Analyst on Brexit Situation: Only Reason We're in This Mess Is Because of May

British Prime Minister Theresa May has been hit by a flurry of resignations in response to her Brexit deal. Sputnik spoke about it with Political commentator Jon Gaunt, Former Scottish MP and Sputnik columnist Tommy Sheridan and Jim Sillars, the Former Deputy Leader of the SNP.

Sputnik: Should Theresa May resign?

Jon Gaunt: I predicted even last night before she came out of number 10 to address the press, that she was toast. She is finished; this is a major constitutional crisis.

The deal she has put to the cabinet is not what we the people demanded and I'm glad to see that overnight that the cabinet have developed a backbone. Raab's gone, Mcvey's gone, and Michael Gove clearly is going to go as well. We're seeing the end of the Theresa May government; and not before time, as far as I'm concerned.

Sputnik: Where does the British government go from here?

Jon Gaunt: There's no way Theresa May is going to stick in there, she can't go back, there isn't enough time to negotiate. Personally, if we leave with no deal, I'll be polishing my dancing shoes. We'll trade on WTO terms and it would have been much better if we'd had a proper Brexiteer in there, and they'd actually done the wishes of the British people.

We wanted to leave; we should've been out by now. I presume they won't want a long, protracted leadership contest, they certainly won't want a general election in case there's any chance that comrade Corbyn can get in, so I predict that either David Davis or Boris Johnson will be leader and that Mogg will be chancellor, and if they had an ounce of sense amongst them, they would also bring in people like Nigel Farage to be some kind of advisor with David Davis, on Europe.

We should halt all negotiations for the moment, give it six months and move on. I cannot believe the people we've been hearing on tv today. I've just been listening Chuka Umunna and they've been calling for a peoples vote and second referendum. No! The only reason we're in this mess is because of Theresa May. We wanted Brexit, it was clear what we voted for, today's a great day, but it is a constitutional crisis and the book stops with Theresa May.

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Sputnik: How should the Scottish government react to the Brexit developments?

Tommy Sheridan: What I think is absolutely clear amongst all of the mist, is that Theresa May is a political corpse. She is finished; I hope she doesn't let the door hit her too hard on the backside on her way out. It will be a cause for celebration, she's a cold, cruel and callous leader of a cold, cruel and callous party and it's a cause for celebration that they are in such dire straits.

I am so happy that they are in the mess they are in, because they have lied, cheated and distorted over the last eighteen months in terms of their Brexit negotiations, and she has tried to reconcile the irreconcilable, because the wings of the Tory party, some who want to stay in Europe and others who want to leave, are completely at odds with each other. This deal will not go through parliament, it is a dead duck deal and from our point of view, it is an opportunity, to yet again promote the cause of Scotland's independence, because we need to get out of this rotten union.

The options for Nicola Sturgeon are quite clear. She either has to use the existing mandate by triggering a date. A useful date would be the 28^th March next year because of course, the UK is due to leave the EU on March 29^th.

We would be saying in effect, just as the UK is leaving the EU Scotland is leaving the British union.  My preference would be that date, however, she has to factor in the increasing likelihood that there's going to be another general election before then.

I think that the loss of the vote in parliament for this deal will lead to a vacuum. Mrs May will be removed from the leadership of the Tory party, some other numpty will get the job and they will then put a different deal, and that won't get passed either.

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Inevitably there's going to have to be another general election. Although that will take two-thirds of MPs in parliament to vote for it,  I don't see any other option. Therefore the two options for Nicola in my opinion are;  she uses the mandate, triggers the date, or she announces today that should there be an early general election, the SNP manifesto will clearly state Unilateral Declaration of Independence.

In other words; if the SNP win a majority of the Westminster seats in Scotland, that is enough to declare independence. She won fifty-six in 2015, she won thirty-five in 2017, I think she'll win even more if there is another election in February next year.

Those are the two options. Either she says the UDI's going to be in the manifesto, or she triggers the existing mandate.

Sputnik: Should Scotland move towards independence following the Brexit uncertainty?

Jim Sillers: As the yes movement is not yet ready for a second referendum, there's a huge amount of work to be done that has not been done, and caution is the word that should be used now.

The views expressed in this article are those of the speaker and do not necessarily reflect those of Sputnik.