Consequences of separation
Sir: While Fraser Nelson’s column (Politics, 19 April) provided an excellent political analysis regarding England and Scotland, it made no reference to the potential consequences of separation to the other two countries of the United Kingdom. The lobby for full independence has traditionally been weak in Wales, a country whose constituent parts of North and South are more connected with major English cities than they are with each other. But would a fear of becoming a mere adjunct to the ‘state of England’ drive the Welsh to a premature secession?
In the case of Northern Ireland, the concentrated migration of Scots to Ulster during the 17th and 18th centuries has left a legacy among the majority Unionist community of stronger emotional and cultural ties to Scotland than arguably exist with England. Could break-up on the mainland threaten all that’s been achieved in recent years in Northern Ireland by bringing issues of constitution and identity back to the forefront? Gavin Bostock
St Albans, Herts
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