Perpetuating Britishness

2015 ◽  
Vol 14 (6) ◽  
pp. 729-750 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ewan Crawford
Keyword(s):  
Political Parties ◽  
Political Leaders ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Discursive Strategies ◽  
The United Kingdom ◽  
Scottish Parliament ◽  
Decision To Stay ◽  
Scottish Independence ◽  
The Uk ◽  
British State

In 1999 a devolved Scottish Parliament was established within the United Kingdom following a referendum two years earlier. The current governing party in that Parliament – the SNP – held a referendum on Scottish independence in September 2014, which resulted in a decision to stay within the UK. However, during the referendum campaign promises were made by the main UK parties to transfer further power away from the British Parliament at Westminster to the Scottish Parliament in the hope this would satisfy demands for greater self-government in Scotland. This paper analyses the rhetoric of the leaders of Britain’s two main political parties in an effort to detect strategies used to construct and perpetuate Britishness in the context of devolution and a threat to the British state. It finds a number of discursive strategies deployed to promote unity and difference to (non-British) others. It also suggests the apparent need by British political leaders to deploy such British-constructivist strategies involves avoiding even acknowledging the reality of a major constitutional reform such as devolution and therefore political difference between the nations of the UK.

Debates over Irish unification will gain traction

2021 ◽  
Keyword(s):  
Northern Ireland ◽  
Status Quo ◽  
Political Agenda ◽  
Successful Implementation ◽  
Northern Irish ◽  
Content Type ◽  
The United Kingdom ◽  
The Status ◽  
Scottish Independence ◽  
The Uk

Significance The differing perspectives of unionists and nationalists on the creation of Northern Ireland as a political entity within the United Kingdom, together with Brexit and tensions over the Northern Ireland Protocol (NIP), have brought the contentious issue of Irish reunification onto the political agenda in Northern Ireland and the Irish Republic. Impacts Scottish independence would likely increase momentum for a referendum on Irish unity. Successful implementation of the NIP, giving firms access to EU and UK markets, may support arguments for maintaining the status quo. If the UK government abandons the NIP, the adverse trade impact on Northern Irish firms could increase support for unification.

EU-UK deal allows Cameron to campaign against Brexit

2016 ◽  
Keyword(s):  
United Kingdom ◽  
Prime Minister ◽  
Transition Period ◽  
David Cameron ◽  
Content Type ◽  
The United Kingdom ◽  
Eu Membership ◽  
Scottish Independence ◽  
The Uk ◽  
The Eu

Subject The package of reforms on a new EU-UK relationship. Significance The agreement between the United Kingdom and its EU partners sets the stage for the UK referendum on EU membership, which Prime Minister David Cameron has set for June 23. Cameron said he had negotiated new terms that would allow the United Kingdom to remain in the EU. Impacts The deal bolsters the campaign to remain in the EU, but the referendum outcome is still highly uncertain. The deal will only come into effect if the outcome is for remaining, forestalling a second referendum for better terms. If the outcome is for leaving, a new relationship with the EU would have to be negotiated during a two-year transition period. It would also probably lead to a second Scottish independence referendum and UK break-up.

UK agriculture will pursue new markets post-Brexit

2017 ◽  
Keyword(s):  
Wine Industry ◽  
Agricultural Policies ◽  
Content Type ◽  
The United Kingdom ◽  
Wine Experts ◽  
Food And Drink ◽  
Scottish Independence ◽  
The Uk ◽  
The Impact ◽  
The Eu

Subject The impact of Brexit on the UK agricultural and food and drink sectors. Significance Agriculture and the food and drink sector will be among those industries most affected by Prime Minister Theresa May’s decision to pursue a ‘hard’ Brexit. It is uncertain to what extent domestic agricultural policies will replace the support and funding mechanisms of the EU. The food and drink sector will have to adjust to the possibility of future tariffs. Impacts Scottish independence would hit the drink sector, with Scotch whisky alone accounting for almost one-quarter of UK food and drink exports. The burgeoning UK wine industry could be damaged if the informal knowledge transfer from French wine experts slows down. The United Kingdom and the EU will need to cooperate on the issue of access arrangements for fishing.

scholarly journals Constitutional Adjudication and Constitutional Politics in the United Kingdom: The Miller II Case in Legal and Political Context

2020 ◽  
Vol 16 (4) ◽  
pp. 625-646
Author(s):  
Mark Elliott
Keyword(s):  
United Kingdom ◽  
European Convention ◽  
Unexpected Events ◽  
Constitutional Politics ◽  
The United Kingdom ◽  
Scottish Parliament ◽  
Scottish Independence ◽  
The Uk ◽  
Constitutional Adjudication ◽  
Default Setting

For a number of years there has been nothing at all unusual about the United Kingdom finding itself in a state of constitutional upheaval; indeed, for some time, this has been the UK constitution’s default setting. This has sometimes been as a result of long-anticipated and carefully planned reforms, such as the enactment, in the late 1990s, of legislation to give domestic effect to the European Convention on Human Rights and to introduce devolved systems of government in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland. In contrast, more recent upheaval is attributable to often unexpected reactions to often unexpected events. For example, legislation making substantial changes to the devolution scheme in Scotland – providing, among other things, for the constitutional permanence of the Scottish Parliament and Government – was enacted to implement panicked promises made by UK politicians in the dying days of the Scottish independence referendum campaign, at which point a vote in favour of independence seemed a distinct possibility. And then, needless to say, there is Brexit – about which it is almost impossible to be guilty of hyperbole when describing its constitutional implications, so numerous and potentially far-reaching are they.

