We talk to the historians Robert Tombs and Robert Saunders about the history of England and the future of the Union. Is the size and complexity of England the real problem in holding the UK together? What can England's past teach us about the present state of British politics? Does England have a 'Northern Question' to go with its 'Scottish Question' and 'Irish Question'? This is the final episode in our series about the constituent parts of the UK. Find the others - on Scotland, NI, Wales - at https://www.talkingpoliticspodcast.com/
Talking Points:
Is the island of Britain a natural seat of government?
Most people probably don’t know that the Union was a Scottish creation.
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.
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.
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