Alex Thomson Is there a British constitution? Debate with Graham Moore (Daddy Dragon)

'UK Column' is very good in some ways, but in others dreadful. In some ways it drags up separateness at every opportunity, its disproportionate coverage of the five million UK citizens in Scotland, for example. In others it's an old 'British' buffer of a venture - ignoring the Barnett Formula and asymmetric natuional devolution (coming back thanks to Michael Gove who has stopped English Votes for English Laws). Even the late Lord Joel Barnett hated the Barnett Formula! I really don't like UK Column much at all.

Who were the original English? Well, they were very inclusive, apparently, according to DNA evidence. The majority DNA is ancient Brit with DNA markers revealing 10 to 40% Anglo Saxon markers dependent on the part of England. As for the Celtic myth, which dates from the 1700s...

From the BBC: ⁣


A DNA study of Britons has shown that genetically there is not a unique Celtic group of people in the UK.
According to the data, those of Celtic ancestry in Scotland and Cornwall are more similar to the English than they are to other Celtic groups.
The study also describes distinct genetic differences across the UK, which reflect regional identities.
And it shows that the invading Anglo Saxons did not wipe out the Britons of 1,500 years ago, but mixed with them.
⁣https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/sci....ence-environment-319

There is no British constitution. I don't think there is a Scottish one either - or, if there is, it's a recent innovation. Britain is not a country, it's a nation. Anybody continuing to support the 'British' notion in times of asymmetric national devolution is simply prolonging the rank discrimination exercised against the largest and most ethinically diverse country, England, via the Barnett Formula and the resurgent (thanks to Michael Gove) West Lothian Question. The history of the United Kingdom is not as it seems either. The original English were mainly Ancient Brits - Anglo Saxon DNA markers being only 10-40% from that era, depending on what part of England (not Britain). And the Scots and Welsh were never referred to as Celts until the 1700s - and DNA again proves there is no common defining Celtic marker in the UK.

⁣There is a long and complicated history that follows the formation of the United Kingdom, but here are the highlights:

c. 925 – The Kingdom of England. Established by the unification of Anglo-Saxon tribes across modern day England.

1536 – Kingdom of England and Wales. A bill enacted by King Henry VIII which effectively made England and Wales the same country, governed by the same laws.

1707 – Kingdom of Great Britain. The Kingdom of England (which includes
Wales) joined with the Kingdom of Scotland to form The Kingdom of Great
Britain.

1801 – United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland. Ireland joins the union, and once again the name changes.

1922 – United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland. The
Republic of Ireland (Eire, or ‘Southern Ireland’) withdraws from the
union, leaving just the northern counties of Ireland. This is the UK
that remains to this day.

Thank you guys. Great stuuf.