Will Brexit lead to Scoxit?

The looming Brexit negotiations has breathed new life into the SNP's bid for Scottish independence. Matthew Partridge reports.

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Nicola Sturgeon: taking back control
(Image credit: 2017 Getty Images)

This week the Lords finally accepted a clean version of the Brexit bill, allowing it to receive royal assent, and giving Prime Minister Theresa May the ability to trigger Article 50. When this happens, "the legal process of divorce from the European Union will have begun... Brexit will suddenly feel real", says Gideon Rachman in the Financial Times. However, ignore any temporary "sense of certainty" this creates. "There are so many different variables involved that nobody sensible can be sure" what will happen. Even if both sides are prepared to compromise, "world events could radically change the context of the Brexit negotiations".

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Dr Matthew Partridge
Shares editor, MoneyWeek

Matthew graduated from the University of Durham in 2004; he then gained an MSc, followed by a PhD at the London School of Economics.

He has previously written for a wide range of publications, including the Guardian and the Economist, and also helped to run a newsletter on terrorism. He has spent time at Lehman Brothers, Citigroup and the consultancy Lombard Street Research.

Matthew is the author of Superinvestors: Lessons from the greatest investors in history, published by Harriman House, which has been translated into several languages. His second book, Investing Explained: The Accessible Guide to Building an Investment Portfolio, is published by Kogan Page.

As senior writer, he writes the shares and politics & economics pages, as well as weekly Blowing It and Great Frauds in History columns He also writes a fortnightly reviews page and trading tips, as well as regular cover stories and multi-page investment focus features.

Follow Matthew on Twitter: @DrMatthewPartri