Over at Instapundit, Gail Heriot has posted a decent summary of the England-Scotland alliance. But then there’s this:
In 1979, an effort to establish (or re-establish) a separate Scottish legislature via referendum failed. It did so, however, only because the Act authorizing the referendum required that at least 40% of the entire Scottish electorate vote in favor. While the referendum got more yes than no votes, turnout was poor. In 1997, another such referendum was held. This time it passed, a Scottish Parliament was established, and the process of “devolution” was begun.
In 2014, when an independence referendum was held, it came a lot closer to passing than union supporters would have preferred. Ultimately, Scottish voters went 55.3% to 44.7% in favor of sticking it out with England.
What interests me, and many others, is the fact that only the Scots voted on whether to leave or stay in the Union, which begs the question: why did not all interested parties — including the English and Welsh — vote on separation?
Had the population living south of the River Tweed voted, you bet there’s have been considerable support behind a “Toss the Jocks” movement — Mr Free Market and The Englishman claim that at least two-thirds of English voters would support expelling the porridge-monkeys in a heartbeat, had they been allowed to do so.
Such ravings should be taken with a grain of salt — especially when expressions like “Can we then finish what we started at Culloden?” and “Rebuild Hadrian’s Wall” are thrown into the mix. Nevertheless, we Murkins should not underestimate the depth of enmity that still exists between the Picts and the Angles even after all this time. It’s most openly expressed by the Scots, such as when supporting anyone playing England in sporting competitions, but the anti-Jock sentiments in England, while less overt, still run pretty deep.
We can talk about the Welsh and Irish situations on another occasion; but in the meantime, think of the situation as a (very) civilized Balkans, and you’ll get the idea.
