Telegraph | Comment | In praise of the Union
Tuesday, January 02, 2007
Link: Telegraph | Comment | In praise of the Union.
All of the achievments the Daily Telegraph's leader writer claims for the Union would arguably have been greater without the dead weight of the ever-grumbling Scots. The Scottish employees who were of use did not need to be of the same nation as their employers, whether they were engineers, soldiers or steelworkers. The Scottish entrepreneurs who contributed to our prosperity did so for their own profit and might well have been even more energetic if their businesses had flown the Saltire. To the extent they traded in England & Wales, the Chancellor would have taxed them - and would not have been obliged to send that money north of the border. The UK's only "loss" would have been the Scottish statesmen who have graced Westminster. I am sure we would have managed somehow.
The idea that the UK's constitutional problems can be "stitched up under local anaesthetic without major surgery" is ridiculous. Logically, the English and the Scots belong together. Ethnically and culturally their differences are too trivial for words. Families are so mixed that only the most remote peasants have any claim (as if such a thing mattered) to ethnic purity. Even those claims are often mistaken. But the same is true of the English and the Irish - and who now would call for the Irish Republic to rejoin the UK - logical though that might be?
England's affection for her neigbours has never been reciprocated. The petty nations of the Celtic fringe have proved time and again, often violently, that they are not prepared to let go of their historical (and ahistorical) grievances. England should no longer impoverish herself in the vain attempt to buy their allegiance.
I have blogged before about one last attempt to reform the United Kingdom's constitution, but in my heart I fear it is time to let it go.
"England's affection for her neigbours has never been reciprocated. The petty nations of the Celtic fringe have proved time and again, often violently, that they are not prepared to let go of their historical (and ahistorical) grievances. England should no longer impoverish herself in the vain attempt to buy their allegiance"
*I don't know if we have ever had a great affection for them. If so, how? More to the point, why should we have affection for them? Why do we even consider treating them in a special way? We are not their parents.
Go to scotland/wales and see if you get great affection there? Which is sort of your point I suppose.
The point is England, Wales AND Scotland benefitted from the union. To still hear the scots and welsh harping on tells me enough is enough.
Also, they duped the English by speedily arranging a referendum for a scottish parliament and welsh assembly. The English people were never even asked. Do the people who did this think the English would not notice. Do they think we are going to forget this back stabbing treachery?
To compound that ridiculous error (yes, I am being sarcastic) Tony Blair, unelected "Lord" Faulkner and Gordon Brown the scotsmen had the audacity to tell the English that they werent ever getting a parliament. Think again you bastards!
They have done nothing but lie and cheat the English ever since that day.
It is one thing to blame others for things they did; quite another to blame others for fabrications! You know as well as I do that even if they were completely independent of England they would still find some reason to complain. It will always be England's fault.
Will they act differently in the future? I see an even more arrogant side coming to the fore if scotland is successful. Then again, I see England reacting to that sort of immaturity right now so who knows what will happen in the future. And that's with the English people effectively disabled (no parliament, no voice) With all the anger that's been generated I see only trouble in the future. The jocks will always be stupidly antagonistic to the point of cutting off their noses to spite their faces. The English in general arent like that, but all the posturing and goading of England will reap nothing but trouble for scotland wales in the end. Oh well, Tony Blair the scotsman is to blame.
By the way, if the scots and welsh hate England so much why are there so many living in England? They can't use the old excuse of "I couldnt get a job in my own country because big bad England tokk all the jobs" any longer. They have no excuse. Funny how they arent on the first plane home ah?
Posted by: Hereward the wake | Wednesday, January 03, 2007 at 12:10 AM
I don't want to see the breakup of the union but if they want to go they should. I don't see why we should have to subsidise them.
Posted by: wayne | Tuesday, January 02, 2007 at 11:11 AM