Siol nan Gaidheal forum

Why not?

England has its own currency. It’s a member of the EU (for how much longer though) Has its own bank setting interest rates and monitory policy. Pensions are secure. It has its own National Health Service. Its own parliament based in its capital city London. With a large majority of English MP’s. A Free nation of England would allow these MP’s to vote on issues that matter to England.

There are many advantages to a Free England.

Their main problem would be financial. Without Scotland's taxes, oil revenue and whisky revenue, the peripheral areas would struggle to supply StrathThames with sufficient income to fully fund the Black Heart...

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Work as if you live in the early days of a better nation.

But surely if the financial revenues from these Scottish resources were devolved to the Scottish parliament then England would have to stand on its own two feet. Is that not possible?

I think it is and its something the recent NO campaign missed with its project fear. England is capable of being a free and independent Nation. What has it going for it?

It has huge revenues from Tourism
Agriculturally it can stand on its own (but Farming its heavily subsidised like Scotland by the EU)
Its manufacturing and chemicals industries are huge
It has London and one of the busiest financial markets in the world

An interesting point is that if a proposed referendum is held on EU membership it could also be used as a referendum on English independence.

They should go for it. Leave the EU and become a Free Nation.

I don't consider Cornwall English either. And would England maintain influence over the Channel Islands, Isle of Man, and overseas territories?

As far as I'm concerned, Rome doesn't get to declare independence from its own empire. It's the other way round.

The main problem with England is London. And that includes a Free England.

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"The thistle rises and forever will" - MacDiarmid

NB - I am not the same person as the poster "Scottish republic".

Spot on. Can't see the Geordies, Scousers, Mancs, Devonians, Bristolians, Yorkshire, Lancashire, Cumbria etc doing well out of it.

Likewise I hope an independent Scotland wouldn't be run purely for the central Belt. Too many folk, including nationalists, think of Scotland in terms of Edinburgh-Glasgow and/or Greater Glasgow.

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"The thistle rises and forever will" - MacDiarmid

NB - I am not the same person as the poster "Scottish republic".

totally agree sr. bye the way sorry , long time no see.

just coming oot ma coma.

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abair ach beagan agus abair gu math e

Aye a strange time for everyone! ;)

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"The thistle rises and forever will" - MacDiarmid

NB - I am not the same person as the poster "Scottish republic".

But London is not the problem for England. .The problem with England is identity. For far too long England has assumed a British identity. Being British came before being English. London assumed the mantle of the capital of British impearilism.
You mentioned Rome, but the Roman empire was not the product of the Romans. As was the British empire was not the product of the English.
Remember there are still people in the Highlands who class London and Edinburgh as the same. one is no better than the other.
England can Free Scotland just by being England. And just like a Free Scotland, England can be a united Nation. Scousers, Geordies, whatever.
You wont here anyone say. The problem with London is that its full of English..
Free England!

No England has an identity. Britishness is on the wane around these islands , just look at the 2011 census and how people nat identified.

The brit empire was not a product of the english people , but it was a product of their elite , who themselves descended form the norman french.

Every nation within the empire , including the scottish and irish had people running the show , always at the behest of the brit elite in london.

The highland attitude to edinburgh has been discussed before on this forum , edinburgh , once ruled by the leaders of the gaidhealtachd , increasingly became the centre of power of the norman french and their descendants in scotland who anglified and pushed our culture north and west.

Why would england want to be free of scotland? The brit elite in london have convinced them they are masters of these islands , despite england being the first nation to fall in conquest. Now englishness is almost the same as britishness , meanwhile they continue to milk the celtic nations for all they are worth.

Do you blame the english for looking down on us? A nation that cant even vote for its own independance when it is handed to us on a plate?

Why would england want to free us or be free???

Finally england is a united nation. What makes you think otherwise???

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abair ach beagan agus abair gu math e

Aye that is right. Its their national identity that is their problem. And actually their not all bad people.
We have plenty here who struggle with identity.

