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# Breaking-Up Britain
- URL: https://www.opendemocracy.net/en/breaking-up-britain/
- Published: 2009-05-07T11:05:49.000Z
- Updated: 2019-02-14T22:43:02.000Z
- Author: openDemocracy Supporters
- Tags: #en, #Migrated, #Import 2026-04-09 18:49

Introduction by Mark Perryman , e*ditor of* [*Breaking up Britain : Four Nations after a Union*](http://www.lwbooks.co.uk/books/archive/breakingupbritain.html?ref=opendemocracy.net)

*Breaking up Britain* is a book-length conversation between individuals, parties and social movements who with or without borders nevertheless rarely talk to one another. Each contributor presents their own national context for the collection's four themes; post-devolution national identity, models of civic nationalism, formations of exclusion and states of independence. Yet each account, whether based on an English, Welsh, Scottish or Irish perspective seeks to be universal too. In essence this is what a politics of the progressive nation would look like. A civic nationalist politics now exists in Scotland and Wales prepared to push the devolution settlement to it limits, its breaking point. In Northern Ireland Irish Republicanism is now the majority party representing the nationalist community. In England a growing body of opinion and ideas demands that England must find a part to play in this process too. Ten years ago Scots and Welsh voters went to the polls to elect a Scottish Parliament and Welsh Assembly. Northern Irish votes have elected their Assembly too. *Breaking Up Britain* seeks to chart the past, present and future of this course . A direction towards states of independence in which we will surely witness a reformation of four nations after a Union that has run out of time.

Our Kingdom today features edited extracts from contributions to Breaking up Britain from [Arthur Aughey](https://www.opendemocracy.net/blog/ourkingdom-theme/arthur-aughey/2009/05/07/wild-catastrophism-to-mild-moderation-in-northern-ireland), [Mark Perryman](https://www.opendemocracy.net/blog/ourkingdom-theme/mark-perryman/2009/05/07/back-to-front-and-popular-england) and [Charlotte Williams](https://www.opendemocracy.net/blog/ourkingdom-theme/charlotte-williams/2009/05/07/the-melting-pot-and-the-british-meltdown-0). Together with critical responses by [Gerry Hassan ](https://www.opendemocracy.net/blog/ourkingdom-theme/gerry-hassan/2009/05/07/review-breaking-up-britain)and [Paul Kingsnorth:](https://www.opendemocracy.net/blog/ourkingdom-theme/paul-kingsnorth-1/2009/05/07/response-to-a-jigsaw-state-breaking-up-britain)

Breaking Up Britain is published by Lawrence & Wishart, available from [lw books ](http://www.lwbooks.co.uk/books/archive/breakingupbritain.html?ref=opendemocracy.net)

**A FREE download** of Mark Perryman's opening chapter ‘A Jigsaw State' in *Breaking Up Britain* is available [here](http://www.lwbooks.co.uk/books/archive/Breaking%5Fup%5FBritain%5FPerrryman.pdf?ref=opendemocracy.net)