Paul Marks puts a very uncomfortable question to English supporters of the British Union.
There has long been a debate, in libertarian circles, about whether there is a special commitment among the people of England (or the cultural institutions of England) to liberty – or whether England is much the same as other Western nations.
My own position is that (whatever may have been true in the past) England today is indeed much the same as other Western nations. The English tend to say that they believe in freedom – but when faced with one of the ‘hard questions’: Are you in favour of the abolition of the National Health Service? Are you in favour of the legalization of cocaine? Do you support adults being allowed to buy automatic rifles? and so on, support for liberty tends to collapse – it is much the same in other Western nations.
In formal politics England is also much the same as other Western nations. One of the two major political parties is in theory in favour of a smaller less interventionist government – the Conservative party. Yet when it is actually in government, the Conservative party is not very good at reducing the size and scope of government – but (again) that is much the same as the Republicans in the United States, the Liberals in Australia, the R.P.R. in France, the Christian Democrats in Germany (and so on).
But have a look at Scotland and Wales. The most important party is Labour (a party, whatever some people may like to think, that is overtly in favour of ever more government spending and regulations). The Labour party is far more important in Scotland and Wales than it is in England and far more important than its sister parties are in other Western nations, but that is not the most important point. The second party of Scotland and Wales is NOT the Conservative party.
The Scottish and Welsh nationalists and the Liberal Democrats are all openly statist parties – and they are more important than the Conservative party in Scotland and Wales.
The Liberal Democrats in Scotland and Wales support the ruling Labour party (so perhaps can be discounted), but the major opposition are the statist nationalist parties.
In short Scotland and Wales have openly statist governments working for ever more government spending and regulations – and openly statist oppositions, working for ever more government spending and regulations.
This is not normal in the Western world. Is it in the interests of England to be bound to Scotland and Wales?
Paul Marks
