Whither the English Unionist? Properly put to the test by Brexit, those who have for so long professed their damp-eyed commitment to the integrity of the UK have been found wanting. Asked “if Brexit means the collapse of the Irish peace process, what is your choice?”, they reply “Brexit”. Asked “if Brexit leads to a United Ireland, what is your choice?”, they reply “Brexit”. And asked “if Brexit means Scotland leaving the Union, what is your choice?”, they reply “still Brexit”. This really does bring new meaning to the idea of going it alone. [...]
I honestly don’t know where all this will leave the Union. But I do not think the display of English arrogance and contempt will be easily overcome, on any side. Now awakened, English nationalism is unlikely to quiet itself any time soon. The decision to leave the EU is an English one, taken against the firmly expressed wishes of Scotland and Northern Ireland. The (relatively popular) Scottish government, and the Scottish viewpoint, has been treated as an irritant throughout the process. Internal Westminster Tory politics is all that has mattered. Corbyn’s Labour has been shamefully complicit throughout. [...]
At the last Holyrood Budget, the finance secretary Derek Mackay used the parliament’s new income tax powers to raise tax on the wealthiest – only by a small amount, but the point was made. If the Tories cut taxes in next year’s Westminster Budget to provide a Brexit stimulus – and this is the chatter I hear from Tory cabinet ministers - what does Mackay do? Does he keep Scottish taxes higher on the basis that his values dictate such a course of action, and risk a significant competitive disadvantage? Or does he accept that the Scottish parliament controls income tax in name only, and will always be bounced around by the fiscal decisions of Westminster? Humiliation is a real possibility. [...]
When Palmerston said that "we have no eternal allies, and we have no perpetual enemies. Our interests are eternal and perpetual, and those interests it is our duty to follow," he was talking about the country’s foreign policy. Today it stands as England’s take on its fellow UK nations. A Union so constructed may be incapable of survival.
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