What has really proved to be the case since 2016 is that Johnson and Gove and the whole political movement and political tendency that they represent is fueled by British nationalism.

English nationalism in particular, but I think it's a form of British nationalism that would genuinely regress the departure of Scotland from the Union, if only for the loss of power and status that it would bring with it for the Rump UK state.

For example, it would be very hard to justify holding on to Britain's permanent seat at the UN Security Council if it was to lose Scotland.

But I don't think you would have the same loss of status if Northern

Ireland was to join up with the rest of the island. And it's become painfully clear and painfully

obvious that not only the top leadership of the pro-Brexit right in Britain, but also the great

part of the rank and file and the people who had voted for

Johnson in 2019 simply don't care about Northern Ireland and did not see the idea of special

arrangements for Northern Ireland as any kind of betrayal of their cause. They were quite happy

to throw the DUP and the unionists in general overboard.

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