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While we are into nation-building fantasies, I’ll describe my own one. This is the Federal Republic of the British Isles. This would include all of Britain and Ireland and it would be devolved into regions. The UK monarchy would go, the Anglican church would be disestablished, Ireland would loosen its ties with the Pope and the Isle of Man would have to join the EU. The Euro would be the currency.
Snowball’s chance in Hell? Chocolate teapot? Both, probably, but I like nailing my colurs to the mast even if there’s no ship.
Now that the Cold War has been over for more than a decade the Russians are no longer a potential ememy. What’s the problem with a few Russian bombers straying into Nato airspace for Britain, a nation that has airbases leased to the US air force? OK, the US is part of Nato but we don’t need US air bases in UK any more – except perhaps one as a staging post for US forces engaged in overseas operations APPROVED by the UK government.
Maybe this event is of mutual benefit to Nato and Russia (nearly typed USSR – oops!) mainly as military alertness practice.
England does have representation in Ireland. Or at least it did last week because I was there!!!!! I drove right across the Emerald Isle from Rosslare to Connemara and back.
But then I consider my nationality to be British rather than English so then again,
Perhaps……P.S. Ireland has some beautiful scenery but whoever named it the Emerald Isle probably didn’t come from Somerset!!!
Would this independent England include Cornwall? That might not go down well west of the Tamar. Cornwall IS part of the UK, like Scotland and Wales, but has never officially been incorporated into ENGLAND by any act of union!
Furthermore, if Scotland ever leaves the UK, should it take responsibility for Northern Ireland since the majority of Ulster loyalists are of Scottish ‘plantation’ ancestry?
Britain, geographically, is an island. Great Britain includes this island and numerous small islands around its coast (excluding the Isle of Man, which is an independent country).
You can’t break Britain up physically and we shouldn’t be trying to do it politically either. Devolution, regionalisation, whatever, are fine but going te whole hog and splitting Britain into independent nations is a bad idea. Once the political map of Great Britain is up for grabs anything could happen. Who’s to say that nationalist causes won’t emerge in Wessex, Mercia, Northumbria, East Anglia? Yugoslavia is a classic example of what happens when a nation splits apart.I have an interesting 4-volume set of books called Hutchinson’s Beautiful Britain, published in the early part of the 20th century. It is a county by county tour through the nation, with photos. The counties are listed alphabetically, with no division into Scotland, Wales or England. But what is most interesting is that counties of Ireland are included in the sequence too, as it was part of the UK too then, before the establishment of the Irish Free State in 1922. At that time Northern Ireland didn’t exist and Ulster was just the name of one of the ancient Irish provinces and it included not just the ‘6 counties’ but 3 more counties that are now in the republic.
The USA has a more serious gun crime problem because it has 300+ million people and anyone is allowed to own a gun. People sometimes quote Switzerland as a ‘well-behaved’ gun owning population but a few years ago there was a gun rampage massacre there too.
The more guns there are, the greater the chances of some of them falling into the hands of nutters, gangs or even secret underground paramilitary groups. The ultimate scenario, taken to absurd conclusion, is things like gun battles between fanatical BMW and Mercedes owners or Tesco and ASDA shoppers.
Emma – have you sought psychiatric help yet? You seem to be going into meltdown like Yukon Man did! The more mud you sling the funnier it gets, except as a ‘liberalist’ my political correctness tells me I shouldn’t laugh at the afflicted!!!!
Well, I’ve just had a week in Ireland and enjoyed it very much. Friendly people, colourful buildings and beautiful scenery. If I add up my lines of ancestry, I’m about 25% Irish (includes protetants and catholics) but I’d only been to Ireland once before, briefly. I didn’t get to Northern Ireland as intended because of the long extra drive from where we stayed – next time perhaps.
It must be remembered that the British people, so often blamed for repressive actions or neglectful inactions by their ruling class (e.g. Irish Potato Famine), themselves were victims too of their ruling class- like with the terrible exploitation during the industrial revolution, which led to bronchitis, pneumonia, tuberculosis, dyptheria, rickets, pneumonia, pneumoconiosis etc. resulting from pollution, bad living and working conditions and poor diet.
I am a ‘liberalist’ but I am anything BUT namby pamby. I speak out against anyone who seeks to detroy our liberties, whether it be the BNP, UKIP, Al-mujaharoun, the Communist Party, boy racers, binge drinkers……whoever.
I think he already shot himself – in the foot!! He was aiming for his kneecap but he missed!!!
What is not so widely known is that Sinn Feinn / IRA during the 70’s was not only demanding a united Ireland but had ambitions to seize power in Dublin and run Ireland as a Marxist state. This is where the ‘provisionals’ wings of both these organisations differed from the ‘official’ ones, who were simply demanding a united Ireland (and actually called a cease-fire quite early on in the troubles).
I was born BRITISH, I always think of myself as BRITISH. English, Welsh and Scots people are BRITISH just like Bretons, Provencales and Corsicans are French, Bavarians and Lower Saxonians are German and Texans, Californians and Floridans are US Americans.
Northern Ireland is slightly different as there is a genuine split in allegiance among the people, but Scots, Welsh and now English nationalism are artificial dreams of political rabble-rousers who want to destroy the British nation and stir up conflict among its people.
Their efforts would be much better spent on positive things like campaigning to get rid of the monarchy, join the Euro and play a full part in the EU.
