‘English nationalist’ Boris Johnson will ‘break up UK’ says former Tory party chairman
Boris Johnson leads an “English nationalist” UK Government that will “hasten the break-up of the union” a former chairman of the Conservative Party has said.
Lord Patten, who was the last Governor of Hong Kong until 1997, told LBC that despite being a Conservative he wanted Boris Johnson to lose the next general election.
He feared the union was “really in threat” in the hands of the Prime Minister, adding: “You want to break up the union you send Boris Johnson up to Scotland.”
Asked by presenter Andrew Marr about the possibility of a second term in power for the Prime Minister, he said that “I think what it would do is hasten the break-up of the union”.
“I think that’s true of Scotland and England. I think it’s probably a threat given the way in which the Northern Ireland Protocol is being played, terrible playing fast and loose with the most important peace agreement this country has reached in years over Northern Ireland.
“I think we’re talking about the possible break-up of the union in those circumstances.”
‘Unpopular’
Asked what outcome he would prefer after the next General Election, Chris Patten said that he “would prefer to see probably a coalition which holds the union together”.
He added that he did not believe that the current government was a true Conservative government, describing it as “English nationalist”.
“It’s, unfortunately, both populist and unpopular which is a terrible combination,” he said.
“For me the Conservatives, unless they change very radically, winning the next election would be a disaster for them and the rest of us because I don’t think we have a Conservative government at the moment… and one that you can’t trust.”
Support our Nation today
For the price of a cup of coffee a month you can help us create an independent, not-for-profit, national news service for the people of Wales, by the people of Wales.
Happy Days, this must be the Brexit bonus they keep talking about #IndyWales
There are far too many English settlers in Wales for an Independence referendum to win. What is likely to happen is that NI and Scotland will go and the lumpen mass of the electorate in England will wish us gone.
It’s foolish to assume English people living in Wales won’t support independence.
Plenty already do, and many more can be persuaded with the right argument.
But if we demonise them as ‘settlers’ then they won’t support it.
I agree with you Jack! They are part of our communities and many will have children who will share our passion for Wales and the Welsh language. Of course, many of the people who have moved here will have already embraced our communities and lead on matters that will bring us independence. Making them feel detached is a dangerous approach and does not serve Wales well. We must ensure that our arguments show a road to better, healthier communities where people feel valued and all are treated equally.
Liz Saville Roberts. English by birth. A champion for Cymru/Wales and all things Welsh.
More an exception rather than the norm at present, but a shock to the system like another 2 years of blundering Boris and his mob and our community of settlers and native true blues may begin to see the virtue of dismantling the UK.
Yr Arglwydd Dafydd Wigley o
Derby yn wreiddol hefyd.
As an English man I want Englnd to ceede from the Union Post haste. I want DVLA jobs plus tax office jobs plus the Royal Mint no longer will England subsidise Wales.
As. a Scotsman you do realise that the revenue from financial services currently based in London is jointly for the benefit of FOUR nations
Not one
The £100’s of billions in tax revenue plus the hundreds of thousands of jobs could be broken up giving Wales and Scotland immense new income and jobs
In my company we have a section called ABE
Anyone but England
How many EU companies will divert business to an independent Scotland and Wales?
Nearly all of them
Spit your dummy out
You have no vote and no say in the future of Wales or Scotland
Only 22% of the population were born outside Wales, ie. in England, and a proportion of them already support independence anyway. What we need is more action, less dithering and a clear strategy from Plaid and Yes Cymru.
Sadly many Welsh people are anti-Welsh themselves
Agree. The views by some who add comment here just think its imcomers, second home folk and a few landed tories and ‘ uncle Toms ‘ who are doing down Wales.
I fear that a good look in tbe mirror might help for many closer to home …..?
Is 22% the actual figure from The ONS?
Only?!
Totally agree with the less dithering and forming a clear strategy, but just to add, according to Oxford Professor Danny Dorling, there are around 21% which equates to 650,000 born in England and a quarter of them are over 65, and it was those numbers that carried the brexit vote in Wales, maybe they will see our independence in the same way they saw the UK’s break from the EU, taking back control, I won’t hold my breath.
Whatever gets the job done is fine. That noted, polling should be conducted to determine sentiment for independence by country of birth. If it is highly likely that English born will vote majority No, then a ‘brexit style’ vote to exclude them should be the way forward.
Good. If this oaf does nothing else, let’s hope he does that. But he does not control the divorce settlement
He is not English he is a ‘Citizen of Nowhere’ a real ‘nowhere person’ like his cabinet…
I could have said that Boris is a Turkish/American tax dodger using the name Johnson which was adopted to protect his grandfather’s identity after Ali Kemal was assassinated by the Ottomans. But that is only a part of his family history without getting into the von Pfeffel side of the family who are all German and French refugee minor aristocrats…see Trump for comparison of skin deep nationality…now I need to lie down in a darkened room…
Boris Johnson is an English imperialist plain and simple, and I emphasise the simple. And where Welsh & Scottish nationalism is a force for good his blinkered ideology is from a regressive time when England used the facade of Britain to turn half the globe pink. And we in Wales have the unenviable title of being England’s first trophy nation exploited and subsequent blueprint thereafter. And I find with Brexit that Boris Johnson’s intentions are to reignite the long dead embers of empire, which is the equiverlent of him trying to squeeze his now fat belly into a pair a… Read more »
Trouble is, its not just johnson, the tories want to retain power at all costs, if that means keeping johnson in place, that is what will happen, until another election winner can be found, the only people likely to put their names forward any time soon are even worse than johnson, the UK is in a tail spin and the only way out is to break up the UK or put up with the ever worsening crisis. I don’t trust the tories to ever make the right decision for the UK,
Unless Westminster, in general, changes it’s approach to, not just the other countries of the UK, but northern areas of England too, the UK as we know it will not exist in 2030. Maybe even changing now is too late – the damage has been done. People in Cymru deserve better – it won’t happen within the Union. Time for independence.
Let’s hope they don’t change their approach.
At last – a sensible Tory, even if you don’t agree with him. Pity he’s a yesterday’s man!
Politics is a funny old game. If Chris Patten is right and Johnson does break up the Union, those of us on here who despise the man could be chanting ‘Boris, our hero!’. Well at least he would finally have ‘delivered’ something worthwhile.
Well, let’s hope he cracks on with it then.
I have always said it will be England will break up the disunited kingdom because the believe they will be better off they say the 3 Celtic nations are a drain on their finances the Propaganda coming from the Tory backed Propaganda press DAILY MAIL DAILY EXPRESS and others so carry on the good work Boris and your propaganda papers it will hasten Wales getting out of this god forsaken union
We love Boris! If I was English, I would be a nationalist, and would be supporting getting back to the English Bill Of Rights, which as far as I know is extant? Cymru could well take this Bill up in part, as it’s a very good basis for a successful society.