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The coronavirus crisis has reignited one of the country's most bitter political debates: Can the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland survive as a union of four nations? https://edition.cnn.com/2020/05/14/uk/united-kingdom-divided-approach-coronavirus-intl-gbr/index.html
Sunday night's address and the confusion that followed hammered home the uncomfortable reality that the Prime Minister has very little control over what happens in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland. https://edition.cnn.com/2020/05/14/uk/united-kingdom-divided-approach-coronavirus-intl-gbr/index.html
"Filming was a total nightmare. He was stopping and starting, asking to change bits, complaining about the length, saying it was all too complex," said a no10 source of PM's Sunday address. If he thought that, it's little wonder Sturgeon was confused https://edition.cnn.com/2020/05/14/uk/united-kingdom-divided-approach-coronavirus-intl-gbr/index.html
"For around 20 years, the government of the UK has only really been the government of England in huge areas of policy," says @JYDenham. " In context of covid, this raises serious questions about how sustainable and desirable the current status is https://edition.cnn.com/2020/05/14/uk/united-kingdom-divided-approach-coronavirus-intl-gbr/index.html
The strained relationships between London and the rest have been "exacerbated by the fact that the four nations are now run by different political parties who have different ideologies and different ideas about the UK's future" says @McEwen_Nicola https://edition.cnn.com/2020/05/14/uk/united-kingdom-divided-approach-coronavirus-intl-gbr/index.html
This of course is a headache for the leader of the Conservative and Unionist Party, one B. Johnson. Senior Conservatives believe Boris is a unionist in the sense that he wants a union run from London and isn't that serious about strengthening ties https://edition.cnn.com/2020/05/14/uk/united-kingdom-divided-approach-coronavirus-intl-gbr/index.html
This idea of Britishness being an extension of Englishness grates elsewhere. "When it comes down to it, they see devolved governments as a necessary irritation. Coronavirus has definitely bought some of this into sharper focus" says @roger_scully https://edition.cnn.com/2020/05/14/uk/united-kingdom-divided-approach-coronavirus-intl-gbr/index.html
Tl;dr: for the union to survive, England probably needs to make some concessions. But whether English voters who prioritise English values are willing to admit that is another question https://edition.cnn.com/2020/05/14/uk/united-kingdom-divided-approach-coronavirus-intl-gbr/index.html
