British journalist and former BBC employee Gavin Esler, in his unpublished monograph How Britain Ends – English Nationalism and the Rebirth of Four Nations, warns of a serious crisis in Britain that could result in the collapse of the state. Quotes from the book on Sunday, January 17, leads the Daily Mail newspaper.
According to the Scottish-born author, most Scots have multiple identities, and the people of this part of the United Kingdom feel like Scots, British and Europeans. However, Brexit has dealt a blow to this self-identification and now many of those who voted in the 2014 referendum against the secession of Scotland are ready to support the region’s independence from Britain.
“Most Scots have been disgusted with events in Westminster since 2016, especially Brexit and what they see as incompetent Boris Johnson (Prime Minister of Great Britain – Ed.) And his government,” Esler writes.
He quotes Scotland’s first minister, Nicola Sturgeon, who believes that many Scots believe in the existence of a deep democratic deficit for their nation, because their opinions on this and other issues are not taken into account, and if they want to leave any union, then this is the United Kingdom.
“I have come to believe that Britain may indeed be coming to its end. I hear no alarm calls. This is the death knell, ”the publicist emphasizes.
According to the journalist, Johnson and his cabinet failed to unite the nation even during the pandemic, and now the state is united “by name only.” Esler points to the serious decentralization of the fight against the pandemic in different parts of the state, highlighting the general heterogeneity of the country, as exemplified by the differences in work in different parts of the UK health system, education, media, differences in law and even different status of the queen in Anglican and Scottish churches.
The publicist in his book describes several versions of the outcome of the British crisis.
“One is that in the seething rage of English nationalism, we are witnessing the first quiet omens of how Britain will end. The second possibility is that this discontent will prove to be a catalyst for rethinking Britain as some kind of still obscure, but nevertheless re-established United Kingdom. The third option is to maintain the status quo, but after Brexit this is no longer possible, ”he said.
The author is convinced that the separation of Scotland and possibly Northern Ireland from England will lead to a full-scale political crisis, which “will be much more complex, dirty, costly and bitter than even Brexit.”
On January 1, Scotland’s First Minister Nicola Sturgeon announced that the country, already as an independent state, would soon return to the European Union. She previously stated that the exit from the EU took place against the will of Scotland, whose population voted against Brexit in a Brexit referendum in 2016. – 62% of Scots did not want to leave the European Union.
The transitional period for Brexit ended on January 1, 2021. The UK has been a member of the EU for 47 years. The United Kingdom officially withdrew from the European Union on January 1, 2019.
On August 9, Johnson expressed concerns that Northern Ireland and Scotland would want to secede from the country after Brexit. He ordered to provide assistance to the regions.