North England Secedes?

Is this possible? There used to be a strong communist movement in the north(well, strong by british standards.) I myself don't thinks it's possible.
discuss.
 
Is this possible? There used to be a strong communist movement in the north(well, strong by british standards.) I myself don't thinks it's possible.
discuss.

Before 1900 a successful Northern independence movement could easily arise out of a different Wars of the Roses, reformation, English Civil War/Glorious Revolution yadda yadda yadda.

After 1900? Side effects of a limited nuclear exchange, perhaps.
No homegrown Marxist-Leninist is going to break up England.
 
Is this possible? There used to be a strong communist movement in the north(well, strong by british standards.) I myself don't thinks it's possible.
discuss.

It's a bit unlikely, perhaps in the event of a Nazi invasion of the south and a sort of vichy regime in the north?

Mind you, thanks to the EU worms and new-labour parasites the UK has regional parliaments for Wales and Scotland, there is some limited clamour for an English Parliament or a southern english and northern english parliament.
 
I think the best chance of this would have been some slacking on the part of William the Conqueror.

It is believed by some that before the Normans pretty much raped it to hell and back, the north of the country was quite rich and populated. So maybe if they somehow manage to put up some competent resistance?
 
It is believed by some that before the Normans pretty much raped it to hell and back, the north of the country was quite rich and populated. So maybe if they somehow manage to put up some competent resistance?

Quite so, to be frank, as late as 1480...ish Richard III had set up the Council of the North to act as a northern executive.

Before 1900 anything could happen, as already stated the Harrowing of the North could have gone differently, perhaps the Rebellion by the Earls of Westmorland and Northumbria may have led to a secession. The Pilgrimage of Grace may well have toppled Royal Authority as well.

After 1900 however, it would be very unlikely short of a nuclear war that hits the South but not the North. Someone like Arthur Scargil would be the sort of fellow to establish a Socialist Republic, maybe if the Miner's Strike went a little more differently?
 
It Depends...

Well, anybody CAN secede, wether they can get away with it is a matter of the era.

Pre-WWI- No. England was still a great power and would immeaditly take over anybody who attempted to break up thier Empire.

WWI- Maybe. The British could be to preoccupied with WWI to bother sending troops, or they could flip out.

20's and 30's- Not Likley. Ireland was independent because of terrorist attacks and I'm pretty sure England didn't want more territory gone.

WWII-Possible. The British and Soviets were on the same side (I assume that it's communist.) so the British might not care, as long as North England fights Germany. Otherwise, they might blame Stalin for influincing them,etc. and cause some mucked up diplomacy.

Cold War- Heck no. England and everybody in NATO would fight tooth and nail to stop any more Commys from being around.

Now- Eh... I don't know. Communism is not our top priority anymore, but England might stop them. But for now, the jury is out.
 
Well, anybody CAN secede, wether they can get away with it is a matter of the era.

Pre-WWI- No. England was still a great power and would immeaditly take over anybody who attempted to break up thier Empire.

WWI- Maybe. The British could be to preoccupied with WWI to bother sending troops, or they could flip out.

20's and 30's- Not Likley. Ireland was independent because of terrorist attacks and I'm pretty sure England didn't want more territory gone.

WWII-Possible. The British and Soviets were on the same side (I assume that it's communist.) so the British might not care, as long as North England fights Germany. Otherwise, they might blame Stalin for influincing them,etc. and cause some mucked up diplomacy.

Cold War- Heck no. England and everybody in NATO would fight tooth and nail to stop any more Commys from being around.

Now- Eh... I don't know. Communism is not our top priority anymore, but England might stop them. But for now, the jury is out.

Why are you jumping to the assumption it has to be a big violent thing? Part of being a modern democracy is having parts of your country free to choose not to be part of the nation.

That is quite impossible, there'd never be any support for that from anyone. It'd need to be peaceful.

Also two points:
1: England was never a great power and it didn't have a 'empire' of any sort post 1703.
2: Ireland did not get its independance through terrorist attacks. Such people delayed its independace. The provisions for it to leave the UK were set in place entirely through democratic means.
 
The Red Cydeside gets explosive and leads to violence in Scotland and subsequently the North of England. They become essentially another Ireland, where Loyalist troops have to sit on the powder keg of uprisings and guerilla warfare a slow constant death toll, plus the fact it's Englishman vs Englishman (And Scot..but they don't matter). The opinion prevails that it's a mess and they pull out, under the guise of trying to negotiate with the Rebels. Britain becomes a divided nation once more.

Altough that's a biiiit far-fetched but not too far. (Just the whole Second Ireland part. Dunno what the appetite for guerilla warfare was like in Scotlnad/N England then. probably very little).
 
The movements for Irish, Welsh and Scottish independence/Nationalism would probably be models. But all of these people were well aware that they were Not English (the English never ceased to remind them of this, for one thing). The Northern English never had that sort of national identity.

Remember that it isn't as easy as saying "The UK is a modern democracy", as the UK constitution still retains certain bits of its pre-modern history, including elements of the feudal monarchy.

KEVP
 
We actually had a chance for some independance a few years ago when we were offered the North East Assembly.

Fellow North Easterners voted against it by 9/1. I acutally thought it was a good idea.
 
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