An Uncomfortable Marriage: A Brief History of the Union.

As we contemplate the realistic chance of an end to the political union of Great Britain, perhaps it's worth remembering that it all started with the Tudors. Henry VII victory at Bosworth in 1485 started the ball rolling. The Tudor dynasty was Welsh in origin, with a dragon for their emblem, and as a supporter on the arms of England. The victory at Bosworth had been fought with Welsh support, and the Welsh became common at Court. Henry Tudor did not neglect his Northern neighbour, however, he married his daughter into the Stuart line. An act which would culminate in James I ascension to the throne a century later.

Under Henry VIII, Wales and Ireland were formally united with the crown. Wales was subsumed into England by the Laws in Wales Acts in the 1530's, whilst the Crown of Ireland Act in 1542, established the English monarch as King of Ireland. The reaction in the two countries was wildly different. The Welsh gentry welcomed the change in legal status, and an end to the capricious penal laws that had poisoned Anglo-Welsh relations in the previous century. Whilst Ireland retained a Parliament, and legal system, English control was never secure during the Reformation and later Tudor period. The English Landowners treated Ireland as a colony, and resentment of English rule was common. The Union would cast a long shadow in Ireland. In his 1975 book of poetry, 'North,' Seamus Heaney uses it as a theme in many of the poems, not least Acts of Union.

The death of Elizabeth I in 1603, saw James VI of Scotland take the throne of all three Kingdoms and, for the first time, Britain was united under one monarch. James intended a speedy political union between the two countries, declaring he would not 'be guilty of bigamy.' However, Parliament was not keen on the idea and it was soon dropped.

After Charles I defeat in the Civil Wars, the three kingdoms were first united politically by Cromwell in the Commonwealth. The Act of Union finally received ratification in 1657, but Cromwell with only months of life remaining, had left it too late. The free trade block established by the Act did not have time to improve the economy, especially given the high tax rate needed to supply the army. Cromwell's death in 1658 saw the unravelling of the Commonwealth, and the restoration of the monarchy in 1660 put everything back to the position of 1639.

The restored Stuarts did not pursue a policy of Union, despite the Scottish Parliament discussing it in the 1670's, and William of Oranges attempts after the Glorious Revolution were unsuccessful. The worsening economic situation in Scotland did not help matters, and relations did not improve until the ascension of Queen Anne in 1702. In 1705, negotiations began to look at further political union. The impetus in Scotland came from the disastrous economic effects of the failed Darien scheme (an attempt to set up a colony in Panama) which had bankrupted the nation. The failure by the English to support the colony against the Spanish Empire caused resentment in Scotland, but faced with financial ruin, the Scottish Parliament swallowed its pride.

The union was at least profitable for it's supporters, financial inducements paid to the Darien investors saw money flooding north from London to ensure passage of the bill. As Robbie Burns wrote,

We're bought and sold for English Gold,

Such a Parcel of Rogues in a Nation.

The Union was not popular with the general population, but the political class had been bought, and the Scottish Parliament voted itself out of existence. This still left Ireland with its own Parliament, but that was redressed in the 1801 Act of Union, which made Ireland part of the United Kingdom of Great Britain rather than a separate entity.

There were of course attempts to break-up the fledgling union. In 1715, James II' son, deposed with his father, made an attempt to restore the catholic Stuart line. It was an abject failure, and the Old Pretender retired to Italy to sulk over his failures. In 1745, his son would make a much more threatening, but ultimately just as unsuccessful attempt. At Culloden Field in 1746 the last pitched battle on British soil was fought, and the rebellion was finished. Despite being a half-French, half-Polish, Italian fop, Bonnie Prince Charlie became a romantic figure of Scots legend. He ended his days, like his father, sulking in Italy.

In Ireland, English rule had never sat easily; in response to Irish insurrection, the reaction had initially been ever closer union. The rebellion in 1798 led directly to the Act of Union in 1801 creating the political entity of Great Britain and the modern Union Flag.

During the Victorian Age, the nationalist movements in Wales and Scotland were largely muted. Queen Victoria's own fondness for Balmoral started a period of tartan chic for the ruling classes. Whilst South Wales in particular, became a powerhouse of British industry, providing the Anthracite coal, and copper and iron that drove the technological change.

In Ireland the situation, as ever, was far less peaceful. The failure of the rebellion in 1798 did not end separatism. As the nineteenth century progressed terrorist action by the Fenians culminated in bombings in London. The struggle for Home Rule reached a fever pitch in 1870's and 80's, culminating in Gladstone's first attempt at Home Rule in 1886. The bill was opposed by Unionists and split the Liberal party. When it failed to pass, it caused the downfall of the Government, and ushered in Lord Salisbury's Conservative administration. Gladstone made a second attempt in 1893, but again this was stifled by Tory opposition.

Home Rule for Ireland was eventually passed on the eve of World War One by the Liberals under Asquith. After a series of defeats in the Lords, the Commons forced the bill through using the Parliament Act. However, the outbreak of the war halted Home Rule in its tracks, as the Act was suspended for the duration. The Easter Rising in 1916, and the outbreak of the Irish War of Independence in 1919, forced the issue back onto the table. The British Government partitioned Ireland and signed a Peace Treaty in 1921, creating Irish Free State - which promptly fell into Civil War - and Northern Ireland.

In Wales and Scotland, the twentieth century saw the rise of new Nationalist movements. Plaid Cymru was formed in 1925, with the express aim of protecting welsh cultural independence through the language, rather than Home Rule. In 1934, the SNP were formed with the far more radical aim of full independence. They gained their first MP in Motherwell in 1945, and gradually increased the share of the vote. A high point in the 1974 election, led to eleven SNP members being returned to Parliament, and was followed by the devolution referendum in 1979. However, support fell during the 79 election. Whilst the referendum on devolution was comprehensively beaten in Wales, in Scotland the majority voted for a devolved assembly. However, a 40% benchmark had been set so the bill was not passed.

What followed was a twenty year destruction of industry and communities across Britain, but especially so in the Industrial heartlands of Scotland and Wales. Policies designed in Westminster were seen as English punishment for voting Labour. The introduction of the Poll Tax to Scotland effectively killed the Tory party as a power north of the border, and the rise of separatist movements grew. This was followed by the Devolution of powers to Scotland, Wales, and Northern Ireland in 1999.

Alex Salmond's victory in the Scottish Elections in 2011, led to David Cameron's offer of a referendum on Scottish independence, and we find ourselves in today's situation. Whatever the result, we are now faced with radical change for the Union. Further devolution, and the creation of a federal system of Government for Britain now looks likely, with calls for an English Assembly growing. As Rincewind would say: We live in interesting times.