Should England Be And Independent Nation?

[Colmc54]

If the people who live in Scotland can vote for independence why not England?

[Gromit]

No.
We became great and prospered once we had United our countries. Without Union with the rest of the UK we would be weaker. We would lose our UN veto. All the major political parties support the Union, so it is unlikely England will ever seek independence.
That is not to say some devolved powers to an English parliament would not be a good idea.

[emmie]

no, better to stand together, in this world of massive competition, for work, jobs, we will be lesser than we are. As a nation Britain has some clout, as a country on our own we won't, and i think that the other countries in the EU especially will wonder why the split, what has worked well for hundreds of years should stay.

[Old_Geezer]

They should have the opportunity to consider it, but the decision to so would be bad for England for the same reasons it is for other parts of the UK to do the same.

[mikey4444]

Daft notion !

[Booldawg]

we'll be independent by default if all other nations pull away from the union.

[emmie]

there are over 800,000 Scots who live in other parts of the UK, i would hazard a guess many of those live in England, so they would get a say presumably
And those who vote in Scotland are made up of many. not just native born Scots, if they are on the electoral roll they get a say in Scottish independence.

[mikey4444]

If I look at what has happened in Europe these last few years, starting with the break-up of Yugoslavia and continuing with the mess that Ukraine finds itself in, it would seem to make common sense that we all stick together, not shatter in tiny pieces.

[emmie]

Yugoslavia was an accident waiting to happen, a cobbled together state of disparate peoples,

[emmie]

Russia has had the upper hand over all these peoples, why shouldn't the Ukrainians those who want it have a separate state, more allied to Europe than Russia, an unwieldy communist country

[mikey4444]

That applies to an awful lot of countries in Europe today emmie. I just don't want that to happen to Britain.

[emmie]

nor do i, i do think that we are better as one nation.

[KARL]

No reason not to, unless the desire is stronger to stick together and pretend all is well and that the return of the empire is just a few months away, as soon as the defence of Britain in Afghanistan is done (the defensive operation in Iraq was of course a resounding success). Oh, the glory of the past....and the present, let's stay together while the UK languishes anywhere from 10th to 30th and lower in lists of countries for pretty much every desirable social parameter (life expectancy, child mortality, health provision, cancer survival, education.....mustn't go on).

[jno]

no, the English are very happy being in a union as long as they are the boss; it's only union with bigger countries that seems to upset people.

Who do you think they should be independent of?

[anotheoldgit]

Is there still an England?

I only ask because we never seem to hear it mentioned, only when attached to sporting issues.

[THECORBYLOON]

ANOTHEOLDGIT, when the PM announced grants of up to £5,000 to businesses and home owners who have been victims of the floods, the help applied only to those in England.

[emmie]

as i recall it was Scotland that went cap in hand to England to stop them from going bankrupt, which eventually brought about the union -
admittedly it's centuries ago, but some have short memories,
maybe someone could give Alex Salmond a lesson in his countries history.

[emmie]

never mind, if Standard Life and any number of other large corporations, businesses decide that it will be safer all round to move down south, that will leave Salmond floundering.

[Baldric]

// the help applied only to those in England //

Why would it not, Don't Wales have their own Government?

[New Judge]

"...grants of up to £5,000 to businesses and home owners who have been victims of the floods, the help applied only to those in England."

That's because the funding and handling of such matters have been devolved to the Scottish, Welsh (and presumably) Northern Irish assemblies, Corby. It is up to those preposterous organisations to sort out those matters and to pay for them from their own budgets.

[emmie]

and not whine and go cap in hand yet again to England.