I suggested that, unless we start to focus more on what unites us than we do on what divides us like you being PM perhaps ?, there is a real risk that one day people will wake up and find that the benefits of the Union like the English paying for everyone else- which they had taken for granted for so long - had disappeared.
I was accused of crying wolf - no you were accused of being a hypocrite - just as you accused John Major of crying Wolf when he said we had 24 hrs to save the Union before you came into power and broke it. But when secessionist forces are loudly at work it is not the time for silence and passivity - but you haven't been - your the one who made the problem in the first place !!!!. We must be resolute in defending the Union and argue against those who put it at risk the only way you could do this is by resigning.
In these islands we have, over centuries, created the world's most successful multinational state because we celebrate and respect the multiple identities that enrich us all. I am Scottish and proud of it, but I am no less proud to be British - just as there are millions who are proud to be Welsh and British and English and British too - any seen the Irish ?.
In recognition of this, 10 years ago we embarked on devolution fantastic bear face lie direct to our face - ensuring that the smaller nations that are part of the UK have more control over their own affairs can you see some sort of why England could never be allowed to be Tory have its own Parliament argument building up here ?. Devolution simply acknowledges the dual identities: Welsh and British, Scottish and British too What about the English !!! Are you so bigoted that you can't get the word out ?.
Yet if, as I believe, the Union is a multiplier for good that too often and for too long has been taken for granted, then it is time now to explain how the Union can benefit all of us, and not at the expense of each other - its mostly at the expense of the English - you've made it into an abusive relationship.
There is no Scotland-only, Wales-only, England-only solution to transnational challenges that range from terrorism to foot and mouth disease, and from avian flu to security and climate change. So for these islands an environmental Union, a security Union and a Union for defence is to the benefit of all This is really an argument as much for the EU as the UK - I'm sure Scots Nats would happily subscribe and suggest they can get all this from the EU - you must think you are talking to ignorant children.
But what matters even more are the common values we share across the United
Kingdom: values we have developed together over the years (300 of them - England on the other hand is over 1000 years old ) that are rooted in liberty, in fairness and tolerance, in enterprise, in civic initiative and internationalism Again mainly English virtues.
These values live in the popularity of our common institutions from the NHS there are 4 NHS's - the least money per head being spent on the English one, the BBC the BBC has national units for everyone except England - just like its socialist pay masters, to the Queen - and even more recently in UK-wide support for the Olympics where every other part of the UK complains about London, Children in Need, Comic Relief, Make Poverty History that politics - and stupidity and
action on climate change again politics and stupidity.
We know also that we are stronger together because again and again each part of our country has benefited from innovations with origins in only one: the NHS founded by a Welshman; universal education with many of its earliest roots in Scotland; and universal suffrage championed by radicals in England. ( And how was the UK important here - I'm just asking as you make these points ? )
In all these, and in many other instances, we did not lose because we worked together, but gained something greater than we could have achieved separately.
The fact is, the Union is more like a covenant founded on shared values that have created bonds
of belonging that make us all feel part of a wider Britain. Out of these bonds of belonging we have created not just the rights and responsibilities of a political citizenship but also of a social and
economic citizenship too. But for the English who must be oppressed and bleed dry by punitive taxation, unfair distribution of resource and vindictive political spending against areas that don't vote Celtic Labour.
So today, wherever and whoever you are in any part of the United Kingdom, you enjoy not only
the right to liberty within the law but also the right to education, to healthcare, to help when unemployed and to a state pension and soon, for everyone, an occupational pension too. It is through such social insurance that all parts of the UK share risks and resources to provide
security for each of us. ( Warning to the Scots - vote SNP and the English won't be there to bail out you socialist utopia and public sector run economy when the oil runs out )
It is precisely because these shared values are so important and continue to flourish that it
is possible to reconcile English, Scottish and Welsh pride with the progress of the Union - because the Union succeeds in combining recognition of separate national identities with the ideals and common values that reflect our wider Brutishness like the anti-English constitutional arrangement eh ?.
Today Jack Straw the cabinet's token English person, Secretary for Justice, is consulting throughout the country on a statement of values that define British citizenship and on the
case for a full British bill of rights and duties setting out rights and obligations for all citizens. He will of course not ask those who disagree with him - the English have never needed such a statement and certainly don't trust Labour to come up with it.
The theme of the next stage of constitutional reform will be the empowerment of people ie the fudging of the issue- at local, regional WARNING - THIS IS LABOUR's next anti-English plan - destroy England with the British regions !!!! and national levels. So it makes sense also to look at the relationship between the nations and regions you can see what coming right ?and whether it strikes the right balance as we strive to meet and master new global challenges.
The discussion about the future of Britain will succeed best if it is based on our shared values, and rooted in the hopes and aspirations for the future of people in every part of our country. So why are the English not asked - insulted and marginalised - is it because we don't vote for your party Mr Brown in large enough numbers ?
There is a modern case for the Union, and it must be heard there was a case for the Union you broke Mr Brown - but you ignored it: it is not about partnership at the expense of pride, or about pride that can be satisfied only by sacrificing partnership ( you know what this means England and the English sacrifice - everyone one else cleans up ). Instead, it is to ensure that each region and nation of the United Kingdom flourishes within a covenant and in a partnership of equals for the benefit of all except of course England and the English.
PS Anyone know what happened to http://www.toque.co.uk/witan today ?
Andrew - I think your article has a number of key insights and provides a warning to an incoming Conservative government.
The Unionist argument for an English Parliament is not heard often enough. It provides equality of respect between the home nations and a sense of natural justice.
It also removes one of the key drivers for the breakup of the UK which is the assumption that the now devolved administrations are different from the normal state.
The trap David Cameron is currently walking into is that of again sacrificing English interests to appease Scotland. It will fail on two levels - first the injustice to the English and second the insult to the Scots who sense they are being bought off by someone who is willing to sell his own nation short.
There is a great opportunity for the Conservatives to engage in UK wide constitutional reform, and establishing federal home nation parliaments should be part of that reform. And that means an English Parliament.
It will certainly be better than waiting for the next socialist administration to try its hand, as they will be far more vindictive due to their natural conceit about knowing what's good for people.