The FT reports that the £ reached a new high level “as prospects for a new early referendum on Scottish independence dimmed.” This might strike you as very odd after panic hit the London media at the news of the inevitable SNP victory on Friday. Just as weird was the desperate consolation sought in the fact that the SNP failed to win an absolute majority by a single vote. I just don’t get that; they’re home and dry with the support of the Greens. The falling short is purely token. Clearly the markets dislike the uncertainty likely to be created by another Indyref campaign. The shock of first reactions in London means that Westminster realises at last that they may have a problem in Scotland. Do Johnson and the Tories care? The same question occurs as for Northern Ireland. He is secure beyond his wildest dreams or rather the nightmare of even a week ago when he seemed drowning in a tide of petty scandal. Great Britain ( certainly not NI), is now looking split under three different convincing mandates, Labour in Wales, the SNP in Scotland and the Tories in England , all mutually exclusive.
And it turns out it’s Ed Poots job to see the DUP into an uncertain unionist future…
on May 14, 2021, 6:09 pm118 Comments | Readers 3397 
On the face, the DUP have retreated back to the ground it held back in the mid 70s before Peter Robinson. Ed Poots is their leader. Right up until the announcement is it clear from the few briefings we were able to get Jeffrey thought it was him. Turns out they’ve stuck with the Free Presbyterian Paisley-ite. Not only does it mark the height of Jeffrey’s career in the party (as his fellow defector from the UUP Arlene Foster), it …
