Though their line of monarchs and governments dates back centuries, the United Kingdom, as it stands in its current form, technically only dates back to 1927. England and Wales officially became one in the sixteenth century. Centuries later, Scotland and Ireland would join the mix through their Acts of Union. However, the 1919 to 1921 Irish War for Independence and subsequent partition shifted the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland to become the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, its current name and land coverage.

Wars were fought between nations, with England wanting control over more land and people, while the Irish, Scottish, and Welsh sought to remain on their own. Even when separate kingdoms, the same monarch would lead multiple states, much like the Commonwealth realms of today. Eventually, legislation brought the four together to form a single unit with a base in London, and regional governments were eventually set up outside of England.

A mere century after the south of Ireland was lost, internal political and cultural issues have brought to the fore more ideas of this once-global empirical power shrinking to an even smaller main landmass. Nationalism and separatism are key political beliefs for many in the four nations that form the United Kingdom: England, Scotland, Wales, and Northern Ireland. As a unitary state, legislative sovereignty officially belongs solely to London, leaving limited power to the nations individually.


Home Nations and Separatism

The Welsh, Scottish, and Irish have always held factions that deemed England an unnecessary parasite and wished to remove it. Calls for Home Rule led to the Irish War for Independence in 1919 and the subsequent partition in 1921, which left the island divided in two. The Troubles, a period of ethnic and religious conflict, persisted throughout the remainder of the twentieth century in Northern Ireland.

A democratic means of secession was attempted only 10 years ago when the Scottish held a referendum regarding their independence from the United Kingdom, which failed to pass, leaving all of Britain still under the Crown. Fifty-five percent of Scots voted to remain in the union. The late 1990s saw the introduction of devolved governments in Wales and Scotland and the reintroduction of one in Belfast. The Welsh Parliament (Senedd Cymru in Welsh), the Scottish Parliament (Holyrood), and the Northern Ireland Assembly (in Stormont) increased local autonomy but do not suffice for those seeking complete sovereignty at home.


English Nationalism

Over the last decade, countries across the world have seen an increase in right-wing nationalism. With heads of state such as Donald Trump and Jair Bolsonaro and heads of government like Viktor Orbán and Narendra Modi, people and governments reflect the current ideals of isolationism and favoring the domestic over the international. While elections this summer in the United Kingdom and France shifted their parliaments to the left, coalitions still exist within both, calling for the strengthening of self-prioritization over internationalism.

Many issues within the UK and its nations have contributed to the rise in nationalism. It is among the many European nations that have seen a large uptick in migrants seeking asylum. The English Channel is constantly seeing dinghies full of people, and the refugee standards of the EU and United Nations can seem to prioritize “outsiders” over natives. This creates an easy target for criticism.

Two loud and influential nationalist parties within Westminster are the United Kingdom Independence Party (commonly known as UKIP) and the British National Party (BNP). Like many right-of-center parties in Europe, these parties are vocal in their disdain for the European Union and support the holding of all sovereignty within the state, key points that helped lead the UK out of the EU. Being forced to send pounds to Brussels and accept migrants has helped stoke a greater emphasis on England instead of the outside world.


Scottish Nationalism

The Scottish National Party (SNP) has been in majority, minority, and power-sharing governments consistently since 2007 in Holyrood, demonstrating the strength of the pro-independence party in Scottish politics. Even with its internal issues, including multiple leaders resigning, the party, as of October 2024, is forming the current government alongside the Scottish Greens.

The SNP has consistently included in its manifestos the complete removal of Scotland from the United Kingdom, and it steadily performs well in elections. Because of the 2014 failure to gain a majority of Yes votes, the party has called for a second referendum, with a strong impetus for a redo caused by the UK’s self-dismissal from the European Union, which most Scots voted against.

Actually leaving the Union would have major effects and require significant statecraft regarding governance, international partnerships, and currency. Scotland could theoretically keep the head of state, similar to many Commonwealth realms. The pound sterling is not like the United States dollar in that it is only used by the UK and its territories. Scotland would need to break the norm through diplomacy or create a new currency entirely. This is in addition to establishing three new bilateral relationships with England, Wales, and Northern Ireland, as well as managing relations with every other UK partnership that it would want to retain and rebuild.


