End of the Union?

[Darth InSidious]

In part inspired by the other thread on the Quebec/Rest of Canada issue...

 

Not about the USA, I'm afraid.

 

Should the Union of the Kingdoms of England, Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland be brought to an end? Should there be independance for each? Should we close the borders and draw an iron curtain across there borders?

 

What do YOU think?

 

I vote no, with a centralised Parliament in Westminster. It's simpler, less messy, and allows the Union to at as a nation.

[stoffe]

I think the United Kingdom / Great Britain (never manage to remember the difference between the two I'm afraid) should remain a single unified nation. There is strength in unity, which is lost when one powerful country is fractured into several more insignificant ones, which may not serve the population as a whole. All too often secessionism seems to be more about gaining power for one particular group than the good of the people.

 

Tiny, insignificant, barely self-sufficient countries just becomes easier targets at the mercy of multinational corporations, international crime syndicates and more powerful neighboring countries.

 

Within the European Union the unified Great Britain serves as a useful ideological counterbalance of might to the French. Now, don't misunderstand me, I have nothing against the French. What I do have something against is when one country within a union becomes so much more powerful than the others that it becomes dominant and its desires becomes policy for everyone else who essentially turn into vassal states. The Germans have traditionally seemed to be too mentally burdened by World War II stigma to put their feet down in international matters and serve as a counterbalance, though that seems to be changing in recent years.

 

Over all I think that nations that have been united for hundreds of years, where the people have assumed a common national identity (while still preserving their unique differences) and exist more or less in harmony with one another should try to mend any differences and stick together. When it comes to more recent "unity at gunpoint" constructs like Iraq and Yugoslavia however, with lingering, traditional hate and mistrust between different groups of the population, things are different.

 

Now, I am not British so there may well be tensions among the population of the UK that I'm not aware of, but to outside eyes the country does appear to be harmoniously unified (aside from Northern Ireland).

[Emperor Devon]

As I fully support globalization, the idea of the UK wanting to break up into seperate little states seems almost unbelievably petty. Call me idealistic, but humankind will not be able to truly progress if it is not completely united. Countries breaking apart obviously goes against that idea.

 

So, naturally, my vote goes to the last option.

[Anakin Skywalker]

That's why the Sith should rule.... Survival of the Fittest, ED, survival of the fittest. The weak should just end their torment.

[SilentScope001]

Really should have asked people who actually live in GB, otherwise, well, erm, we don't know. So, my belief is not really that valid...

 

But, just let them be indepedent states in all but name (Voting: No, but allow them to have their own Parliaments). Because it's the name that people are afraid of. People are afraid that the nation might fall apart, but take away that fear, and everyone will be happy with Scotland having their own monarchy, their own currency, their own football team, their own military, their own capital, their own nuclear silos, their own everything. As long as Scotland still state they are part of UK, everyone will be happy.

[igyman]

I vote no because, even though I'm not British, I generally think that the nations of the world should strive for unification. I hope to see humanity mature and start to unite into a single world-sized state.

[mur'phon]

I think they should stay unified, except for north Ireland, since despite the fact that the IRA have put away their guns, north ireland is still a bomb (albeit one with a long fuse) waiting to go off.

[Bastila]

I'm English and I'm not really sure what I think about it all really, will have to think about what would happen.

[Negative Sun]

Freedom for Scotland is all I have to say...F*** those English SOBs and their Westminster government, let them screw up their own country, not this one!