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In theUnited Kingdom,unionism is a political stance favouring the continued unity ofEngland,Scotland,Wales andNorthern Ireland as one sovereign state, theUnited Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland. Those who support the union are referred to as Unionists.[1] Though not all unionists are nationalists, UK or British unionism is associated withBritish nationalism, which asserts that theBritish are anation and promotes the cultural unity of theBritons,[2][3] which may include people ofEnglish,Scottish,Welsh,Irish,Cornish,Jersey,Manx andGuernsey descent.
Since the late 20th century, differing views on theconstitutional status of the countries within the UK have become a bigger issue in Scotland, Northern Ireland, and to a lesser extent in Wales. The pro-independenceScottish National Party first became the governing party of theScottish Parliament in 2007, and it won an outright majority of seats at the2011 Scottish Parliament election. This led to areferendum on Scottish independence in 2014, where voters were asked: "Should Scotland be an independent country?"[4] 44.7% of voters answered "Yes" and 55.3% answered "No", with a recordvoter turnout of 84.5%.[5][6]
In 1542, the crowns of England and Ireland had been united through the creation of the Kingdom of Ireland under theCrown of Ireland Act 1542. Since the 12th century, the King of England had acted asLord of Ireland, underpapal overlordship. The act of 1542 created the title of "King of Ireland" for KingHenry VIII of England and his successors, removing the role of the Pope as the ultimate overlord of Ireland. The crowns ofEngland andScotland were united in 1603, whenJames VI of Scotland succeeded his cousinElizabeth I in England.
TheKingdom of Great Britain was formed on 1 May 1707 through theActs of Union 1707, two simultaneous acts passed by theparliaments of England andScotland. These created apolitical union between theKingdom of England (consisting ofEngland andWales) and theKingdom of Scotland. This event was the result of theTreaty of Union that was agreed on 22 July 1706.[7] The Acts created a singleParliament of Great Britain atWestminster as well as acustoms andmonetary union. However, England and Scotland remained separate legal jurisdictions.
With theAct of Union 1800, theKingdom of Ireland united withGreat Britain into what then formed theUnited Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland. The history of the Union is reflected in various stages of theUnion Jack, which forms theflag of the United Kingdom.Ireland left the United Kingdom in 1922, however the separation of Ireland which originally occurred under theGovernment of Ireland Act 1920 was upheld by the British Government and the Unionist-controlled devolvedParliament of Northern Ireland, and chose to remain within the state today, which is now officially termed the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland. The 300th anniversary of the union of Scotland and England was marked in 2007.
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In England, support for the Union has traditionally been high, while support for a separate English state has conversely been relatively low. However, the rise ofEnglish nationalism has seen a decrease in support for the United Kingdom, although English nationalism does not necessarily advocate English independence from the United Kingdom. In November 2006, an ICM poll, commissioned by theSunday Telegraph, showed that support for full English independence had reached 48% of those questioned.[8] However, two polls conducted in 2007 and 2013 showed that English support for the Union was stable and high, with 78% opposed to English independence in 2013.[9]
In 2014, areferendum for Scottish independence was held. Voters were asked: "Should Scotland be an independent country?"[10] 44.7% of voters answered "Yes" and 55.3% answered "No", with a recordvoter turnout of 84.5%. Chief counting officer Mary Pitcaithly stated: "It is clear that the majority of people voting have voted No to the referendum question." Results were compiled from 32 council areas, with Glasgow backing independence—voting 53.5% "Yes" to 46.5% "No" (turnout in the area was 75%)—and Edinburgh voting against independence by 61% to 39% (turnout in the area was 84%). This shows that Glasgow area has the most anti - Unionist beliefs and Edinburgh area has the most pro - unionist beliefs.[5][11][12][13][14]
Although support for independence declined and/or stagnated generally between 2015 and 2018, it started to increase towards the end of 2019. Independence was leading over Union support in most polls for each month of 2020 up to July. On 6 July 2020, Professor Sir John Curtice stated that "support for the Union [in Scotland] has never been weaker".[15] Following the Brexit transition period, and theUK-EU trade deal going into effect,unionism has generally polled higher than nationalism within Scotland.
