43-551: Nationalism in the United Kingdom may refer to: Does not include organisations focused on Unionism which do not mention British nationalism in their official makeup. Does not include organisations supportive of Unionism or Scottish independence without mentioning nationalism in their official makeup. Does not include organisations supportive of Unionism or Welsh independence without mentioning nationalism in their official makeup. Unionism in
86-709: A customs and monetary union . However, England and Scotland remained separate legal jurisdictions. With the Act of Union 1800 , the Kingdom of Ireland united with Great Britain into what then formed the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland . The history of the Union is reflected in various stages of the Union Jack , which forms the flag of the United Kingdom . Ireland left the United Kingdom in 1922, however
129-493: A rebellion in 1798 , involving a French invasion of Ireland and the seeking of complete independence from Great Britain. This rebellion was crushed with much bloodshed, and the motion for union was motivated at least in part by the belief that the union would alleviate the political rancour that led to the rebellion. The rebellion was felt to have been exacerbated as much by brutally reactionary loyalists as by United Irishmen (anti-unionists). Furthermore, Catholic emancipation
172-714: A large measure of legislative independence under the Constitution of 1782 . Many members of the Irish Parliament jealously guarded that autonomy (notably Henry Grattan ), and a motion for union was legally rejected in 1799. Only Anglicans were permitted to become members of the Parliament of Ireland though the great majority of the Irish population were Roman Catholic , with many Presbyterians in Ulster . Under
215-617: A plan titled "Reforming Our Union" and described the UK as a "voluntary union" of England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland [that] must be based on a partnership of equals", with devolution a "permanent feature". The plan had twenty ideas for the union including reform of the House of Lords into a constitutional body, centralised funding for devolved legislatures, respect for devolved matters, and devolution of justice and police to Wales inline with Scotland and Northern Ireland. Attempts to promote
258-549: Is dispelled over time as long as the benefits of the UK are well enough advertised. Although critics argued the Conservatives' approach to maintaining their Northern England red wall seats involving "confected rows over flags, history and race" which may "not resonate [with] Scots". Others have stated that "unionism has singularly struggled to articulate its vision as to why Scottish voters should be persuaded". In June 2021, Welsh First Minister Mark Drakeford announced
301-677: The British are a nation and promotes the cultural unity of the Britons , which may include people of English , Scottish , Welsh , Irish , Cornish , Jersey , Manx and Guernsey descent. Since the late 20th century, differing views on the constitutional status of the countries within the UK have become a bigger issue in Scotland, Northern Ireland, and to a lesser extent in Wales. The pro-independence Scottish National Party first became
344-557: The First Blair ministry to tackle the rise in separatism, or to support the notion of a British nation, and that the "centrifugal forces unleashed by devolution must be balanced by a centripetal role [...] [of] the British State". Former Prime Minister Gordon Brown stated that Johnson should stop his policy of "muscular unionism" as it would further the case for Scottish independence. Ciaran Martin , involved in creating
387-784: The Irish Parliament had passed the Crown of Ireland Act 1542 , proclaiming King Henry VIII of England to be King of Ireland . Since the 12th century, the King of England had been technical overlord of the Lordship of Ireland , a papal possession. Both the Kingdoms of Ireland and England later came into personal union with that of Scotland upon the Union of the Crowns in 1603. In 1707,
430-582: The Kingdom of England and the Kingdom of Scotland were united into a single kingdom: the Kingdom of Great Britain . Upon that union, each House of the Parliament of Ireland passed a congratulatory address to Queen Anne , praying her: "May God put it in your royal heart to add greater strength and lustre to your crown, by a still more comprehensive Union". The Irish Parliament was both before then subject to certain restrictions that made it subordinate to
473-686: The Parliament of England and after then, to the Parliament of Great Britain ; however, Ireland gained effective legislative independence from Great Britain through the Constitution of 1782 . By this time access to institutional power in Ireland was restricted to a small minority: the Anglo-Irish of the Protestant Ascendancy . Frustration at the lack of reform among the Catholic majority eventually led, along with other reasons, to
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#1732780704033516-414: The Parliament of Great Britain and the Parliament of Ireland which united the Kingdom of Great Britain and the Kingdom of Ireland (previously in personal union ) to create the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland . The acts came into force between 31 December 1800 and 1 January 1801, and the merged Parliament of the United Kingdom had its first meeting on 22 January 1801. Provisions of
