Can the UK Survive Muscular Unionism?
| Author | Ciaran Martin |
| DOI | 10.1177/20419058211066522 |
| Published date | 01 December 2021 |
| Date | 01 December 2021 |
36POLITICAL INSIGHT•DECEMBER 2021
As she opened the sixth term
of the Scottish Parliament in
October, Her Majesty Queen
Elizabeth (the Second, or
First, depending on your view on royal
titles north of the border) could have
been forgiven a moment of reflection on
the first visit by a Hanoverian monarch
to Edinburgh. August 2022 marks the
bicentenary of George IV’s trip to the
Scottish capital; astonishingly, the first by a
British monarch since the Union. Thanks to
Sir Walter Scott’s remarkable feat of what
would now be called cultural appropriation,
the event proved to be of lasting historical
significance. The King’s decision to wrap
himself in tartan and other real and
invented symbols of Scottishness, is seen
as crucial in developing a hugely successful
political model where the expression of
Scottish distinctiveness sat comfortably
within a single British state.
Can the UK Survive
Muscular Unionism?
Faced with calls for referendums in Scotland and Northern Ireland,
many British Conservatives have become increasingly hostile to
devolution itself. But, asks Ciaran Martin, can the Union survive this
new, muscular unionism?
Conversely, George’s successor-but-six
found herself reopening an institution
housing a comfortable majority who wish
to bring that Union to an end. One of
the main drivers of support for Scottish
independence, according to repeated
surveys over many years, is the growing
numbers of Scots who feel more Scottish
than British, or Scottish and not British at all.
The Union remains in peril, despite
some signs that Scottish nationalism is
losing momentum. At the start of the
referendum campaign in 2011, a good poll
for independence had separation at around
33 per cent; a bad one at 25 per cent. So
the 45 per cent ‘Yes’ vote in 2014 could
have turned out to be a ceiling of support.
© SST / Alamy Stock Photo
Political Insight December 2021 BU.indd 36Political Insight December 2021 BU.indd 3618/11/2021 14:2118/11/2021 14:21
Get this document and AI-powered insights with a free trial of vLex and Vincent AI
Get Started for FreeStart Your Free Trial of vLex and Vincent AI, Your Precision-Engineered Legal Assistant
-
Access comprehensive legal content with no limitations across vLex's unparalleled global legal database
-
Build stronger arguments with verified citations and CERT citator that tracks case history and precedential strength
-
Transform your legal research from hours to minutes with Vincent AI's intelligent search and analysis capabilities
-
Elevate your practice by focusing your expertise where it matters most while Vincent handles the heavy lifting
Start Your Free Trial of vLex and Vincent AI, Your Precision-Engineered Legal Assistant
-
Access comprehensive legal content with no limitations across vLex's unparalleled global legal database
-
Build stronger arguments with verified citations and CERT citator that tracks case history and precedential strength
-
Transform your legal research from hours to minutes with Vincent AI's intelligent search and analysis capabilities
-
Elevate your practice by focusing your expertise where it matters most while Vincent handles the heavy lifting
Start Your Free Trial of vLex and Vincent AI, Your Precision-Engineered Legal Assistant
-
Access comprehensive legal content with no limitations across vLex's unparalleled global legal database
-
Build stronger arguments with verified citations and CERT citator that tracks case history and precedential strength
-
Transform your legal research from hours to minutes with Vincent AI's intelligent search and analysis capabilities
-
Elevate your practice by focusing your expertise where it matters most while Vincent handles the heavy lifting
Start Your Free Trial of vLex and Vincent AI, Your Precision-Engineered Legal Assistant
-
Access comprehensive legal content with no limitations across vLex's unparalleled global legal database
-
Build stronger arguments with verified citations and CERT citator that tracks case history and precedential strength
-
Transform your legal research from hours to minutes with Vincent AI's intelligent search and analysis capabilities
-
Elevate your practice by focusing your expertise where it matters most while Vincent handles the heavy lifting
Start Your Free Trial of vLex and Vincent AI, Your Precision-Engineered Legal Assistant
-
Access comprehensive legal content with no limitations across vLex's unparalleled global legal database
-
Build stronger arguments with verified citations and CERT citator that tracks case history and precedential strength
-
Transform your legal research from hours to minutes with Vincent AI's intelligent search and analysis capabilities
-
Elevate your practice by focusing your expertise where it matters most while Vincent handles the heavy lifting