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Welcome to the year Unionists have been dreading
Brexit's now real. Scottish elections & a border in the Irish sea are here
And Tories fear Boris is about wade onto this battlefield of landmines with the parlous tread of a hyperactive elephant
https://edition.cnn.com/2021/01/02/uk/2020-hurt-the-uk-2021-could-kill-it-intl-gbr/index.html
Brexit's now real. Scottish elections & a border in the Irish sea are here
And Tories fear Boris is about wade onto this battlefield of landmines with the parlous tread of a hyperactive elephant
https://edition.cnn.com/2021/01/02/uk/2020-hurt-the-uk-2021-could-kill-it-intl-gbr/index.html
In Scotland, support for independence has risen as a result of Brexit and the leadership style of Nicola Sturgeon during the pandemic. Tory MPs fear that Johnson's dismissal of Scottish concerns will backfire https://edition.cnn.com/2021/01/02/uk/2020-hurt-the-uk-2021-could-kill-it-intl-gbr/index.html
Tory on govt payroll: "There is genuine fear that Scotland could go under this government and that there is no energy going into addressing that ... we've struggled to make an emotional case for the Union." https://edition.cnn.com/2021/01/02/uk/2020-hurt-the-uk-2021-could-kill-it-intl-gbr/index.html
If the SNP smashes the Scottish elections, Johnson has 2 options - ignore cries for indyref2 or try to fight the Nats on their own turf. Neither is an attractive option for a man in a country that dislikes him https://edition.cnn.com/2021/01/02/uk/2020-hurt-the-uk-2021-could-kill-it-intl-gbr/index.html
Northern Ireland is also a problem for Johnson. Like it or not, the NI protocol kept NI in the EU's sphere will GB can pull away. It also whacked a border in the Irish sea. Nationalists are now confident they can make reunification seem an inevitability https://edition.cnn.com/2021/01/02/uk/2020-hurt-the-uk-2021-could-kill-it-intl-gbr/index.html
2021 was supposed to be the year in which Northern Ireland celebrated its centenary. Instead, its citizens are likely to be more divided than they have been for years. https://edition.cnn.com/2021/01/02/uk/2020-hurt-the-uk-2021-could-kill-it-intl-gbr/index.html
The trap Johnson must avoid falling into is painting Scotland, NI, Wales etc as the enemy in the way he did with the EU. Whether a man whose political success has come from picking fights with enemies can resist the temptation is another matter https://edition.cnn.com/2021/01/02/uk/2020-hurt-the-uk-2021-could-kill-it-intl-gbr/index.html
Tl;dr: The fabric of the UK is being stretched to ripping point. With thanks to @McEwen_Nicola @EddieBarnes23 @hayward_katy @MatthewOToole2 @roger_scully @robfordmancs & others who didn't wish to be named https://edition.cnn.com/2021/01/02/uk/2020-hurt-the-uk-2021-could-kill-it-intl-gbr/index.html
