The British general election, set for April 9, could be the most crucial contest in the modern era, one which could redefine terms such as “Britain” and the “United Kingdom.” At stake is the future of Scotland as an integral part of the British mainland.
Devastated in the Thatcher era by huge unemployment, the rising tide of Scottish nationalism threatens to force a withdrawal from Westminster by Scottish MPs and the creation of a separate “Home Rule” Scottish assembly.
The Scottish disillusionment with Westminster is probably the most serious threat to the concept of the United Kingdom since Irish rebels rose up in arms in April 1916.
Yet it is easy to comprehend. The slash and burn economic policies of successive Thatcherite governments has left Scotland devastated. Draw a line north of the British midlands and the Thatcher miracle has proven to be a nightmare with record unemployment, the death of traditional industries and a decade-long recession hitting the very fabric of society.
Thus, it is hardly surprising that voters in Scotland, where the Tories have failed to elect more than a handful of MPs in the past few contests, are now leaning toward going it on their own.
Other cracks in what remains of the empire have been evident recently. Just a few weeks back, Paul Keating, the Irish Australian prime minister of that country made it clear that he wanted the Union Jack on the corner of the Australian flag removed.
Then he went further during a visit by Queen Elizabeth II to her most distant commonwealth possession. Keating’s wife pointedly failed to curtsy to the Queen and Keating himself launched a blistering attack on the British and accused them of not supporting Australian troops in Singapore during World War II. He also denounced Royalist Australians for their “fawning and doting” attitude towards their former colonial master.
Then on St. Patrick’s Day, Keating told the Irish Chamber of Commerce breakfast that he was calling again for the removal of the Union Jack from the corner of the Australian flag. In doing so, Keating called on Australians to be “more like the Irish are, proud without being silly, parochial without being unworldly, secure without being culturally arrogant.”
Keating also stated that the Irish could teach the Australians about their own traditions because “their history and their destiny is forever their own.” The new prime minister’s focus on the Irish comparison was intriguing, given his Irish roots. It was, most likely, a premeditated slap at the British tabloids who had overwhelmingly portrayed him as an Irish upstart after he spoke out against the continuation of the royal link.
Those two changing realities in countries 6,000 miles apart, but bound by history and tradition to the royal lion, point up how utterly the world landscape has changed and will change over the next few years.
Prior to World War I, Britain was the preeminent world power, the fulcrum of a mighty empire wherein the sun never set.
A mere lifetime later, that empire is in tatters, with formerly such integral parts as Scotland and Australia now shifting uneasily, preparing perhaps to bolt the fold.
The relevance for Ireland is clear for all to see. At a time when the empire seems composed more of moving parts than a uniform whole, the Unionist leaders in Northern Ireland seem still determined to wrap their futures ever more tightly in the folds of the Union Jack.
Yet the developments in Australia and Scotland cannot go unnoticed there. A time for new structures, new accommodations is upon us all over Europe and indeed the Western World. A concept of self-rule with dual nationality would not be impossible to foresee in Northern Ireland. What is needed is the vision and bravery of a man such as a Paul Keating to grasp the nettle and create new thinking on the subject.
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