Alex Salmond is nudging the English towards independence without them realising it

Peter Crisp

The sooner we get rid of you bunch of work shy dossers the better.

Sally Witchalls

So what if the Union unravels who cares, why should it be kept together it has no benefit for England and it's people give the people a referendum and let the people decide.
English first british never.

Terence Brown

As usual, we English are being portrayed as dummies who haven't got a clue what is going on. I can assure you that a very large number of English people are not only aware of Alex Salmond's strategy but wholeheartedly support it.
I wish Mr Salmond every success with his strategy; Roll on independence for Scotland and England.
T.Brown
London
ENGLAND

Stephen Gash

What a patronising article.

More English people want Scotland to leave the Union than do Scots - as shown by an ICM poll.

There is no "revived" sense of Englishness. We've always considered ourselves English and use to the term British, not to mean English as we are often accused, but to show we don't seek to impose our will.

Where has being reasonable got us?

The time for being reasonable has passed. We are expected to give up our lives if we get cancer and our land (certainly if we live in Norfolk) for the sake of this blighted Union.

Stuff the Union.

Kirsty

Salmon should've had the guts to call a referendum on the EU Constitution for Scotland only, that would've sent this government into meltdown!

Danielle

I written the following as a response to a piece James Forsyth wrote a few weeks back and I think it as relevent to what you have written. 'I think the only way forward for the tories is a piece Iain Dale written on his blog, referring to a conservative-SNP 'relationship'. Yes SNP! Conservatives would then be free to agressively persue the England and Wales electorate as it does not seem likely that they will ever even win a seat in Scotland again, this will leave Labour fighting political wars on two fronts and hopefully marginalise the Lib Dems. I know this scenario goes against the whole conservative and unionist tradition but we on the centre right need to do some radical thinking if we are really serious about getting into power again and the fact is England is traditionally a centre right country but Scotland and to a large extent Wales are left wing. The Conservatives power base is in England and they need to be able to motivate and galvanise this without thinking about how its playing in Scotland.'

Barry Faust

The sooner the big three parties are given the big heave ho by the elctorate the better,voting for any of them is really a waste of time,vote english democrat,just like in scotland and wales the elctorate are voting for nationalist parties is about time we did the same,we are so empathatic in this country its untrue..WAKE UP..only we can change this and lets face it they wont do it for you so next time you ge the chance to vote for another party DO IT.

Glenn Beckett

Go for it Alex! We'd all be better off on our own - I've had enough of this Dis-United Kingdom. England needs it own parliament, its own national anthem, and a public holiday for St George's day.

Ken Pinchard

the sooner this blighted Union is dissolved the better for all concerned.The Labour party devolved power to Scotland and Wales where they have greater support than in England. Which only goes to show that they are running scared of loosing power in England. Bliar and his Scottish cronies would not know fairplay, even it kicked them up the rear.

John Broadhurst

I fear you have sadly underestimated the surge in English nationalism if you think it is "indifference" and that we are only reacting to Alex salmond,the latest decoloniser. England is awakening. At the risk of quoting pre-war Germany, our patience is exhausted - with politicians, pushy non-English "communities", and liberals of all kinds wuth their intolerant fascist approach to all who dare to disagree with them. As Chesterton said - "Our wrath will be the worst". Watch this space.

Tom Long

When the English wake up to the fact that the Scots in Gordon Browns constituency vote him in to make laws for the English and not for themselves (a recipe for an England hater to run amok with oppressive legislation that applies only to the English) they will realise that the Union isn't worth having.

Tommy

I'm from Essex, England, where can I vote for Alex Salmond?

John R. Holliday

My nationality is BRITISH. Born and raised north of Hadrian's wall, I have lived and worked in England and Scotland. My wife was born in Wales (her sister is married to an Ulsterman), and our son now lives in Eire while our (Scottish) son-in-law did the sensible thing and took our daughter and our grandchildren off to New Zealand. I opposed the setting up of the Follyrood Embarrassment (aka "Donald's Dome", named for Donald Dewar and that other Labour success story the Millenium dome). How many people in the rest of the UK are aware of the blatant gerrymandering that went in to getting the ‘right’ result in the referendum on setting that up? The SNP is currently playing the same game. Based on his single-seat majority at Holyrood, Alex Salmond is, as the article points out, making noises aimed, not at increasing support in Scotland for separation, but in annoying the English into an unthinking attitude of “Let the Scots go if that’s what they want”. They don’t. To see the quality, or lack of it, of the pro-separation supporters I recommend a visit to the ‘Scotsman’ web site to read the surly comments they attach to any story which can remotely be linked to independence, seen as the panacea to solve all problems. Over the last 300 years the United Kingdom has been a major success, and force for good in the world, based on the diversity and ingenuity of its people and the institutions developed here. It would be folly to let a group of rowdies destroy it.

Sonya Porter`

-----Oh dear, I'm afraid that Mr Fraser has been asleep for about 30 years. England independent from Scotland? Not possible since England is now simply a group of 'Regions' within the European Union. Is Mr Fraser not aware that there is, certainly, a 'Region' of Scotland and another 'Region' of Wales, but there is no England on any EU Map, simply 9 'Regions' of the European Union. England I'm afraid, Mr Fraser, no longer exists and won't reappear until we get out of the EU. One way or another.

Revolution, anyone???

Gene Touchet

"Champagne for the brain," seems to have gone flat. Have none of you looked at a map of the island? You need the tension of regional pull.

