Break up of the UK?

[danny la rouge]

Bring it on I say.

Yup.

 

[TomPaine]

Some interesting posts here.

I'm all for a federation of nations on the Latin American integration-style model, but where countries share what they can on a basis of solidarity.

This is a good point. Many of the social movements in South America have an element of nationali culture/indigenous culturalism wrapped up with left wing politics, so there is no reason to believe that the same isn't possible in Europe.
I'd be happy to see the UK split of into it's seperate parts and then let the countries decide how they wish to govern themselves internally.
Just because the folks in Newcastle support the English football team doesn't mean all the power needs to be in London, but at the same time it doesn't mean they want some Nu Labour puppet parliament in the North East. I would imagine the situation in Scotland would be the same, more local democracy out in the islands for example, to promote culture and language, but Edinburgh still acting as the umbrella.

i'm all for federation of regions but nationalism is very dodgy .. the benefits could be lost in a reaction in days .. just remember the balkans ..

Sorry I disagree with this though, I think this is so incredibly unlikely to be honest. Our situation would be more like the Czech republic and Slovakia in my opinion.

 

[jannerboyuk]

Out of interest where do people stand here on the subject of the UK splitting up?

Personally I consider myself English rather then British and would prefer to see England at the very least devolved, but one step better and to dissolve the act of Union.

I think the end of the act of the Union could also be a great way overhaul the state, and remove the entrentched British establishment (maybe wishful thinking).

What about you folks ?

Just one small point. The rise to dominance of the subjective in determining identity always bugs me. Just saying you are more english then british doesnt make it so, just as its rediculous when some people try to take britishness outside the broader reality of europeaness. You can't wish it away.
On the other side personally as an englishman living in wales and about to move to oxford for college im overall sanguine about further devolution/independence but i do wonder about the practical implications i.e. currency, free movement, the central bank, tax collection etc. These are actually big things but rarely discussed except as a stick to knock independence.
To be honest though the nationalist movement has adopted the policy of letting the momentum of devolution to run its course and then see where they are vis a vis independence then. So nobody really discusses the break up of the union, at least not in a positive sense.

 

[TomPaine]

Just one small point. The rise to dominance of the subjective in determining identity always bugs me. Just saying you are more english then british doesnt make it so, just as its rediculous when some people try to take britishness outside the broader reality of europeaness. You can't wish it away.

Depends on how you look at it though doesn't it. If you don't identify with the British state, nor with the Union nor with some of the cultural aspects of Unionism, you are left with the culture of the nation of your birth, which for me is England.
Obviously English culture is a component of the British identity, just as Scottish cultuye is, but it does not mean I have to support the government, the Union or any of the other trappings of Unionism and thus by extension the British identity which is built around it.
No thanks, I consider myself English and only English regardless of what my passport says, I don't support the Union, nor wave the Union flag and would prefer to see my nation extracted from the UK.