I'm not a nationalist
of any kind. I don't think that England would be better off without
Scotland, and I wouldn't necessarily call for separation from
Scotland if I did. I don't bear Scotland any ill-will – like a lot
of people in England, I'm quite sympathetic to Scottish independence.
I like Scotland, and on my visits there I have been increasingly
aware how much it is already a separate country.
I'm aware of the
dangers of letting nationalist genies out of bottles, as happened in
Yugoslavia. I'm aware of the danger that England without Scotland
will be even more weighted towards the Tories.
I am, though, fed up
with shoddy, ramshackle constitutional arrangements that sometimes
pretend that the 'United Kingdom' is a federal state, when it so
clearly isn't. The collection of 'nations', 'principalities',
'provinces' and what-not that make it up are not treated in anything
like a common or symetrical way. If there is a Scottish Office, why
isn't there an English Office? Why isn't there an English Parliament?
The United Kingdom is
no longer a sensible working arrangement. Political manoeuvring and
the games between Cameron and Alex Salmond might allow it to be
preserved even further past its sell-by date, but that would be shame
when there is a chance to put something better in its place.
I'm fed up with not
even knowing what to write in the 'nationality' section on forms, and
not knowing where to find my country on drop-down lists – is that
United Kingdom, or Great Britain, or England...?
I'm also mildly fed up
with the hypocrisy of politicians who pretend that they care what the
electorate think, and go through the charade of these e-petitions,
but don't really give a toss.
So creating an
e-petition on an English referendum gives me the opportunity to have
a go at all of this.
If any of this
resonates, please sign the petition. It will at least be entertaining
to hear the excuses that 'unionist' politicians come up with as to
why Scotland can leave the United Kingdom, but England can't.