559-496: The Roman Catholic Relief Act 1793 , Roman Catholics regained the right to vote if they owned or rented property worth £2 annually. Wealthy Catholics were strongly in favour of union in the hope for rapid religious emancipation and the right to sit as MPs, which would only come to pass under the Roman Catholic Relief Act 1829 . From the perspective of Great Britain's elites, the union was desirable because of
602-467: The Second Johnson ministry , efforts were placed on promoting unionism to keep the union together, once described as "Project Love". The strategy involved replacing formerly EU investment funds with a UK Government "shared prosperity fund" awarded to various local authorities in the United Kingdom, and not involving the devolved governments. The UK Government may have hoped that separatist feeling
645-528: The Short Titles Act 1896 . The short title of the act of the Irish Parliament is Act of Union (Ireland) 1800 (40 Geo. 3. c. 38 (I)), assigned by a 1951 act of the Parliament of Northern Ireland , and hence not effective in the Republic of Ireland, where it was referred to by its long title when repealed in 1962. Before these acts, Ireland had been in personal union with England since 1542, when
688-739: The flag of the United Kingdom . Called the Union Jack, it combined the flags of St George's Cross (which was deemed to include Wales ) and the St Andrew's Saltire of Scotland with the St Patrick's Saltire to represent Ireland. At the same time, a new Royal Title was adopted ('GEORGE the THIRD by the Grace of God of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland King, Defender of the Faith'), and
731-481: The partition of Ireland along the lines of nationalism and unionism in 1920, causing 26 out of 32 counties of Ireland to be separated from the Union to form the Irish Free State in 1922. The rest of the counties were incorporated to Northern Ireland , which remained part of the United Kingdom. In 2012, Northern Irish support for the Union had increased after the end of The Troubles , especially within
774-508: The 32 counties and the two largest boroughs, and one from each of the next 31 largest boroughs and from Dublin University , chosen by lot. The other 84 Irish parliamentary boroughs were disfranchised; all were pocket boroughs , whose patrons received £15,000 compensation for the loss of what was considered their property. The Union Flag, created as a consequence of the union of the Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland in 1800, still remains
817-534: The Irish House of Commons by 109 votes to 104, but the second vote in 1800 passed by 158 to 115. The Acts of Union were two complementary Acts, namely: They were passed on 2 July 1800 and 1 August 1800 respectively, and came into force on 1 January 1801. They ratified eight articles which had been previously agreed by the British and Irish parliaments: Part of the appeal of the Union for many Irish Catholics
860-515: The Irish Kingdom from free participation in imperial and European trade with the exclusion of its Catholic subjects, under the terms of the 'Penal Laws', from the benefits of property and political representation." These critiques were used to justify a parliamentary union between Britain and Ireland. Complementary acts were enacted by the Parliament of Great Britain and the Parliament of Ireland. The Parliament of Ireland had recently gained
903-496: The Irish Parliament, was merged into the larger British Army . In the first Parliament of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, the members of the House of Commons were not elected afresh. By royal proclamation authorised by the Act, all the members of the last House of Commons from Great Britain took seats in the new House, and from Ireland 100 members were chosen from the last Irish House of Commons: two members from each of
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#1732780704033946-599: The Prince Regent different powers. These considerations led Great Britain to decide to attempt the merger of both kingdoms and Parliaments. The final passage of the Act in the Irish House of Commons turned on an about 16% relative majority, garnering 58% of the votes, and similar in the Irish House of Lords , in part per contemporary accounts through bribery with the awarding of peerages and honours to critics to get votes. The first attempt had been defeated in
989-537: The Roman Catholic population. In part, this is as a result of a decreasing association of the Union with radical or extremist political ideologies following the Good Friday Agreement . After Brexit , support for a United Ireland was shown to have increased to a majority in one poll concerning reunification within 20 years, however most polling still puts Unionism firmly in the lead. Under
1032-409: The UK as a union of four nations. Some media has stated that Johnson "made the calculation that most voters don't care which level of government delivers particular projects as long as things improve". The efforts have been criticised as being counter-productive and even encouraging independence. Some have described the approach to be an inevitable response to the failure of devolution as intended by
1075-527: The Union during Boris Johnson 's time as Prime Minister were described as "Muscular unionism" or "know-your-place unionism". The strategies used to promote the Union were sometimes described as controversial. Examples include policies to bypass the devolved administrations to award funding relating in devolved areas, the Internal Market Bill , to include the UK flag on large infrastructure projects and requests for UK diplomats to stop referring to
