Could Boris Johnson’s no-deal Brexit break up the United Kingdom?
- Britain’s new prime minister gets cold reception on Scotland visit, with some calling him a ‘recruiting tool’ for Scottish independence
- Threat of hard Brexit and rise of ‘a nationalist Britain’ could also encourage more people in Northern Ireland to disassociate themselves
Boris Johnson was jeered during his first trip as British prime minister to Scotland on Monday.
He did not get the warmest reception from the First Minister of Scotland, Nicola Sturgeon, either.
“The people of Scotland did not vote for this Tory Government, they didn’t vote for this new prime minister, they didn’t vote for Brexit and they certainly didn’t vote for a catastrophic no-deal Brexit, which Boris Johnson is now planning for,” she said ahead of their meeting.
Johnson left Sturgeon’s official’s residence out the back door, avoiding another confrontation with protesters.
It has become something of a ritual for British leaders to demonstrate their commitment to the union with an early tour of England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland – or, as Johnson called them, “the awesome foursome that are incarnated in that red, white and blue flag”.
But there is much animosity toward Johnson in Scotland, and palpable dread over leaving the European Union – especially by way of the hard, “no-deal Brexit” that the new prime minister says Britain must prepare for.