As Scottish clamor for independence, English beginning to say 'me too'

Scottish demands for independence are making waves, but south of the border, the English are getting tired of the union as well.

|
Andrew Milligan/PA/AP
Scotland's First Minister Alex Salmond stands as he makes a statement to the Scottish Parliament in Edinburgh, outlining the referendum consultation on Jan. 25. Salmond announced the Scottish government's preferred options for the vote on whether to sever ties from Britain, which it plans to hold in the fall of 2014.

The debate over Scottish independence has sparked a backlash in England, where ordinary people believe their voice and rights are being ignored. 

In a survey for the Institute for Public Policy Research released in January, just under half of English respondents reported identifying more deeply as English than British, and said they had grown weary of a devolution of power to Scotland that has made governing Britain more difficult.

As Scotland contemplates a referendum on independence – Scottish leader Alex Salmond today announced plans for a vote in fall 2014 – that growing disillusionment, and the intensifying interest in a distinct English identity, could have long-term implications for the strength of the British union.

Report coauthor Professor Richard Wyn Jones said he was surprised by the politicization of Englishness in the findings. “I’ve noticed a more English identity among a section of English people in recent years – England football shirts, flags on cars, and body tattoos,” he says. “But it was the political dimension which was surprising. More people believe the current political situation is unsustainable and they want better recognition of England within the UK.”

The report, “The Dog That Finally Barked,” also found that 45 percent think Scotland gets “more than its fair share of public spending”; 79 percent think Scottish members of Parliament should not vote on English matters in the British Parliament; only 22 percent say Scots should vote for total independence.

Driving home the political shift, an ICM poll for The Telegraph newspaper in early January revealed that more people in England (43 percent) wanted Scottish independence than those north of the border (40 percent). Those polled also wanted a specific role and recognition of England within the United Kingdom – something that could raise the issue of a separate English Parliament.

Vernon Bogdanor, professor emeritus at Oxford University, is not surprised by rising English anger. “This has been building for some time and it’s not just the ‘chattering classes.’ People are fed up that Scotland gets a higher budget [allocation] and can offer free university tuition and health prescriptions,” because of subsidies. “They feel that the Scottish tail is wagging the English dog.”

One party hoping to exploit the disillusionment is the decade-old English Democrats. “We’ve known for a long while that English people want to be called English rather than British,” said chairman Robin Tilbrook. “We also know that they want to be heard within the UK and want the same rights in a sovereign England as the same people in Scotland, Wales, and Northern Ireland.”

You've read  of  free articles. Subscribe to continue.
Real news can be honest, hopeful, credible, constructive.
What is the Monitor difference? Tackling the tough headlines – with humanity. Listening to sources – with respect. Seeing the story that others are missing by reporting what so often gets overlooked: the values that connect us. That’s Monitor reporting – news that changes how you see the world.

Dear Reader,

About a year ago, I happened upon this statement about the Monitor in the Harvard Business Review – under the charming heading of “do things that don’t interest you”:

“Many things that end up” being meaningful, writes social scientist Joseph Grenny, “have come from conference workshops, articles, or online videos that began as a chore and ended with an insight. My work in Kenya, for example, was heavily influenced by a Christian Science Monitor article I had forced myself to read 10 years earlier. Sometimes, we call things ‘boring’ simply because they lie outside the box we are currently in.”

If you were to come up with a punchline to a joke about the Monitor, that would probably be it. We’re seen as being global, fair, insightful, and perhaps a bit too earnest. We’re the bran muffin of journalism.

But you know what? We change lives. And I’m going to argue that we change lives precisely because we force open that too-small box that most human beings think they live in.

The Monitor is a peculiar little publication that’s hard for the world to figure out. We’re run by a church, but we’re not only for church members and we’re not about converting people. We’re known as being fair even as the world becomes as polarized as at any time since the newspaper’s founding in 1908.

We have a mission beyond circulation, we want to bridge divides. We’re about kicking down the door of thought everywhere and saying, “You are bigger and more capable than you realize. And we can prove it.”

If you’re looking for bran muffin journalism, you can subscribe to the Monitor for $15. You’ll get the Monitor Weekly magazine, the Monitor Daily email, and unlimited access to CSMonitor.com.

QR Code to As Scottish clamor for independence, English beginning to say 'me too'
Read this article in
https://www.csmonitor.com/World/Europe/2012/0126/As-Scottish-clamor-for-independence-English-beginning-to-say-me-too
QR Code to Subscription page
Start your subscription today
https://www.csmonitor.com/subscribe