A 'non-binding' referendum is a test of opinion.

A 'binding' referendum is an instruction to Government.

We had one here on same sex marriage.

It was called a Plebiscite.

You know, where the plebs get to have an opinion that the ruling classes are free to ignore if they disagree.

Thankfully they respected the plebs opinion.

I've known people who thought that the 2016 presidential election was nonbinding, due to the (national) polls back then, and who voted for Trump on a lark, and were shocked when they found out that their vote actually mattered.

Fortunately, nobody had such illusions in 2020.

I knew I could count on you.

"Oven ready, as in half-baked?"

"Recent polls show consistent support among Scots for leaving Great Britain."

I hope they do, but it will cost them so I suspect they won't. Far better to have the British Gov bailing them out.

I, for one, am not looking forward to a whole slew of new words entering the English lecicon.

sexit (or is it scexit?)

nexit

wexit

snip-------

Even so, surveys show that Great Britain is straining at the seams.

Like Scotland, Northern Ireland voted against Brexit. In the past year, polls have shown solid support in Northern Ireland for reuniting with the Republic of Ireland, which is part of the EU.

Discontent is even rising in Wales. A YouGov poll in October found nearly 1 in 4 people would vote for Welsh independence, up by 8% since 2016.

snip--------

If the NI politicians want a referendum, then they can have one. All they need is evidence that a majority of citizens are in favour of putting the question. The UK Gov can't prevent it. It's up to the people and politicians of NI.  All the bits of the UK currently run most of their internal affairs, have their own parliaments and the Scots even have tax-raising powers.