The Times, the great conservative newspaper of the United Kingdom, today published a strong editorial (paywall) about the situation in Catalonia under the title "Crackdown in Catalonia". They say that Spanish prime minister, Mariano Rajoy, should allow the 1st October referendum to go ahead. According to the paper, the Spanish government has to use debate and avoid the use of force "to avoid a national break-up". "Spain is stumbling into its worst constitutional crisis since the end of the dictatorship of Francisco Franco. The province of Catalonia’s headlong rush towards independence challenges the very roots of Spain’s existence as a unitary state."
The Times has a completely different view of the independence movement than Spanish media and seems to be working on the assumption that the 1st October referendum will take place in the end. They also say that Rajoy's "strong-arm tactics" are likely to "backfire when the province votes... in ten days’ time".
The Times attacks the Spanish prime minister, because they believe he is "fuelling the crisis rather than extinguishing it". They argue that, with traditional British pragmatism, that "the Spanish government should allow the referendum to go ahead, despite it being in breach of the constitution", advocating for it being treated as a symbolic vote, not legally binding, like in 2014. They believe that "Madrid can win this argument without the use of force or disproportionate threat, counting on the common sense of the Catalans who by and large understand the benefits of being an integral part of Spain". Mentioning that whilst "a large majority of Catalans favour a referendum", according to polls, they are more evenly split on independence.