The UK is currently a non-functioning democracy. The Prime Minister has handed in his notice and has no nominated successor. The leader of the Opposition has just been served with a vote of no confidence by 80% of his own MPs. Parliamentarians are openly discussing overturning the result of a democratic referendum. People are pretending that Angela Eagle is a credible future Prime Minister.
We’re currently trying to write an article summarising the state of UK politics, but our brains keep exploding two sentences in. So in the meantime we thought we’d share this just-released image from YouGov with you, for the benefit of anyone dim enough to ever put any stock by bookmakers’ odds as predictors of the future.
The people (of England) have spoken, and their elected representatives are freaking out all over the shop.
Several senior Labour and Liberal Democrat MPs have openly called for the result of a democratic referendum to be overturned by Parliament against the wishes of voters. The Prime Minister has quit, the Chancellor is expected to follow on Monday, and half of the Labour shadow cabinet is apparently doing it as we speak, after Jeremy Corbyn fired Hilary Benn for planning a coup.
(Apparently including Ian Murray, the shadow Scottish Secretary who’s also the only Scottish Labour MP at Westminster, putting the party in the farcical position of having to find itself a spokesman on Scottish affairs who either sits in an English or Welsh seat or is an unelected lord.)
Labour MPs are also demanding Corbyn’s head, in essence for the crime of his being hugely popular with the party’s membership for reflecting the old-fashioned left-wing ideology and views that they actually believe in, rather than the “moderate” neo-Tory position of Blairite parliamentarians. Corbyn shows no sign of going.
It’s been suggested that the Scottish Parliament could in fact block any attempt by the UK to leave (though it seems unlikely). Britain faces a future without Milky Way Magic Stars. UK politics, to put it mildly, is in chaos. So what the hell’s going on?
Scotland (overwhelmingly) and Northern Ireland (less so) have voted to stay in Europe while England (decisively) and Wales (narrowly) have voted to leave. Northern Ireland has its own choices to make, but Scotland must now hold a second referendum.
Yesterday the UK as a whole voted to leave the European Union, while Scotland voted to stay in. Unless something is done, Scotland will be dragged out of the EU against its clearly-expressed will – the margin for Remain was two and a half times the margin for No in 2014.
The temptations for Yes voters are almost overwhelming. The rage that many of them feel is genuine and fully justified. Scotland was lied to remorselessly and relentlessly throughout the indyref campaign, threatened and bullied and cowed into staying in a fantasy UK bearing no resemblance to the one we now find ourselves in.
The sheer irony of the UK plunging into exactly the sort of calamitous uncertainty we were told would befall an independent Scotland would test the character of a saint.
And for everyone whose restraint is being stretched to the very limits of its endurance today, we have a two-word message: George Square.
The game just changed, readers. We’ve been up all night. We’ll have some analysis for you in a few hours. For now, spend a few moments pondering who the “narrow nationalists” and “separatists” in the UK are.
We know it’s early doors, but we’re going to state with some confidence now that this is the Tweet Of The Night:
Yes, that really is Tim Stanley, leader writer of the Telegraph, complaining about being up against the British establishment in a referendum. (In which Leave was supported by, among others, the Sun, the Daily Mail, the Telegraph, and the Daily Express – the #1, #2, #4 and #6 best-selling newspapers in the country – along with around half of the MPs of the governing party.)
For extra fun, we might collect some of his indyref tweets later. But to the very best of our recollection, he didn’t consider the Yes campaign’s 45% – which really WAS achieved against the entire British establishment, without a single daily newspaper’s support – as a “moral victory”.
(Part of a fairly major volte-face by Harris on who should control what in Scotland, but let’s not get into that right now.)
On the face of it, this is a perfectly feasible possibility, since devolution was set up on a “reserved list” basis – any issues not specifically reserved to Westminster are devolved to the Scottish Parliament. In theory this would indeed mean that powers over farming and fishing would revert to Holyrood automatically upon exit from the EU.
(And even that view is conditional on whether you consider Scottish independence the most important political goal of your life. If it’s more important to you to be out of the EU than out of the UK then clearly you’ll be voting Leave and there’s nothing we could say that would change your mind.)
