to think that this will bring about England as a separate country after this?

[chomalungma]

Is Boris Johnson the Prime Minister of the UK in name only? He seems to have forgotten about the rest of the UK in his speech as it was mainly about what people can and can't do in England.

Are there police on the border crossings in Wales and Scotland?

This crisis must be playing into the hands of people who would like to see the other countries in the UK as sovereign states recognised by the UN (as Richard Osmond would say)

Personally speaking, I think it would be good to have England as its own country. And good for the other countries as well. We could of course co-operate economically, have freedom of movement and free trade etc.

Nicola loves scoring points over Boris, but doesn't mind him paying for the Scottish workers furlough though

You do realise it's the UK government that is paying for furlough, not Boris? The UK government that Scotland pays into it? Of course you do, but why waste an opportunity to have a pop at the freeloading Scottish people?

joydivisionovengloves1

Or are you so stupid you don't realise Scottish people pay tax to. Just the same as they do in the other 3 countries of the UK.

And they wonder why Scotland wants away from England. Shame England doesn't go their own way and leave the rest of us together we would be fine but they won't they have no resources like we have. Think they forget that when they accuse us of spending their money

Wait! If I'm Scottish and on furlough but still paying tax where is that tax going? Do people honestly think that Scottish people don't pay tax?

@chomalungma if they listen to the news at all then they should. I think its been made very clear that England has diverged from the rules and the other countries haven't. Even if Scotland did have the same rules people still shouldnt be travelling up to Scotland because the message (albeit very difficult to find in Boris' usual waffle) is to stay in your local area.

I don't know about the other countries but I do think this government is getting its ducks in a row with regard a united Ireland. Border checks in the Irish sea etc.

So we don’t pay tax and NI in Scotland? WE PAY MORE TAX AS WE PAY 21% UP HERE YA DOBBER!

Boris Johnson is the UK prime minister, Uk government is paying wages for all furlough workers in the Uk, Scotland is part of the UK. Where's the problem? Or am I just thick?

@Doubletrouble99

Should have locked down weeks earlier

Simply not possible for Scotland as things stand. It's simply not within the competence of the devolved government to shut down things like the entertainment and hospitality industries because control over those is still reserved to Westminster, ergo, insurers would only pay out on an instruction emanating from Westminster.

I think it was pretty damn obvious over the last 10 days or so in the run-up to lockdown that NS and the SG were spitting feathers over Boris' dilly-dallying and the apparent brevity with which Downing street was approaching the entire Covid crisis.

Was the SG just supposed to furlough hundreds of thousands of Scots workers then turn around and tell them 'Don't worry, we trust Boris to do the same thing in the long run, so you'll get paid...... eventually... probably"?

@KenDodd

Indeed

At the moment there's no greater driving force around for the furthering of nationalist and independence causes than the ultra-britnat approach of showing nothing but complete contempt for the devolved nations and their governments.

It's worked so well in the past that they managed to double support for independence in Scotland in barely five years, and all indications show it's still having the exact same effect.

Nothing like sorting out the problem of dissatisfaction within the Union by doubling-down with the approach that is causing it.

As a good few of the more prominent moderate Unionists have pointed out, it's Unionists who will inevitably cause the break-up of the Union they claim to cherish.

At the moment there's no greater driving force around for the furthering of nationalist and independence causes than the ultra-britnat approach of showing nothing but complete contempt for the devolved nations and their governments.

I agree that Westminster are stirring up Scottish nationalism. I don't think it's because they want Scotland to be independent though. It serves them because the vast majority of seats that the SNP have taken were labour seats and it let's them keep power in Westminster. I doubt the conservatives are going to rock the boat when they have the best situation they could hope for in Scotland.

Why is it always “want to get away from the South East” (of England) on here? Sorry but I really don’t get the issue with people from the south east. Can someone enlighten me why we (from south east) are such a problem for the rest of the UK?

All infrastructure spending goes to London and the south east. Try getting on a 300 year old northern rail train or a bus in my part of Yorkshire, and tell me that it's fair.

Major cities like Leeds, Newcastle, Sunderland, Sheffield, liverpool, Nottingham (Manchester seems to do ok for some reason, and I'm not sure what it's like in Birmingham) have to deal with terrible transport links and and pot-holed roads. Whilst people in London and the south east get amazing 24 hour transport links and crystal clear A roads.

As the Scottish, Welsh and Northern Irish people have said, we all pay taxes. I'm not saying that the London doesn't need to have more spent on it's infrastructure it clearly does, but the difference is shocking. It was even worse before devolution.

And of course the jibes by many in the South east that were all just bumpkins in the rest of the country. I remember when the Hepworth gallery in Wakefield there was a campaign to get it opened in London as it was too far to travel and they would get no visitors.

www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-leeds-13483212

This article alludes to it but doesn't say it directly.

XDownwiththissortofthingX
Further to a united Ireland I actually think the Tories want this. NI brings them no votes, costs them money, and is of very little interest to voters in England. Facilitating a united Ireland would cost them nothing in terms of lost votes and would strengthen their hand in Westminster.

Notverybright but you’re referring to London. It may be in the South East but it isn’t the South East. Outside central London/City, it’s just the same as everywhere else, including utterly shite train services.