SNP to bide time on independence from United Kingdom

2015 ◽  
Keyword(s):  
United Kingdom ◽  
Vote Share ◽  
General Election ◽  
Nuclear System ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Eu Membership ◽  
Scottish Parliament ◽  
Scottish Independence ◽  
The Uk ◽  
The Eu

Significance With the 2014 Scottish independence referendum and 2015 UK general election behind them, parties in Scotland are starting to focus on the May 2016 Scottish Parliament elections. Impacts The Conservatives' Scottish Parliament vote share is likely to rise at Labour's expense, through an appeal to hardcore unionists. In the UK EU membership referendum, the SNP will run its own campaign against leaving the EU ('Brexit'). A UK vote for Brexit, with Scotland voting for continued EU membership, would trigger a second independence referendum. The likely renewal of the Scotland-based UK Trident nuclear system, which the SNP opposes, could also be a pretext for a second referendum. Given the 2014 'no' vote, a second Scottish referendum could be more constitutionally controversial than the first.

The Annals of the Parish: Referendum Year 2014

2015 ◽  
Vol 24 (1) ◽  
pp. 1-21
Author(s):  
Eberhard Bort
Keyword(s):  
United Kingdom ◽  
Power Relations ◽  
Status Quo ◽  
Democratic Participation ◽  
Top Down ◽  
The United Kingdom ◽  
Scottish Parliament ◽  
National Conversation ◽  
Scottish Independence

The decisive No vote in the Scottish independence referendum on 18 September 2014 was not a vote for the constitutional status quo, although it confirmed that Scotland would remain part of the United Kingdom. The referendum outcome is likely to have far-reaching consequences for the power relations between London and Edinburgh and, perhaps more than expected, for the constitutional future of the entire UK. A tight timetable for the delivery of extra powers for the Scottish Parliament is in place, and the ‘elephant in the room’, the constitutional status and governance of England, is now firmly on the agenda. There is also pressure for decentralisation in Scotland itself. And the huge ‘democratic awakening’ which characterised this ‘national conversation’ about Scotland's future, with massive democratic participation and a record turnout, demands that these changes will have to be brought about in a participative way – and not ‘top-down’, as a Westminster or Holyrood ‘stitch-up’.

scholarly journals Financing Political Parties in France, Germany and The United Kingdom

2016 ◽  
pp. 91-110
Author(s):  
Jan Misiuna
Keyword(s):  
United Kingdom ◽  
Political Parties ◽  
Accounting Standards ◽  
Financial Information ◽  
Public Access ◽  
Final Conclusion ◽  
Election Campaigns ◽  
Low Level ◽  
The United Kingdom ◽  
The Uk

The paper compares the systems of financing political parties in France, Germany and the UK. The analysis concentrates on effectiveness of collecting contributions, dependency on large donors for providing funds for financing election campaigns and daily operation of political parties, and the level of transparency of finances of political parties. The final conclusion is that only introducing limits on expenditures on election campaigns allows to keep the costs of election campaigns and political parties at a low level, while mandatory common accounting standards and public access to financial information is necessary to preserve transparency of finances of political parties.

Scottish unionism faces a major struggle

2021 ◽  
Keyword(s):  
Northern Ireland ◽  
Vaccination Strategy ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Scottish Independence ◽  
The Uk

Significance The polls illustrate the plight of Scottish unionism, particularly in the context of Brexit and the COVID-19 pandemic. Impacts The success of the UK vaccination strategy is unlikely to have a significant impact on views about Scottish independence. Special Brexit arrangements for Northern Ireland and Gibraltar will compound Scottish anger over the removal of Scotland’s EU benefits. Due to a hard Brexit, Scottish independence would likely necessitate greater barriers to trade along the Scotland-England border.

EU signals flexibility over Northern Ireland protocol

2021 ◽  
Keyword(s):  
United Kingdom ◽  
Northern Ireland ◽  
European Commission ◽  
Legal Action ◽  
Content Type ◽  
High Profile ◽  
The United Kingdom ◽  
Notable Change ◽  
The Uk

Significance However, there has been a notable change in the EU’s tone. In July, the European Commission unexpectedly paused legal action against the United Kingdom for an alleged breach of the NIP, and when London announced on September 6 that it was suspending key elements indefinitely, the EU’s response was muted. Impacts France is so deeply aggrieved over AUKUS that any further UK breaches of the Withdrawal Agreement could prompt a bad-tempered response. The possibility of an early assembly election in Northern Ireland would complicate EU-UK attempts to resolve the NIP issue. The exclusion of high profile, pro-EU politicians in the UK cabinet reshuffle shows how important the Brexit agenda remains for London.

A history of university income in the United Kingdom and Australia, 1922–2017

2020 ◽  
Vol 49 (2) ◽  
pp. 229-248
Author(s):  
Tamson Pietsch
Keyword(s):  
Time Series ◽  
Time Series Data ◽  
Series Data ◽  
Content Type ◽  
The United Kingdom ◽  
History Of University ◽  
History Of ◽  
Strategic Influence ◽  
The Uk ◽  
Comparable Time

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to create comparable time series data on university income in Australia and the UK that might be used as a resource for those seeking to understand the changing funding profile of universities in the two countries and for those seeking to investigate how such data were produced and utilised.Design/methodology/approachA statistical analysis of university income from all sources in the UK and Australia.FindingsThe article produces a new time series for Australia and a comparable time series for the UK. It suggests some of the ways these data related to broader patterns of economic change, sketches the possibility of strategic influence, and outlines some of their limitations.Originality/valueThis is the first study to systematically create a time series on Australian university income across the twentieth century and present it alongside a comparable dataset for the UK.

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