We don't even know when Brexit is going to be and might be that it's better for Scotland to exit the UK whilst Brexit negotiations are ongoing. It could drag out and I hope the EU doesn't make easy for the Brits. The days of preferential treatment for Britain should be over as far as the EU is concerned.

That would be UDI then.

I don't foresee the need for UDI arising.

I don't foresee any other way before Brexit.

Preferential treatment ? we are the third largest net contributor after any rebates , hardly preferential. As for making it difficult well they probably will which will just further prove what the EU is really all about , certainly not a collection of democratic states allowed to leave if they wish. Mind you the EU has much bigger problems coming than us leaving.

Ha......Ha.......

That doesn't really matter though does it. It may arise that it's necessary to hold a referendum before Brexit and at that point May would be in a difficult position if she wanted to block it.

Who wants to block it, to my mind Nicola Sturgeon should put her money where her mouth is and hold it now, well as soon as possible. She is so confident Scotland can be part of the EU she should have no worries convincing the people that is the best way and let them vote

Who says it's necessary? Ano indyref afaik requires Westminster to agree to it and I don't see that happening before Brexit and that does matter.

I see you've fallen for the nonsense angle from the FM.

If she was serious about any referendum before Brexit then we would be having it pretty soon.

The truth is that as you say, we don't know what Brexit will be like and we may just well end up having access to the single market.

Now I know you want the hardest Brexit imaginable and folk to suffer because that's likely to lead to a referendum but that's not what's going to happen.

The Nats will continue to gleefully stir up grievances but until we see what a Brexit will look like they won't dare hold any popular vote on it because they will lose. Sturgeon will then be out of a job and I imagine Angus Robertson will be next up.

The UK Gov could announce an Indyref can be held in March 2017. This would get any Independence question out of the way before Brexit is triggered.

Why would Scotland leaving mean a hard border when every UK politician is busy announcing that they don't want a hard border with Ireland? Why wouldn't you just have a CTA with Scotland the same way you always have done with us?

All ready for another once in a generation vote

I love the fact that you're still absolutely clinging to the assumption Scots want independence when there's not a shred of evidence in favour. It's equally telling your anti-UK spite goes as far as wishing ill on the country and it's economy.

That ultimately is the mindset of the Nationalist.

There's a difference between the 2 but then you already knew that. The only reason the Irish border is a problem is cause of threats of violence something that isn't a problem with the Scottish.

No I honestly don't get it. Are you seriously telling me that the British government is afraid to close the border due to threats of violence?

That doesn't make sense, since when there really was violence there were check points all across the border. It also doesn't make sense that people are saying the Scots would need visas to work in England when there was always a CTA with Ireland even when Irish people were planting bombs over there. Why the difference?

Simple answer cause of Northern Ireland that's the only reason there's a CTA. When there's a UI we can revisit the terms of the Irish CTA and scrap it.

That still doesn't make sense. Why does NI mean you have to have a CTA? Given what was going on during the Troubles, NI would be a reason not to have a CTA.

And that still doesn't explain the difference in attitude towards the Scottish and Irish borders, so I'm going to take a guess. Is it because this talk of a hard border with an independent Scotland is actually an empty threat designed to get them to vote no, and there's no point in saying anything similar to the Irish because we left years ago.

Indeed and given the Berlin mass murderer managed to get from Germany to Italy before accidentally running into two Italian Police Officers we should be thankful for the preferential treatment of not having signed Schengen and looking at the anaemic growth and mass unemployment across the Eurozone we should be thankful for the preferential treatment of not being part of that and free to run monetary and borrowing policy as per our needs.

Bare in mind the whinging of the SNP about austerity and cuts imagine how much worse the situation would be if our Euro membership had required us to peg borrowing to 3% of GDP as per Eurozone rules?

With any luck the Scottish will vote Yes next time then we'll see if it's an empty threat or not.

Its an empty threat. There's no other logical explanation for the double standard between Scotland and Ireland.

It's typical in advanced cases of the anti-SNP hatred that we start to see this paranoid belief about everyone "falling" for SNP ploys. In reality we all know that when Sturgeon senses it's the right time to get the necessary result she'll push for a referendum.

With regard to wanting the hardest Brexit possible, that's a nonsense. I want free movement of people and I want the whole of the UK in the single market. For me protecting the EU immigrants who are here, protecting the interests of Scotland, and protecting the interests of every decent person in England who isn't completely lost to anti-immigrant nonsense is what's important. Finally Brexit could really damage Scotland's economy long term and that is bad for our society. I don't believe a new, fairer, more equitable UK will emerge once the dust settles after Brexit. Britain is an getting worse and its governed by parties who win votes by appealing to people's worst nature. That is the society that is being created just now.

Freedom of movement to one side current EU citizens already here could be protected at any time if the EU agrees to the same treatment for UK citizens currently in EU countries, they have refused to do so though.

You choose to assume everyone voted leave as they hate immigrants

The EU is entirely right. Nothing can be guaranteed until negotiations are completed, and negotiations won't begin until Article 50 is invoked.

Giving guarantees on existing residents can be done outside of any other negotiations the EU just don't want to.