John Hill (London, Camberwell College of Arts): I've always quite admired Fathers 4 Justice for their media-savvy radical conservatism (transforming embarrassing your children into political dissent) and applauded middle-age white men entering into a gender politics debate, so I was willing to give the English Democrats the benefit of the doubt.
Ex-pat Scottish, and a voter in both London and Edinburgh, I suppose the above poster isn't aimed at me, though in principle I support the sentiment. Independence for Scotland, independence for England. I believe, as does Gareth Young, that real economic independence for Scotland could allow for real economic change, perhaps even the holy grail of Scandinavian-style social democracy.
There are of course problems with the simplified economics, the benefits the UK receives from Scotland. Most obviously, there is the last of the North Sea oil but, perhaps more importantly, there is somewhere to keep the nuclear subs. Will power over planning decisions on matters of national security be one of the things Gordon Brown suggests the Constitutional Commission return to Westminster? It seems hard to see New Labour surviving the relocating of nuclear weapons to the Tyne or the Trent or the Thames. A Conservative Government in Westminster would be no bad thing for Scotland, pushing independence and allowing Scottish Labour to finally work for Scotland, rather than the Union.
So is the poster racist? Yes. Do I care? No, but perhaps the English should. Having the cross of St. George associated with a strong democratic national identity would benefit everyone, having it associated with petty racism, bad puns and embarrassing haircuts will do no one any good.
