The long road back to Europe

摘要

THE END OF Britain's 47-year experiment in Europe had a Scottish air to it. On January 29th last year the European Parliament ratified the Brexit divorce, after three years of negotiations which had exhausted Britons. On the square outside in Brussels a bagpiper played "Flower of Scotland", a folk tune, and "Ode to Joy", the European anthem. Aileen McLeod, a member of the parliament for the Scottish National Party (SNP), told other members that her country would soon be back: "In the meantime, I hope very much that you will leave a light on for Scotland." After the vote was cast, many of the meps joined hands and sang 'Auld Lang Syne", a song of friendship by Robert Burns, Scotland's national poet. As prime minister, David Cameron oversaw two constitutional referendums with the potential to change the United Kingdom irrevocably. He expected to win both handily. In 2014 he had permitted Scots to vote on independence from the rest of Britain. They rejected it by 55% to 45%, and the following morning Mr Cameron declared the issue settled for a generation. In 2016, he was not so fortunate. In the referendum on membership of the European Union, Britons voted by 52% to 48% to leave.