Not now! Construction of the “now-is-not-the-time” discourse of Theresa May and Boris Johnson vis-à-vis the second Scottish independence referendum

Between 2016 and 2021, in response to calls for a second Scottish independence referendum, two British Prime Ministers—Theresa May Boris Johnson—adopted holding position, at the core of which was “now-is-not-the-time” argumentative scheme. As particular expression strategic ambiguity, this delay discourse intended fulfil specific political function: postpone plebiscite sine die. such, it marked stark difference 2014 referendum campaign provided anti-independence camp with new rhetorical resource. Having adopted general orientation Discourse-Historical Approach analysis, working dataset May’s Johnson’s public utterances on article investigates how exactly constructed prime ministerial rhetoric. It concludes that some differences notwithstanding, PMs managed create largely consistent