English Independence - Opinion Polls

Opinion Polls

The English nationalist movement has its roots in a historical legacy which predates the United Kingdom and which is quite capable of including new entrants to the country of England. The rise in English identity in recent years, as evidenced by the increased display of the English flag (particularly during international sporting competitions), is sometimes attributed in the media to the increased devolution of political power to Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland. One possible incentive for the establishment of self-governing English political institutions is the West Lothian question: the constitutional inconsistency whereby MPs from all four nations of the UK can vote on matters that solely affect England, while those same matters are reserved to the devolved assemblies of the other nations. (For example the Scottish MP for West Lothian has a say on policing in the West Midlands.)

Contemporary English nationalist movements differ significantly from mainstream Scottish, Welsh and Cornish nationalist movements (whilst similar to some strands of Irish nationalism) insofar as they are often associated with support for right-of-centre economic and social policies. Nationalists elsewhere in the UK tend towards a social democratic political stance. English nationalism is also often associated with Euroscepticism: one reason for opposition to the EU is the view that England is being arbitrarily subdivided into regions at the behest of the European Union.

A MORI opinion poll commissioned jointly by the Campaign for an English Parliament under the English Constitutional Convention banner indicated that support for the creation of an English Parliament with the same powers as the existing Scottish Parliament had risen, with 41% of those questioned favouring such a move. In the same month an ICM Omnibus poll commissioned by the Progressive Partnership (a Scottish research organisation) showed that support for full English independence had reached 31% of those questioned. In November 2006, another ICM poll commissioned by the Sunday Telegraph, showed that support for an English Parliament had reached 68% and support for full English independence had reached 48% of those questioned.