UK, London celebrates St. George’s Day but the Union always remains at risk
The article by Daniele Meloni
White flags with red crosses fly over all government buildings today in London for England's national day, St. George's Day. Both Prime Minister Boris Johnson and Speaker of the House of Commons Sir Lindsay Hoyle sent the their message of good wishes to England from Downing Street and Westminster respectively. “Be proud and celebrate,” Johnson said . Everyone tried to take over the role of England's core nation within the United Kingdom, without however renouncing to show themselves alongside a Union Jack. The meaning of the operation is clear: England is the leading nation of the country, but the UK must march together.
If the bulk of the commentators dwelt on Scottish separatism and the possible reunification of Ireland in the future, it is good to point out how the upheavals in Her Majesty's Kingdom have started in recent years from a renewed assertiveness of English nationalism. Since the Scottish and Welsh devolution of the late 1990s, England has felt neglected by Westminster and has shown its restlessness in various ways. First by forcing the Cameron government to get its hands on the West Lothian Question, by introducing a voting system for British MPs on British matters in the House of Commons; then with Brexit, largely voted on in England (and Wales) and rejected by Edinburgh and Belfast. The exit from the European Union was the pinnacle of a multiform and very particular nationalism: one of its leaders, Nigel Farage, never even managed to get himself elected to Parliament. Splendors and miseries of the first-past-the-post.
How dangerous is Englishness for Kingdom keeping? There are not a few British people who would like to get rid of Scotland and Ulster and the related subsidies given generously by London to the most economically depressed areas of the country. But geopolitical and historical reasons make London want to remain in its current form also in the future. Although it remains a loose cannon, English nationalism has been reabsorbed in recent years by the traditional British ruling party, the Conservative party, which carried out the EVEL (English Votes for English Laws) to the Municipalities with Cameron, and Brexit, before with May and then with Johnson. The latter is perceived by the other home nations that make up the United Kingdom as a typical product of that nationalism. That is why Scottish Tories leader Douglas Ross was quick to say that BoJo will not actively participate in the May 6 election campaign in Scotland, and it is very likely that the prime minister himself had little desire to do so. The sympathy for him beyond Hadrian's Wall is not the same as that which emerges in his tours of the former Labor red wall, in Cornwall and in Devon.
The question of "national unity", however, remains. If Johnson can celebrate the Brexit deal with Brussels, the vaccination plan and the red card shown to football SuperLeague clubs, he would do well not to underestimate his unpopularity outside England. To keep the country united, the Tories are willing to do anything. Who has ears to hear …
This is a machine translation from Italian language of a post published on Start Magazine at the URL https://www.startmag.it/mondo/uk-londra-celebra-st-georges-day-ma-lunione-resta-sempre-a-rischio/ on Fri, 23 Apr 2021 13:42:59 +0000.