{"version":"1.0","type":"rich","provider_name":"Acast","provider_url":"https://acast.com","height":250,"width":700,"html":"<iframe src=\"https://embed.acast.com/$/9a03fe9e-1ff0-4dcc-b3f6-50bd1f016ea4/68f09bdd-40e8-431f-8b36-402552ad978e?\" frameBorder=\"0\" width=\"700\" height=\"250\"></iframe>","title":"England, Their England","thumbnail_width":200,"thumbnail_height":200,"thumbnail_url":"https://open-images.acast.com/shows/6195701f2eacc3a36070252a/619570bccb3c660012e3cdcd.jpg?height=200","description":"<p>We talk to the historians Robert Tombs and Robert Saunders about the history of England and the future of the Union.&nbsp;Is the size and complexity of England the real problem in holding the UK together?&nbsp;What can England's past teach us about the present state of British politics?&nbsp;Does England have a 'Northern Question' to go with its 'Scottish Question' and 'Irish Question'?&nbsp;This is the final episode in our series about the constituent parts of the UK.&nbsp;Find the others - on Scotland, NI, Wales - at&nbsp;<a href=\"https://www.talkingpoliticspodcast.com/\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" target=\"_blank\">https://www.talkingpoliticspodcast.com/</a></p><p><br></p><p>Talking Points:&nbsp;</p><p><br></p><p>Is the island of Britain a natural seat of government?</p><ul><li>England is not an island; and the English are not an island people.</li><li>The Norman conquest attached England to the continent; leaving Scotland outside.</li><li>As a maritime power, it was useful for England to move its borders to the sea.&nbsp;</li><li>The strategic arguments for the existence of the UK are perhaps weaker in an era of more diffuse and global security threats and frameworks.</li></ul><p><br></p><p>Most people probably don’t know that the Union was a Scottish creation.</p><ul><li>The lack of interest in developing ‘Britishness’ at the English center has had consequences.&nbsp;</li><li>England is now more dominant in the Union than it used to be.</li></ul><p><br></p><p>Governance of the Union has changed: the leadership of both major parties in Westminster is now almost exclusively English and they compete for almost exclusively English votes.&nbsp;</p><ul><li>There is a separate leadership class in Scotland, Wales, and Northern Ireland.&nbsp;</li><li>The electoral politics of asymmetrical devolution lead to intense secessionist pressure from Scotland.</li><li>No government in Westminster can govern without English support, but it is possible to govern while being insensitive to Scottish or Welsh opinion.</li><li>The dynamics of the Union incline toward Conservative power in Westminster and SNP power in Scotland. This is an unstable dynamic.</li></ul><p><br></p><p>The English don’t really have a story about before the Union in part because the English have never really seen the Acts of Union as dividing lines in English history.</p><ul><li>Is the ‘Northern question’ a perennial question in English politics? Right now, this is the heart of the electoral conflict.</li><li>In every part of England that isn’t London, you can find anti-London sentiment.&nbsp;</li><li>There’s a lot of resentment toward the Union in England, but the Union is a pretty good deal for England.</li></ul><p><br></p><p>Mentioned in this Episode:</p><ul><li><a href=\"https://www.talkingpoliticspodcast.com/blog/2021/315-wales-england-and-the-future-of-the-uk\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" target=\"_blank\">Talking … Wales</a></li><li><a href=\"https://www.talkingpoliticspodcast.com/blog/2021/309-northern-ireland-past-present-future\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" target=\"_blank\">Talking … Northern Ireland</a></li><li><a href=\"https://www.talkingpoliticspodcast.com/blog/2021/304-what-is-the-union\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" target=\"_blank\">Talking… Scotland</a></li><li><a href=\"https://www.waterstones.com/book/the-english-and-their-history/robert-tombs/9780141031651\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" target=\"_blank\"><em>The English and their History</em>, Robert Tombs</a></li><li><a href=\"https://www.waterstones.com/book/the-making-of-english-national-identity/krishan-kumar/9780521777360\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" target=\"_blank\"><em>The Making of English National Identity</em>, Krishan Kumar</a></li></ul><p><br></p><p>Further Learning:&nbsp;</p><ul><li><a href=\"https://www.penguin.co.uk/books/321/321121/this-sovereign-isle/9780241480380.html\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" target=\"_blank\"><em>This Sovereign Isle</em>, Robert Tombs</a></li><li><a href=\"https://www.lrb.co.uk/the-paper/v18/n04/tom-shippey/the-best\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" target=\"_blank\">Tim Shippey on Alfred the...","author_name":"David Runciman and Catherine Carr"}