The Break-Up Of Britain?
16/01/07 23:10 Filed in: Politics
Today marked
the 300th anniversary of the Acts of Union between England and
Scotland, when the Scottish and English
parliaments were abolished to be replaced by a new
parliament of Great Britain, sitting in
Westminster. Some have celebrated this date, some
have mourned it, and many more have asked if it is
now time to revisit this relationship.
Firmly in the pro-Union camp is Gordon Brown, destined to be Britain's next Prime Minister, and MP for the Scottish constituency of Kirkcaldy. Over the last couple of years, Brown has been keen to promote an homogenous Britishness, although some suggest that this might just be a ploy to make his premiership more palatable to Middle England.
Scottish (and Welsh) devolution have been a reality for some years now, with the Scottish parliament going about its business of making laws for Scotland. The problem is that Scotland also sends several MPs to Westminster, where they can vote on matters affecting England and Wales. Yet English and Welsh MPs have no corresponding jurisdiction over Scotland, because it has a substantial amount of power devolved to the Scottish parliament.
The fault for this mess lies squarely with the current Labour Government. Bowing to pressure from its own Scottish party, it rushed through devolution for Scotland in an attempt to stave off outright Scottish nationalism, and save the Union. Ironically, this ill-conceived approach may in fact hasten the demise of the Union, as more English voters question its value.
When Scottish devolution was granted, it should have been as part of an overall devolution plan for the entire UK, England included. However, at the time, the English didn't want their own parliament, as they regarded Westminster as fulfilling that role. And herein lies the problem. Westminster is now forced to perform two duties - parliament of the United Kingdom, and de facto devolved parliament of England.
If the devolution project is to work and the UK to stay intact, then England must be given its own parliament to make its own laws. Each devolved jurisdiction can then send MPs to Westminster (many fewer than the current 650 would be required) to look after the overall governance of the UK. If this doesn't happen, the whole thing could come asunder.
Is the Union Jack about to come asunder?
There was a poll about the relationship between Scotland and England/Wales on the BBC website today. Funnily enough, there was no mention about the other part of the UK, i.e. Northern Ireland. How on earth could they forget about such an integral part of the United Kingdom, I wonder?
Firmly in the pro-Union camp is Gordon Brown, destined to be Britain's next Prime Minister, and MP for the Scottish constituency of Kirkcaldy. Over the last couple of years, Brown has been keen to promote an homogenous Britishness, although some suggest that this might just be a ploy to make his premiership more palatable to Middle England.
Scottish (and Welsh) devolution have been a reality for some years now, with the Scottish parliament going about its business of making laws for Scotland. The problem is that Scotland also sends several MPs to Westminster, where they can vote on matters affecting England and Wales. Yet English and Welsh MPs have no corresponding jurisdiction over Scotland, because it has a substantial amount of power devolved to the Scottish parliament.
The fault for this mess lies squarely with the current Labour Government. Bowing to pressure from its own Scottish party, it rushed through devolution for Scotland in an attempt to stave off outright Scottish nationalism, and save the Union. Ironically, this ill-conceived approach may in fact hasten the demise of the Union, as more English voters question its value.
When Scottish devolution was granted, it should have been as part of an overall devolution plan for the entire UK, England included. However, at the time, the English didn't want their own parliament, as they regarded Westminster as fulfilling that role. And herein lies the problem. Westminster is now forced to perform two duties - parliament of the United Kingdom, and de facto devolved parliament of England.
If the devolution project is to work and the UK to stay intact, then England must be given its own parliament to make its own laws. Each devolved jurisdiction can then send MPs to Westminster (many fewer than the current 650 would be required) to look after the overall governance of the UK. If this doesn't happen, the whole thing could come asunder.
Is the Union Jack about to come asunder?
There was a poll about the relationship between Scotland and England/Wales on the BBC website today. Funnily enough, there was no mention about the other part of the UK, i.e. Northern Ireland. How on earth could they forget about such an integral part of the United Kingdom, I wonder?