’re going to pass it and they always pull back because, in fact, the arguments for Scottish independence are incredibly weak. First of all, the EU would not recognize it. The EU is not going to have Scotland as an independent state because they’d have to do it with Catalonia and other elements in Europe which the Spanish, for example, would veto. I don’t think they have a chance to get back in the EU, even though they have these old — Scots: you go back to the 16th and 17th centuries, the Scots were always allied with the Europeans against the English. The French, primarily, against English. Maybe — I don’t know. I do think that Northern Ireland has been effectively turned into non-UK by the trade barrier in the Irish Sea which Boris negotiated. I think that Northern Ireland has definitely taken a step away from being fully in the union the way that Scotland and Wales are. Whether or not you agree with it, but what is the most convincing version of British pessimism? Is it John Gray? Is it Roger Scruton? Is it Fitzjames Stephen? Someone else? Is it you? Who or what is it? Because you are mostly optimistic. Who’s the pessimist where you are tempted to cross over to the dark side?…

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