There is a spectre
stalking the British political scene, though as far as I can tell few, if any,
of our political class are acute enough to have sensed its presence. As the
Tories implode, yet again, over Europe and a
European referendum, Scotland gears itself up for a vote on whether to secede
from the UK. Consequently we could be debating two game changing
constitutional matters over the next year or so as more and more Tory little
Englanders emerge to back leaving the EU.
Leaving the EU as it is
currently presented in the British Press could certainly prove popular in England. Moreover the EU could not have done more to repel
ordinary citizens from the European project if it openly tried. Still the case
has not yet been made for our continued membership of the European club. It
could though be difficult to win a referendum in England; the same I suspect may not be true of Scotland, Wales, or Northern Ireland. For different reasons EU membership provides far
greater attractions for citizens of these countries. Wales and Northern Ireland have benefited considerably from EU financial
support. Whilst Scotland has also benefited there is the additional
attraction of EU membership for those who might otherwise be nationalistically
inclined, EU membership making the Union more
palatable; the social democratic traditions within most European countries and
EU social policy is much more in tune with Scottish traditions than the current
Westminster administration. The Scottish National Party,
acutely aware of this have consequently strongly emphasised the continuity of Scotland’s membership of the EU. If an English vote looked
like taking Britain out of the EU this could provide a whole new front
in the independence debate, possibly one that could swing it in favour of
independence.
For the Northern Irish
nationalist community EU membership also serves to make the ongoing link with Westminster more palatable, providing as it does a
supra-national dimension to what otherwise would be a purely British identity.
Would this community welcome becoming solely British again? I think they will
not.
Thus the Tory party is now
opening up a Pandora’s Box with untold consequences. If England votes to leave the EU, would the rest of the multi
national entity that is Great Britain sheepishly follow? Not for the first time the
Tories, solely concerned with English matters, are playing with fire. They may
end up starting a fire that burns down the union.
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