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Multiple polls since 2007 show most people in Wales support remaining part of the United Kingdom overWelsh independence. In 2007, almost 70% of people in Wales supported remaining part of the UK whilst 20% were in favour ofWelsh independence.[16] In 2013, support for remaining in the UK was between 49%[17] and 74%[18] of the population. The lowest support for unionism in a standard opinion poll in Wales was 49% in April 2021, with the support for Welsh independence being 42%, the latter's highest ever figure in polling.[19]
Prior to theCatholic Relief Act 1793, Irish Catholics could not vote; and they could not sit in the Westminster Parliament until the passing of theEmancipation Act 1829. Until this point, Ireland's constitutional position was determined by a Unionist Protestant minority. As the Irish population was overwhelmingly Catholic, the penal laws effectively disenfranchised Irish people in Ireland and of course the same effect could be seen in Great Britain where such laws against Catholics overwhelmingly fell on the Irish. Towards the end of the 19th century,Irish unionism was, by and large concentrated in some counties of Ulster as a result of Catholic Relief acts and Catholic Emancipation and later expansion of male suffrage which allowed Irish Catholic nationalists to vote for Irishhome rule. This led to thepartition of Ireland along the lines of nationalism and unionism in 1920, causing 26 out of 32counties of Ireland to be separated from the Union to form theIrish Free State in 1922. The rest of the counties were incorporated toNorthern Ireland, which remained part of the United Kingdom.
In 2012, Northern Irish support for the Union had increased after the end ofThe Troubles, especially within the Roman Catholic population.[20] In part, this is as a result of a decreasing association of the Union with radical or extremist political ideologies following theGood Friday Agreement. AfterBrexit, support for aUnited Ireland was shown to have increased to a majority in one poll concerning reunification within 20 years,[21] however most polling still puts Unionism firmly in the lead.[22]
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Under theSecond Johnson ministry, efforts were placed on promoting unionism to keep the union together, once described as "Project Love". The strategy involved replacing formerly EU investment funds with a UK Government "shared prosperity fund" awarded to various local authorities in the United Kingdom,[23] and not involving the devolved governments.[24] The UK Government may have hoped that separatist feeling is dispelled over time as long as the benefits of the UK are well enough advertised. Although critics argued the Conservatives' approach to maintaining theirNorthern Englandred wall seats involving "confected rows over flags, history and race" which may "not resonate [with] Scots".[25] Others have stated that "unionism has singularly struggled to articulate its vision as to why Scottish voters should be persuaded".[26]
In June 2021, Welsh First MinisterMark Drakeford announced a plan titled "Reforming Our Union" and described the UK as a "voluntary union" of England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland [that] must be based on a partnership of equals", with devolution a "permanent feature". The plan had twenty ideas for the union includingreform of the House of Lords into a constitutional body, centralised funding for devolved legislatures, respect for devolved matters, and devolution of justice and police to Wales inline with Scotland and Northern Ireland.[27][28][29]
Attempts to promote the Union duringBoris Johnson's time as Prime Minister were described as "Muscular unionism" or "know-your-place unionism".[26] The strategies used to promote the Union were sometimes described as controversial. Examples include policies to bypass the devolved administrations to award funding relating in devolved areas, theInternal Market Bill, to include the UK flag on large infrastructure projects and requests for UK diplomats to stop referring to the UK as a union of four nations.[30] Some media has stated that Johnson "made the calculation that most voters don't care which level of government delivers particular projects as long as things improve".[31] The efforts have been criticised as being counter-productive and even encouraging independence.[30]
Some have described the approach to be an inevitable response to the failure of devolution as intended by theFirst Blair ministry to tackle the rise in separatism, or to support the notion of a British nation, and that the "centrifugal forces unleashed by devolution must be balanced by a centripetal role [...] [of] the British State".[32]
Former Prime MinisterGordon Brown stated that Johnson should stop his policy of "muscular unionism" as it would further the case for Scottish independence.[33][34]Ciaran Martin, involved in creating the framework for the 2014 Scottish referendum for the UK Government, stated that muscular unionism "is pushing forward a single, British nationalist vision of the future, working to shape government policy to realise it, and relying on an English electoral majority to deliver it. And if you don't like it, know your place".[26][35] Mark Drakeford, Welsh FM, clarified his government's support for the union but stated that "muscular unionism" was "bad for the UK", and that "raids on the powers of theSenedd is not the way to persuade people that the UK is a deal [that] they want".[36]
The following is a list of active political parties and organisations that support the Union.
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