CLIVE SMITH: Spain could be ripped apart in Game of Thrones scenario

A Spanish riot police officer swings a club against would-be voters near a school assigned to be a polling station by the Catalan government in Barcelona

On one hand, as a Brexit voter, it’s difficult not to agree that the Catalans should have had a vote on their independence. Isn’t that at the heart of democracy?

It’s also a kick in the proverbials for the European Union, which is always pleasing.

I do think it’s ironic though how remain voters are giving the Catalans their full backing but are still crying over the Brexit result.

Say the same thing was to happen here. There’s no way the British government would just sit back and let the people of Cornwall have a vote about independence.

I very much doubt we’d see police firing rubber bullets into a throng of protesters and the fire brigade getting hit with batons. It just wouldn’t be allowed to happen.

So what was the Spanish government supposed to do? Just sit back and watch? I suppose it could have just ignored the results, but that would have just led to protests and riots anyway.

There’s a lot of talk of democratic rights, but I’m not sure there was a democratic right here in the first place.

They were breaking the law. The referendum was declared illegal under the Spanish constitution and by the Spanish government. It’s not far off being a coup d’etat.

It can’t be compared to the Scottish referendum, the Falklands or Gibraltar, those were sanctioned by the ruling government. The one in Catalonia wasn’t.

It will be interesting to see if Brittany, Venice and Flanders, which have strong independence movements, follow suit. I’m sure Jean-Claude Juncker is having sleepless nights about it.

The Spanish government has handled it badly though. It’s done itself no favours.

It will be difficult for it to allow a proper, official vote to happen now. Then what happens when the vote is leave, the Basques will be next, others will follow and Spain could collapse as a nation. As a controlling government you can’t allow that to happen.

There would be loads of different countries within a country, just like the old days. It would end up like Game of Thrones, just without the dragons.

WHITE WIDOW HAS ONLY HERSELF TO BLAME

Sally-Anne Jones, who is also known as The White Widow has been killed in a drone strike in Syria and her 12-year-old son is reported to have been killed in the attack.

I see people are now questioning whether she should have been targeted if he was with her.

She was instrumental in recruiting Isis fighters from the UK, no doubt responsible for countless killings.

The drone strike was absolutely necessary.

It is the responsibility of any parent to keep their child safe as best they can. You don’t deliberately put them in danger.

She made the decision to take her child into a war zone, she knew she was a target, but kept him with her nevertheless. It’s her fault no one else’s.

NEAREST I GET TO TOFFS’ PADS IS THE TAKEAWAY

I see Zoopla has published a list of the 15 most expensive roads in which to buy a house in Portsmouth, and some very nice places they are too.

I don’t need to check my bank account though to know I’ll not be buying a place down any of them any time soon.

My postcode does include the letters PO, so that’s a start I suppose.

I expect the closest I’ll ever get is when I go and pick up a dhansak, pilau rice and a bag of onion bhajis from Drayton.

I have been in the most expensive house, on the most expensive road though – I wasn’t asked back.

There was definitely something wrong with the vodka I was drinking that night...