At first glance this may seem preposterous. For many, the notion that England and Westminster should approve of divesting itself of the most loyal and longstanding servants of the Great British project is absurd.

It is time to question this belief? Just because something is longstanding or ‘has always been that way’, is no reason at all to assume that it is still the best way forward, more so given that the foundations upon which the union was built no longer hold sway.

It is certainly the case that Great Britain is far from being the powerful international force and wealthy nation it once was. 

This decline is apparent to all, as the UK plummets down the international wealth rankings and increasingly finds its voice side-lined, reduced to a squeak in the halls of global influence. 

Its decline and transformation underlined and defined for history by the death of its longest serving monarch, Elizabeth II, whose reign encompassed the slow post-war unravelling of Empire to the fast-moving Digital Age.

It is a decline evident in our daily lives as more and more hardworking professionals struggle to make ends meet in a country where per capita disposable income has hardly increased for 15 years. A fact which itself breaks the implicit understanding within a voluntary Union that cooperation is intended to improve the lot of all. The union is failing England, Scotland and Wales and its end will benefit us all.

Clearly, now is the time for reinvention. Now is the time to ask ourselves why we remain in this Union and how it serves our best interests?

Proponents of creative destruction must surely already be on board, what better way to revitalise the fortunes of a crumbling, decaying, vestige of Empire by breaking it apart? Tired assumptions can be broken to make room for innovations and to build anew with existing resources and energy.

For England to thrive it should cut Wales and Scotland loose, with a generous leg up to send them on their way, so that all three nations can grow and flourish together in partnership. A thriving island on the edge of Europe, culturally vibrant, innovative and creative - generating wealth for all of its inhabitants whilst also adding to the rich, cultural, diversity and wealth of Britain. 

Make no mistake, in this scenario Britain will still exist, just as it existed as ‘Prydain’ long before it became a single political entity. Let history come full circle and adapt the island of Britain to suit the era of instant global communication and connectivity born of the Digital Age.

The Union was forged to exploit and now should be consigned to history. Let England be a positive and proactive part of this change. In partnership rather than in union, Wales, Scotland and England can forge a new path for a modern, innovative, international Britain. Punching above its collective weight globally by being distinct and separate whilst geographically entwined and bound by centuries of shared history and culture.

Bendigeidfran's Blog