What has made things worse for them is that they have 3 main political parties that are so close to each other in policies that they have no voice of protest. The one voice emerging is UKIP and its so far to the right of their politics its just the Tories re-branded.

It has got even worse with the promises made to Scotland by Westminster prior to the referendum. Some of these were made in such a panic they were not thought through. After the fall out they have realised that to make them pulls apart the British constitution and actually almost gives England a parliament of its own. English MPs voting on English matters.

The walls of the British state started in 1603 are slowly coming tumbling down.

Its getting so confusing for them down there. Scotland supporting a Free England who would have thought it possible.

Mind you it would get even more confusing for them if we were all to start speaking Norman French.

London is a problem for most of England, big time. If you live north of Watford, they think you're a northerner. If you live outside the Home Counties, they think you're a dole-grabbing parasite.

I used to live near Bath/Bristol many moons ago, and I know some other parts of England well, such as East Anglia, Northumberland/Cumberland/Lancashire etc. They're *all* marginalised by London. At the most simple level, the local accents, are being eliminated in favour of some horrible mishmash of posh English and Mockney called "Estuary". (Ever notice how in English comedies, they make big play of regional English accents? You know, Liver Birds, Auf Wiedersehen Pet (which was good to begin with), Last of the Summer Wine etc etc?)

Central-Beltism is a big problem for Scotland just now too. It pisses me off when folk talk about "East (Coast)" and "West (Coast)" as short hand for the areas around Glasgow and Edinburgh. East coast is Wick-Berwick, the west Thurso-Annan. Huge chunks of Scotland are ignored, while the most anglified area (Edinburgh) stands in for half, and the most divided and Labour-ridden area (Glasgow) stands in for the other. (No offence to Siol members from these places - these are problems we must address.)

Talking of accents again... odd that there are dozens of accents in Scotland, but very few feature on Scottish TV/radio. Leodhasaich are only there courtesy of Gaidhlig television. There are exceptions like Bill McLaren and Robbie Shepherd. Tens of thousands of people speak some form of Doric, but how often do you hear Doric accents? Or Caithness ones? Or Gallovidian? Dundee? Not much.



Actually much of it isn't... but I'm not going down the UKIP line.

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"The thistle rises and forever will" - MacDiarmid

NB - I am not the same person as the poster "Scottish republic".

So what are you saying SR? Would you support English Nationalism or no?

Short answer Yes.

Long answer - depends. I "get" Irish, Welsh, Cornish, Basque, Catalan, Flemish, Faroese, Tibetan etc nationalism.

On the other hand, English, Russian, American, Chinese, Castillian etc nationalism is usually expansionist and xenophobic. There are folk like Billy Bragg but few of them.

A lot of Tories and UKIPpers are really English nationalist.

Because I support Scottish and Welsh indy, English independence follows, maybe.

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"The thistle rises and forever will" - MacDiarmid

NB - I am not the same person as the poster "Scottish republic".

I think Irish nationalism is the thing that's keeps the English attached to the union to be honest. I for one would love the English to go independent of the United kingdom because then the Irish would have to work it out amongst themselves. or Is that to much peace process ?

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NATIONALIST TO THE CORE AND STILL HERE DESPITE THEM
the clock is ticking, no more excuses,time to take what is yours from foreign hands

For we have faith in Scotland’s hidden powers, the present’s theirs but all the past and future’s ours."

Aye Eireann that's a post in itself especially a united one. if you want a subject on how to fuck up a nation then the history of Eire is the one. At least it had a real go at independence in recent times. Still think though that England needs to break free, it needs nationhood, and it needs to rid itself of the shackles that comes with united kingdoms and all that imperialism.

Does the British army morris dance?

I always love the way that Brits keep telling us Scots can't have indy because we all live on the same island, while at the same time saying Northern Ireland should be separate from the rest of its island.

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"The thistle rises and forever will" - MacDiarmid

NB - I am not the same person as the poster "Scottish republic".