A short thread for UK journalists & foreign correspondents coming new to the #Scotland question. When people say "62 percent of Scots voted Remain" what they actually mean is 62 percent of those who voted, on turnout of just 67 percent. It's important to be precise about this >>

>> Then compare turnout between regions in Scotland. In places where support for independence is high, turnout in Brexit ref was comparatively lower. Eg Glasgow turnout was just 56 percent compared to 73 percent for Edinburgh > https://www.electoralcommission.org.uk/who-we-are-and-what-we-do/elections-and-referendums/past-elections-and-referendums/eu-referendum/results-and-turnout-eu-referendum/eu-referendum-results-region-scotland

>> The reason this is important is that there no match (though some overlap) between those who voted Remain and those who voted for independence in the last referendum. So you end up with weird charts like this: https://twitter.com/BingoDemagogue/status/1343734017686908935

> If the Brexit ref taught us anything, it is that you should never have a referendum without clarity on where you are trying to get to. The SNP claims that independence would offer a way back into the EU. But there's no evidence it would have enough public support for this >>

>> And given the weak turnout in the Brexit ref in pro-independence areas, you'd never get public support for the kind of spending cuts you'd need for Scotland to join the euro. Scotland simply isn't pro-EU in the way that eg France or Benelux are. Indy is anti-UK, not pro-EU.