(John Patton blogs at phototilly.eu)

Note: John isn’t really shouting at you. It’s just that I haven’t been able to convert the font to something less shouty-looking. Mea culpa – Jude

The Queen purred, apparently, when David Cameron phoned with the result

of the Scottish Referendum; we have not been informed of her emotional

reaction when the PM visited her on Friday morning to offer his

resignation. It was rumoured that there were indications of Brexit support

from HM as the Saxe Coburgs sought to distance themselves further from

their Germanic   Secundogeniture.

The ineffable racist, Farage , asked that June 24th should become

‘Independence Day’.

Certainly, independence has been uppermost in many minds since the

result of the Referendum was announced. However, in London, Scotland

and the Six Counties, it was an immediate escape from Westminster that

most occupied many people. They recoiled from the arrogance and

entitlement in the vacuous slogan making of the Leave Campaign and were

totally repulsed by the UKIP Brexit mob; they abhorred the lies of the

curtain twitching, petty minded, right wing dogmatists who promised a

return to an imperialist illusion. It was glaringly obvious that the electorate

had been pawns in a malign, Tory power struggle when we saw Gove and

Johnson at their first press conference on the morning after. The

Opposition was not to be outdone as they wanted a secession of their own

and so the long simmering, Blairite malcontents thought that this was an

opportune moment to blunder against their own leader . They had an open

goal in government – some of whom had gone into hiding but with

Mandelson’s orchestration , they turned on Jeremy and staged farcical,

cringe worthy resignations. Corbyn was not to blame for the outcome of the

Referendum and they knew it.

The DUP backed Leave but 56% of people in the Six Counties clearly stated

that they wished to remain citizens of the European Union. Its actions

surely portray the Brexit paradigm and character; Gregory Campbell, Nigel

Dodds, Iain Duncan Smith, Nigel Farage, Boris Johnson – all politicians who

are incapable of vision and embracing people. Arlene Foster and the

ludicrously ineffective Teresa Villiers responded thoughtlessly, predictably

and negatively to any suggestion of a Border Poll. Had they taken time to

analyze the results, they might have pondered , as Henry McDonald has

suggested in the Observer,   why a significant minority of voters chose Leave

in staunch Republican areas. A Border Poll, which Unionism would

currently win, might have proved a harmless distraction.

Among politicians, Nicola Sturgeon, who actively supported Remain, is

viewed internationally as the one politician to emerge from this debacle

with honour. In the days since the result was announced , she has

exemplified a dignity and clarity of purpose which is in stark contrast to the

mayhem at Westminster. Conscious that 62% of Scots want to remain in the

European Union, she was given all party support (Tories abstained) in

Holyrood today to pursue every possible option to ensure that the

democratic mandate of the Scottish people will be respected. It was not in

the wording of the parliamentary motion but we know that Independence is

the only certain way that this may be achieved. A poll today suggests that

path would be backed by 65% of Scots.

This nation wants its country back; one where tolerance, decency and

respect, hallmarks of the Scottish people, are the indicators of society.

I hope that Ireland will follow suit.