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After over two hundred and ten years of unification, the United Kingdom is looking shaky.
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An independence referendum in two thousand fourteen saw Scots questioning whether or not to decapitate a kingdom,
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and the Brexit vote of two thousand sixteen began unpicking the seams of an already worn stitch between the four unified countries.
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As politics reach a boiling point between the four lands, we have to wonder if the future of the United Kingdom might well be in jeopardy.
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Hello and welcome back to Life’s Biggest Questions, the channel that thinks every question is worth asking.
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For many of us who hail from that corner of the Earth, today’s question is particularly prevalent as we ask: What if the United Kingdom Split Up?
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Following the Shock Brexit decision in two thousand sixteen, the divide in the United Kingdom has never been so apparent.
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Scotland, Wales and England all share a landmass of an island, and the three were officially unified in seventeen o one.
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What is now Northern Ireland has been part of the mix since eighteen o one and the Act of Union with Ireland.
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Since then, the UK grew to one of the biggest global colonists and then shrank right back down again.
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If the United Kingdom were to split, many would argue it would be a regression.
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When nations across the world declare independence, it is usually a cause for celebration,
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however this would not likely be the case for the break up of the UK and the reemergence of England, Scotland, Northern Ireland and Wales as independent states.
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While in the long run, I am sure the countries would find their own identities as smaller nations, in the short term, a lot of areas of business and the economy would be absolute chaos.
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A break up of the UK would mean more than just the retirement of the Union Jack Flag and a new passport colour for each nations;
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each country would need to decide what currency there were going to use, how they were going to manage their share of the national debt,
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and what they were going to do about healthcare; indeed a split of the United Kingdom could mean a break up of the beloved NHS.
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First and foremost though, the countries would need to establish their own autonomous governments.
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While England, Scotland and Wales do have their own government arms, at the moment, Norther Ireland doesn't really,
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which could cause big problems if the country was looking for independence amid the break up.
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Of course, the most likely outcome from a split of the UK would be a unified Ireland, something Sinn Fein have wanted for some time, along with many people both sides of the Irish Boarder.
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Northern Ireland has a population of just one point eight one million, and would be a country the size of Latvia, if they went it alone.
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In the most likely outcome, Northern Ireland would join the Republic, making a collective population of over six and a half million.
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In turn, it is likely they would relinquish the pound, adopt the Euro and join the European Union as part of a wider Ireland.
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The Republic already has a good established healthcare system, and it’s likely the focus for the now unified island would be on how to grow together and re-bond.
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Across the water in Scotland, things may be slightly more difficult.
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The majority of Scotland voted to remain in the European Union, so it is likely that the country would stay as an independent nation.
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That being said, the EU is wary of sucker states and Scotland would need to prove itself as economically viable.
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Currently, Scotland’s biggest economy is oil, but the oil fields have been a joint venture between the United Kingdom, which could cause some tension.
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On top of the oil issue, the United Kingdom’s Nuclear Weapons are housed in Scotland.
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Speaking of tension, a break up of Scotland and England could revive an age old rift between the two countries,
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presumably the Northern country would be pushed away from using the pound sterling.
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None the less, Scottish pride and perseverance would render the Scotch willing to try going alone, as a country with a population of five point two million, so similar to New Zealand.
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Moving on to the biggest of the four nations, England makes up eighty-five percent of the population of the UK, with over fifty-three million people,
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so this is a country around the size of South Africa, and South Korea in terms of population.
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The English economy is the biggest by far in the UK and it is likely that England would retain use of the pound; whether or not it still had value remains to be seen.
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The main struggle for the UK as by far the big brother nation would be retaining already established power,
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such as the default seat in the United Nations and deciding what to do with the NHS, which, depending on the government, could collapse under the admin chaos.
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Another possible collapse could come from the Monarchy, who would be truly devastated by a split, with their significance totally undermined.
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Of course, the English mainly voted to leave the EU, so they would probably have to see that through with uncertain times ahead.
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So, what of Wales who also wanted to leave Europe?
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What of the population of just over three million?
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Well, they voted with a majority of fifty-two percent to leave the EU, but could they make it alone as a country with the population size of Mongolia?
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I suspect England and Wales would want to continue to be close allies, and they may well be able to keep the pound sterling.
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Wales does have the Welsh Assembly to govern, but depending on when a break up took place, they may not be politically and economically ready to deal with the strain of full independence.
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Regarding a split, I personally think we are better together, but we'll see.
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Whatever happens, the four nations have a geographical proximity and a history that binds them,
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if a split did occur, they couldn’t really escape one another, nor would it be wise to.
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So, that is an absolutely mammoth question!
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Obviously this question is very complicated and involves a lot of guess work, we could probably make a Life’s Biggest Questions video for each country asking how they could survive alone.
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For now though, let me know what you think to this question.
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Also be sure to leave a thumbs up and make sure you stay subscribed for more big answers.
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For now, I am your host Rebecca Felgate, I’ll catch you in the next video, but in the mean time be sure to stay curious, stay alert and never ever stop questioning!