Why England still 'owns' Wales, Scotland, N Ireland ??

Sounds like a cult.

Yes, I do believe England possesses a certain amount of power over the country, but that is due to the rest of the world viewing England as the powerhouse of the UK.

England has more than the most influence on the union, it is the most important piece of the union. If Scotland left tomorrow the Union would still exist, if England left, the Union would not exist in any way shape or form bar financial and military alliances no different to what the Republic of Ireland has with the UK.

lol..no you're right, I don't understand what parliamentary democracy is or politics at all for that matter, I just have a degree in the ****ing subject, have been actively involved in political parties in both england and northern ireland and have a special interest in northern ireland politics as well as working with various community organisations that directly involve politicians, ex prisoners and the like on both sides of the divide. So wee son, no trouble with my memory, I speak with experience on the matter, experience that no amount of time on TSR will earn you.

England has a population of about 52m, which was a 2008 estimate. It will have no doubt went up since then nor does it include illegal migrants in that figure. Besides if that is the basis of your pedantic argument I automatically win, for the sake of 8m or abouts.

England has more than the most influence on the union, it is the most important piece of the union. If Scotland left tomorrow the Union would still exist, if England left, the Union would not exist in any way shape or form bar financial and military alliances no different to what the Republic of Ireland has with the UK.
The soldiers that occupied both parts of Ireland over the past 120 years were pre-dominantly English, the politicians that were involved were pre-dominatly English, the negotiations on independence, then crown dependency, then on northern ireland were with English politicians. Facts son.

You keep talking about constitutional power, but I've already told you, constitutions are not part of the UKs political culture, so its not me that has the short memory. Unless its in writing on one document, it is not a constitution in the traditional sense.

Furthermore, London had direct rule over Northern Ireland for generations, up until our own NI MPs decided to get the finger out. They made the laws, not us.

When you criticise the IRA I get a kick out of it because you have no possible way to understand the IRA, nor the UVF for that matter. I think its genuinely funny the way you get wound up by it then assume I somehow support the IRA. Not so much trolling, or else I'd not be "debating" with you, I'd just reply with "lol" or some ****.

My ego is grand.

For someone who branded me 'illiterate' you seem to have trouble reading yourself. I have already said that England is the bedrock of the Union, I am not disputing that, no one is disputing that. Stop with the pathetic red herrings.

Yes, last time I checked, London is the capital and administrative centre of the UNITED KINGDOM. The UNITED KINGDOM had direct rule over Northern Ireland, not England. Before devolution, it was the UNITED KINGDOM that ruled, not England. Why are you incapable of getting that into your thick skull?

Incoherence. If England is the bedrock of the Union, and the Union had direct rule over Northern Ireland, then by proxy England had direct rule over Northern Ireland.

In fairness- there are devolved governments now so it isn't so bad- England seems to suffer actually, higher tuition fees, water charges, prescription costs etc. As someone from Northern Ireland I wonder why our attachment to England - I have no interest in the royal family so given the option of independence - I would think there would be large support from the moderate unionists on the street - maybe not the politicians though.

Also look at the number of ministers - number of ministers is proportional to size. Northern Ireland has only 18 ministers in Westminister - how influential exactly is it?

Also look at the number of ministers - number of ministers is proportional to size. Northern Ireland has only 18 ministers in Westminister - how influential exactly is it?

Incoherence. If England is the bedrock of the Union, and the Union had direct rule over Northern Ireland, then by proxy England had direct rule over Northern Ireland.

It's not our fault English people were dumb enough to vote for the Tories.

It's not our fault English people were dumb enough to vote for the Tories.

How do you mean?

No, it didn't. Stop making links where there aren't any. The UK parliament had control over Northern Ireland, not England. The majority of UK MPs are English, but they represent the UK and make decisions on behalf of the UK. England is nothing more than a cultural identity. It has no national assembly and no poltical powers.

It's not our fault Scotland has been brainwashed and bribed by decades of the Labour gravy train. Enjoy your crumbling infrastructure and, free or not, your universities suck.