But what if you happen to be a supporter of Scottish independence who DOESN’T live in Scotland? What then?
factchecker on Let’s Call The Whole Thing Off: “I keep reading that Scots were told that the Union meant that England and Scotland would be treated as equals…” Mar 28, 15:41
Mark Beggan on Let’s Call The Whole Thing Off: “Great Scots of their time. John Witherspoon born in East Lothian, minister of the laigh kirk in Paisley. A founding…” Mar 28, 14:45
willie on Let’s Call The Whole Thing Off: “Filled up with diesel today at a cost of £1.84 a litre. Up +28.7% from the £1.43 cost a couple…” Mar 28, 14:43
Mark Beggan on Let’s Call The Whole Thing Off: ““Out of the west come a curious fool He tried to impress me with his furious cool He lied from…” Mar 28, 13:21
Mark Beggan on Let’s Call The Whole Thing Off: “Oops that should have been “In times of famine… This is what Goebbels wrote in his diary when his boss…” Mar 28, 11:07
Mark Beggan on Let’s Call The Whole Thing Off: “Der giftswerg, 1941. “I’m times of famine even the devil eats flies.”” Mar 28, 10:53
Sven on Let’s Call The Whole Thing Off: ““A liar knows that he is a liar, but one who speaks mere portions of truth in order to deceive…” Mar 28, 09:54
Alf Baird on Let’s Call The Whole Thing Off: “Dinna fash yersel, Northcode, mair is revealed ivvery day aboot Scotland’s colonial condeetion: “Indictment at the United Nations: A Report…” Mar 28, 09:12
Northcode on Let’s Call The Whole Thing Off: “In 1941, Goebbels wrote: “The English follow the principle that when one lies, one should lie big, and stick to…” Mar 28, 08:55
Northcode on Let’s Call The Whole Thing Off: “Joe Goebbels’ ‘Big Boss’, *Adalwolf, had already written about the ‘Big Lie’ in his best seller (only rivalled in sales…” Mar 28, 08:32
Mark Beggan on Let’s Call The Whole Thing Off: “@Geri I was going to lend you my first edition copy of 1984 but it would be like giving a…” Mar 28, 01:18
Geri on Let’s Call The Whole Thing Off: “That’s an aye then & even I spotted that in two seconds flat. PS, you do know yer ballot is…” Mar 27, 23:03
Mark Beggan on Let’s Call The Whole Thing Off: “That’s like asking a pedophile to take charge of the day care centre.” Mar 27, 21:23
Mark Beggan on Let’s Call The Whole Thing Off: ““A lie told often enough becomes the truth.” Vladimir Lenin.” Mar 27, 21:06
Mark Beggan on Let’s Call The Whole Thing Off: ““The price we pay for freedom is the right to disagree.” Benjamin Franklin.” Mar 27, 21:00
Mark Beggan on Let’s Call The Whole Thing Off: “Are you scared James? Because if the Fascists get power in England and Wales it’s good night woo woo land.” Mar 27, 20:54
Mark Beggan on Let’s Call The Whole Thing Off: “Maybe Ayes an maybe Naws. Like the Indy election you’ll never know. That’s the beauty of the ballot box.” Mar 27, 20:49
Alf Baird on Let’s Call The Whole Thing Off: “One wonders whose rights public inquiries undertaken within colonial societies would seek to defend, the colonizer or the colonized?” Mar 27, 20:41
agentx on Let’s Call The Whole Thing Off: “Captain Caveman says: I’m a Reform voter and I’m still here. _______________________________________________- thanks – you could have said that the…” Mar 27, 19:40
Geri on Let’s Call The Whole Thing Off: “Have you heard what ex Tory MP Andrew Bridgen says about these gangs? Go watch him whistleblow what is really…” Mar 27, 19:35
Captain Caveman on Let’s Call The Whole Thing Off: “You asked were there any Reform voters left on here and I said “Hi!” Not really sure how ambiguous that…” Mar 27, 19:12
Geri on Let’s Call The Whole Thing Off: “Was there any to begin with? They’re just disgruntled Tories. Same shit, different party. Do we know what it is…” Mar 27, 19:12
agentx on Let’s Call The Whole Thing Off: ““On February 25, 2026, the Scottish Government ordered a public inquiry into grooming gangs, marking a significant shift in position…” Mar 27, 19:10
Fearghas MacFhionnlaigh on Let’s Call The Whole Thing Off: “BLOG PÀRLAMAID NA h-ALBA Fiosrachadh is naidheachd bho Phàrlamaid na h-Alba Tha an seisean pàrlamaideach a-nis air tighinn gu crìch…” Mar 27, 19:07
