England and Scotland

[guerillaGardner]

Me and a friend were discussing the relationship between England and Scotland and he quoted the actor Hugh Laurie who apparently stated this could easily turn into another Bosnia/Croatia (or something along those lines).

I'm not sure how serious he was but this leads me to wonder how bad, or how good, the relationship between the two countries is and if it really is that bad, what can be done to improve it.

If there is bad feeling towards the Scottish is it because of calls for greater autonomy or is it due to stereotyping?

What are the justifications for bad feeling towards the English? Is it, again, just stereotyping? Or are the Scottish blaming someone else for their place in the world.

Of course the answer may be that there's no big problem. Perhaps we're just like two grumpy old neighbours who like to grumble under our breath about each other.

What are people's thoughts on it? What do British contributors on this board think about it? What is the Welsh and N. Ireland point of view? Has it ever crossed your mind before now?

What do non-Brits think of it? What is a non-British perception of relations between the various provinces of the UK?

I'm sure if this thread gets a response it may inspire a few rants, but as long as it's balanced with constructive discussion then thats fine.

[Ace42]

I wasn't aware there was a great deal of animosity... I think the Scottish parliament has done a lot of good, and Alex Salmond is possibly my favourite parliamentarian of this millenium.

[Documad]

What do non-Brits think of it? What is a non-British perception of relations between the various provinces of the UK?
I think most Americans only know that Mel Gibson got a raw deal from the gay English monarchy and that Ewan McGregor was still upset about it in Trainspotting.

There are some intelligent Brits who post on the board, but they apparently don't read this forum.

[Freebasser]

You're so right. Last time I went to Scotland I almost got lynched.

But seriously folks - if you're English, then as long as you don't go around advertising the fact that you're English in the rough areas of cities like Glasgow, then you'll be fine. You do get xenophobic nutters and pissheads in every city in the world you know? It's not like we're fucking shooting each other.

In fact, I think comparing Scotland and England to Bosnia and Serbia is a little bit... well... fucking stupid.

[guerillaGardner]

You're so right. Last time I went to Scotland I almost got lynched. But seriously folks - if you're English, then as long as you don't go around advertising the fact that you're English in the rough areas of cities like Glasgow, then you'll be fine. You do get xenophobic nutters and pissheads in every city in the world you know? It's not like we're fucking shooting each other. In fact, I think comparing Scotland and England to Bosnia and Serbia is a little bit... well... fucking stupid.

I tried to a web search to see if I could see a reference to that quote, but couldn't find it.

Sorry, you get a hard time when you come up here Freebasser. I cringe when I see people behaving like that, especially if it gives the impression that we are all racist arseholes.

But I guess I feel re-assured by how slow the response is to this thread. My main purpose in starting it (as well as just thinking out loud) was to see if things were even nearly as bad as Hugh Laurie (might have) said. If it was I think this is a thread that might have been leapt on.

The question that strikes me is that if relations between England and Scotland are perceived as badly in some quarters is there a point where they need worked on? Is there some channel required for discussion between all parts of the UK that currently doesn't exist? Is animosity between all parts of the UK not officially discussed so therefore left to fester until it reaches a critical point?

Is it time for a positive movement for better relations and communication between all parts of the UK, that even if it made us get on better may or may not still lead to the break up of the UK?

These questions may be irrelevant to the actual situation, but at what point do we have to ask the question and are we close to it?

[Documad]

From what I know about Hugh Laurie, it seems like it would have been said in fun, if he said it at all.

Have relations gotten worse over the past 20 years? Because I never got that vibe from either side.


Oh, and my grandpa was from Wales and he never expressed any hatred of the English.

[intergalactic]

Whats the point of a north south divide if we dont inforce it :rolleyes:

[Parkey]

Ha! Trust me, he'd have been taking the piss.

England and Scotland (and for that matter Wales and Cornwall too) treat each other with a healthy disdain because that's what neighbours do! The fact is everyone gets along OK, but Scotland does have more contempt for the English than the English do for the Scots. If Scotland became autonomous (including fiscally) it would be one of the poorest nations on Earth; but that's never going to happen.

I'm half English (Mum) and half Scot (Dad), so I'm fine either way!

[Tone Capone]

I wasn't aware there was a great deal of animosity...

Between the people there obviously is some. I didn't know about it until I moved here though.

[Ali]

fucking english stole our oil