A Family of Nations A phrase that was often used throughout the Independence Referendum by the Better Together side was that the UK was a “Family of Nations” or in some cases “A partnership of equals”. The YES side often stated this might be what people desired but the reality was very different. Well thanks to the inevitable (according to Alistair Darling) in/out EU referendum we have a chance to put this to the test. The SNP have come up with the idea that no single nation of the UK could pull another nation of the UK out of the EU. In other words if England voted to leave the EU but Scotland or Wales or Northern Ireland voted to stay in they could not be forced to withdraw against their own will. Likewise if England voted to stay in the EU by a small margin but a large majority in Scotland voted to withdraw Scotland could not take England out of the EU. It actually makes perfect sense, as long as you buy into the idea that we are a “Family of Nations” and not just one Nation called the United Kingdom. I would therefore expect the Federalist Liberal Democrats to back this proposal or at very least come up with a similar idea after all surely that is the whole point of “Home Rule”.
Posted on: Mon, 03 Nov 2014 18:11:07 +0000
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