Scotland please say no: I dont want to be English Not that anyone asked, but here are my thoughts about Scottish independence. If you know me at all, then you won’t have failed to notice that I am what the sociologists call a 1.5 generation immigrant. Which is to say, I was born abroad but grew up in this country. And if you are familiar with the sociological literature on the subject, you’ll be aware that us 1.5 generationers generally have a pretty complex range of emotions both in relation to our new country and to the country we came from. While the country I grew up in was England, I have always been very glad and grateful that my nationality is British. I am proud to be a citizen of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland. I love England as part of that United Kingdom, but I think its a bit like the bone marrow they serve at St John-- okay on its own, but absolutely stonking with some other ingrediants to set it off. If Scotland does a bunk, then we’ll be left with the United Kingdom of England, Wales and Northern Ireland- plus some odds and ends around the place (Isle of Mann I’m looking at you to take on Scotland’s role). Clearly, the big partner there is England, and they will be calling the shots. Politically that’s probably not great news from my point of view. The English tend to both conservatism and Conservatism, and I don’t. I like the culture that Scotland brings to the Union. Without it, being British is going to feel a lot like being English (with only a very slight flavour of Welsh). If you have a vote in the referendum please vote No-- don’t make me any more English than I already am...
Posted on: Mon, 15 Sep 2014 20:54:11 +0000