Wales Nationalism

Wales was annexed by consolidated England way back in 1284 and gained Union status in 1536. In many areas of governance, it is administered as one unit with England. Wales has been ‘English’ for so long that its nationalist movements have been the most muted among the lot. Unlike Scotland and Ireland, the Welsh lost many civil and social institutions during the unifying process, with their language being the main takeaway from their once sole nationhood.

The working class became a strong backer of the nationalist movement during the Industrial Revolution and labor movements, with the nationalist party Plaid Cymru, almost a century old, still influential today. Even with a similar history, Wales is much different than its fraternal nations. It experienced very few violent outbursts, unlike Ireland, and voted mostly to remain in the EU in 2016, unlike Scotland. A 2007 BBC poll found that around 20 percent of polled Welshmen preferred independence, compared to 32 percent in Scotland. A devolved government has satisfied many Welsh, but not all. This status quo seems strongest within the UK.


Successful and Hopeful Irish Nationalism

The island of Ireland currently holds two different nations: Northern Ireland, which is part of the United Kingdom, and the Republic of Ireland, fully independent from the Crown since 1937. The schism between north and south followed decades of calls for Home Rule by the Irish and a war for independence that forced London to enact changes across the Irish Sea.

The Troubles saw decades of prolonged civil conflict between Catholics/republicans and Protestants/unionists, with terror and death being unfortunate parts of daily life. State and non-state actors brought bloodshed, chaos, and daily discrimination to those not aligned with their political and religious beliefs. Peace, if not a complete absence of violence, was brought to Northern Ireland in 1998 through efforts by parties from both republican and unionist ideologies, as well as American and Irish (Republic) diplomats. The bifurcated society has improved since the signing of the Good Friday Agreement, but for most of the twentieth century, it struggled to coexist as a unified community.

The Good Friday Agreement helped to stave off the political violence of the Troubles from the streets, but it did not satisfy those calling for republican governance north of the border. Republican Sinn Féin, present in both the monarchy and the Republic, currently holds the highest percentage of seats in the Northern Ireland Assembly for the first time in history. Before the UK’s exit from the EU, there was no hard border between the two states on the island of Ireland. By leaving, it found itself sharing a hardened land border. Trade, holidays, work transit—regardless of the type of travel—the new policies have made international travel more difficult. A united Ireland would not face this issue.


English vs Regional Separatism

England is a nation that has seen significant migration and immigration from those fleeing conflicts at home and from former colonies. As is common across the Western world and beyond, the emergence of new populations and sometimes diverging cultures in one’s neighborhood can spark ill feelings and aggression. The nationalist parties within the Commons have been extremely vocal against immigration, and the EU’s policies regarding it were weaponized during the campaign to leave. Ethnic nationalism and racism have supported the push for a stronger English identity.

Meanwhile, the other nations that compose the United Kingdom have very different drives in their politics. Sovereignty and self-rule remain end goals for the former kingdoms that now sit united against their English conquerors of centuries past. Despite long-standing unity, many Welsh, Scots, and Irish still seek these goals for their countries. Their cultures, practices, and political whims often clash with those of the English, and full self-control would grant them the ability to preserve these along with the basic desire of all peoples: self-determination. Fully independent governments would not need to consider the demands of neighboring nations when shaping domestic policy.


The Future of the United Kingdom

Secession from the UK, like any nation-state, is not an easy act. The Parliament holds the bulk of power and is required to make any large-scale decisions like this. It granted Scotland the vote in 2014 and is far from eager to allow them a second attempt. Losing land, resources, and citizenry is not the goal of any nation-state.

The United Kingdom’s exit from the European Union has given more impetus to separatist movements, as the majority of Scots overwhelmingly voted to remain, and a hard border in Ireland adds difficulties to daily life. Politically, things remain the same in the north of Britain, but in the north of Ireland, the republican party Sinn Féin gained the most seats of any party in an election just two years ago.

A once-global empire now with 14 overseas territories and less mainland territory than it had before would not shock the world if it shrank even further. However, this reduction would come through the ballot box and not through war, as was the case with Ireland. It would resemble the trajectories of the Commonwealth colonies and dominions gaining independence—some showmanship via the Crown and new statecraft independent from the Windsors and the Commons. For now, the Crown holds sovereignty over these four nations, and Parliament holds no interest in changing this.