Jason Moore06/04/2017 00:00
TW
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It takes two to tango, and the opening rounds of the Brexit negotiations have been interesting to say the least. Spain has been at the forefront of the early battles over Brexit, saying that it would not veto any move by an independent Scotland to join the European Union and also threatening to make life difficult for the people of Gibraltar. But Britain warned that Spain was playing with fire.

Lord Norman Tebbit called on Theresa May to meet with Catalan nationalists who are demanding a referendum on independence from the Spanish government. Tebbit's call would have sent shockwaves through the Spanish government. Britain could take the Catalan appeal to the United Nations. It wouldn't go far but it could make life rather uneasy for Spanish Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy.

Tebbit is no fool and he is a very experienced politician. Spain can talk tough over Gibraltar and even an independent Scotland but Britain has a Catalan trump card. Now, you would have thought that Spain and the UK would behave in a civilised manner and would try and avoid a public spat over Gibraltar and Scotland. But this is not the case and I suspect that this will be the first of many long "spats" between Britain and the EU. What is clear is that Britain does appear to be ready for the fight and I think you could say that the opening rounds of the "Brexit battle" could be described as a draw. There are plenty more battles to come.