Is the end nigh for the United Kingdom?

With the Scottish National Party predicted to come out ahead in May's election, and polls suggesting that the majority of Scots and the English back independence, could the Union be coming to an end?

In the 1990s, before their parliament was restored, the Scots were unhappy while the English were indifferent. Today, "the Scots are still unhappy, and so are the English", notes Bruce Anderson in The Independent. Polls suggest that the Scottish National Party, which is calling for a referendum on Scottish independence, could come out ahead in the Scottish election in May, while an opinion survey last weekend showed that 52% of Scots and 59% of English voters back an independent Scotland. South of the border, 48% think England should separate from Wales and Northern Ireland too. Only months before the 300th anniversary of the Act of Union, a divorce appears to be on the cards.

The English have noticed a constitutional imbalance engendered by devolution, says The Sunday Telegraph: "many of their rulers are Scotsmen who are passing contentious legislation in England that does not apply in their own constituencies". Scottish MPs at Westminster can vote on English issues, such as health and education, but not vice versa, since these areas have been devolved to the Scottish parliament. And "to add insult to injury", many of the "goodies" distributed by the Holyrood parliament are funded by English money. The English subsidise the Scots to the tune of £1,050 per head a year, which pays for university tuition fees, nursing care for the elderly and new drugs for the NHS benefits denied to the English, as the Daily Mail points out.

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