Ben

An irony worth noting is that should the Scots gain independence they may also discover the joys of low taxation, de-regulation, privatisation and a flexible work force - a full-scale adoption of the Iron Lady's philosophy for whom they continue to harbour such loathing. Not perhaps surprising given the destruction of the coal-fields, ship-yards and iron and steel factories during the '80's. However it cannot be coincidence that a nation that were once joint-partners in the biggest free-trade empire the world has ever seen, would soon race to the top of the tree once they were able to control their own affairs. It's all a question ownership.

And where would Labour retreat to then? South Wales??

jon livesey

I'm a Briton of mixed parentage, half-English, half-Scots who has lived in both England and Scotland, and I'm frankly baffled by all this talk about how prosperous an independent Scotland would be.

The Scotland I lived in was a pretty hopeless, self-pitying, racially and religiously bigoted place. Just one big Moss Side with a funny accent. A country inhabited by drunks and layabouts who blamed all their problems on the English.

I think we should take two steps on the same day. Cut Scotland loose, and leave the EU.

Let the England haters in Europe subsidise the England haters in Scotland. No two sets of people have ever deserved one another more.

bill40

signed,sealed and delivered as regions of the EU just as planned.

R Bell

Scotland would be more prosperous and confident with independence no doubt about it. It would also help cure a lot of the

Scotland's independence is not because of English indifference at all. The reasons are much more complicated than that. Perhaps English "nationalists" like Matt O' Connor (who is a British nationalist, not an English one) should understand that Scottish nationalists have no interest in taking England's money. It's the unionists that do.

I just hope that England is left the better for it, and that Wales becomes independent too.

Mr Angry

Another petty English nationalist like Heffer , cannot justify English lack of backbone except by inventing rubbish about Scotland. I wonder if youwhinging English could ever survive on your own, it will eb worth watching once we are independent. If you are so sure why do the English not vote to have Scotland independent , I wonder why , as ever you realise the truth, we are the ones subsidising you whingers.

Mr Angry

John Livesey , I do not believe you have ever set foot in Scotland. Your post is absolute drivel, has someone Scottish at work been promoted above you and left you upset.

Tearlach

This means flaunting Scotland’s spending advantage, splashing out on drugs not available south of the border and generally trying the patience of Middle England. His strategy is not to provoke nationalism, but to offend a sense of English fairness.

...Erm no thats the fundemental purpose of Devolution, are you seriously suggesting that Scots can have their own parliment and legislation so long as it is comparable with England?
North sea oil is estimated at 12 billion a year , that with the price of a barrell still at $50, it is now $114 a barrell, Scotland get a block grant from Westminster of 30-40 billion...it doesnt take a genius to figure out who contributes more GDP now does it?

Sanny

Now can you explain why the Tory government which commissioned the McCrone Report then buried it! because the content would have shown that even the SNP had undervalued Scottish Oil.

The Labour PM tried to steal Scottish Marine areas which contain Oil by shifting the marine border.

That Scotland will be independent is a given and we would hope to be good neighbours but if Westminster tries to shaft us over the oil then be prepared for a bloody battle.

preddo53 leeds

My parents were from Ireland, I was born in England, I am not Irish I am English, this is my country. I want English Laws for English people, if the Scots want to go then I'll give them a lift, meanwhile I care for this country and I don't give a fig for Scotland. Iv'e had enough of Scottish MPs riding roughshod over the English. If Broooooooooon and co are the best politians Scotland can produce then God help them.

Thomas Porter

I am a Scottish Nationalist.

I want an Independent Scotland because Scotland and England have different wishes in the world and therefore we can no longer be joined at the hip.

And for those who describe Scotland as a country who only wants English money is very wrong.

The Conservatives and Labour both kept Scotland in the Union and they have done that because the Union has benifited England because of Scotland to.

And besides when it comes to elections if you really did want someone to stand up for England then you vote for an English Nationalist, not a Unionist Party such as The Tories.

Sanny

Can I clear the common misconception that devolution was T Blair’s idea? Blair was totally opposed to devolution. It was the Council of Europe that forced the issue under pain of sanctions on the British government. This landed on the lap of John Major, but he got the heave-ho before he needed to take action and passed the problem to Tony! Read the Scottish-UN Committee Papers for the full story.

Another common fallacy is that that the Scottish drive for independence is about our oil wealth. Whilst the Oil will give Scotland 20 to 30 years of income to help recover from 300 years of neglect this is only a small part of her wealth.

We are an energy rich nation! The Pentland Firth has the potential to supply twice the energy needs of the entire UK. There can be little doubt that in an independent Scotland, our world renowned Engineering genius will quickly resolve the problems of efficiently tapping this renewable natural resource. Perhaps this may also explain our implacable opposition to Nuclear Power Stations.

Our other natural resources include an oversupply of fresh water and sufficient arable area to make us independent of imported foodstuffs.

Simply put in terms of natural resources we are probably the wealthiest nation in Europe. Once free of the Union Yoke we shall develop at a rate that will leave Europe breathless, for in addition to the above our greatest resource is the Scottish People. Even with only a partial parliament and a minority Scottish Centric Government there is already a new feeling of confidence permeating Scottish life. We know we are on our way.

Barry Scarfe

I live in England but I consider myself to be British and proud of it. It's time this separatism rubbish stopped. No sensible person wants it (ie those who haven't been brainwashed by the snide and petty prejudies of moronic 'journalists' on the Daily Mail or that comic the Sun)

The EU must be laughing at us. After all, devolution is an EU idea which Labour stupidly enacted.

R.Keenan

to paraphrase wendy alexander, with less than ssubtle alterations " An English Parliament"? BRING IT ON !

H.Villosa

we English should be allowed a vote, do you want to keep subsidising the Scots, Welsh, N.Irish; or would you like freedom from the parasites