1118-624: The Union has traditionally been high, while support for a separate English state has conversely been relatively low. However, the rise of English nationalism has seen a decrease in support for the United Kingdom, although English nationalism does not necessarily advocate English independence from the United Kingdom. In November 2006, an ICM poll, commissioned by the Sunday Telegraph , showed that support for full English independence had reached 48% of those questioned. However, two polls conducted in 2007 and 2013 showed that English support for
1161-416: The Union was stable and high, with 78% opposed to English independence in 2013. In 2014, a referendum for Scottish independence was held. Voters were asked: "Should Scotland be an independent country?" 44.7% of voters answered "Yes" and 55.3% answered "No", with a record voter turnout of 84.5%. Chief counting officer Mary Pitcaithly stated: "It is clear that the majority of people voting have voted No to
1204-503: The United Kingdom In the United Kingdom , unionism is a political stance favouring the continued unity of England , Scotland , Wales and Northern Ireland as one sovereign state, the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland . Those who support the union are referred to as Unionists. Though not all unionists are nationalists, UK or British unionism is associated with British nationalism , which asserts that
1247-451: The United Kingdom over Welsh independence . In 2007, almost 70% of people in Wales supported remaining part of the UK whilst 20% were in favour of Welsh independence . In 2013, support for remaining in the UK was between 49% and 74% of the population. The lowest support for unionism in a standard opinion poll in Wales was 49% in April 2021, with the support for Welsh independence being 42%,
1290-539: The acts remain in force, with amendments and some Articles repealed, in the United Kingdom , but they have been repealed in their entirety in the Republic of Ireland . Two acts were passed in 1800 with the same long title : An Act for the Union of Great Britain and Ireland . The short title of the act of the British Parliament is Union with Ireland Act 1800 ( 39 & 40 Geo. 3 . c. 67), assigned by
1333-687: The creation of the Kingdom of Ireland under the Crown of Ireland Act 1542 . Since the 12th century, the King of England had acted as Lord of Ireland , under papal overlordship. The act of 1542 created the title of " King of Ireland " for King Henry VIII of England and his successors, removing the role of the Pope as the ultimate overlord of Ireland. The crowns of England and Scotland were united in 1603, when James VI of Scotland succeeded his cousin Elizabeth I in England. The Kingdom of Great Britain
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1376-627: The end of 2019. Independence was leading over Union support in most polls for each month of 2020 up to July. On 6 July 2020, Professor Sir John Curtice stated that "support for the Union [in Scotland] has never been weaker". Following the Brexit transition period, and the UK-EU trade deal going into effect, unionism has generally polled higher than nationalism within Scotland. Multiple polls since 2007 show most people in Wales support remaining part of
1419-501: The framework for the 2014 Scottish referendum for the UK Government, stated that muscular unionism "is pushing forward a single, British nationalist vision of the future, working to shape government policy to realise it, and relying on an English electoral majority to deliver it. And if you don't like it, know your place". Mark Drakeford, Welsh FM, clarified his government's support for the union but stated that "muscular unionism"
1462-511: The governing party of the Scottish Parliament in 2007, and it won an outright majority of seats at the 2011 Scottish Parliament election . This led to a referendum on Scottish independence in 2014, where voters were asked: "Should Scotland be an independent country?" 44.7% of voters answered "Yes" and 55.3% answered "No", with a record voter turnout of 84.5%. In 1542, the crowns of England and Ireland had been united through
1505-670: The latter's highest ever figure in polling. Prior to the Catholic Relief Act 1793 , Irish Catholics could not vote; and they could not sit in the Westminster Parliament until the passing of the Emancipation Act 1829 . Until this point, Ireland's constitutional position was determined by a Unionist Protestant minority. As the Irish population was overwhelmingly Catholic, the penal laws effectively disenfranchised Irish people in Ireland and of course
1548-507: The referendum question." Results were compiled from 32 council areas, with Glasgow backing independence—voting 53.5% "Yes" to 46.5% "No" (turnout in the area was 75%)—and Edinburgh voting against independence by 61% to 39% (turnout in the area was 84%). This shows that Glasgow area has the most anti - Unionist beliefs and Edinburgh area has the most pro - unionist beliefs. Although support for independence declined and/or stagnated generally between 2015 and 2018, it started to increase towards
1591-473: The same effect could be seen in Great Britain where such laws against Catholics overwhelmingly fell on the Irish. Towards the end of the 19th century, Irish unionism was, by and large concentrated in some counties of Ulster as a result of Catholic Relief acts and Catholic Emancipation and later expansion of male suffrage which allowed Irish Catholic nationalists to vote for Irish home rule . This led to
1634-638: The separation of Ireland which originally occurred under the Government of Ireland Act 1920 was upheld by the British Government and the Unionist-controlled devolved Parliament of Northern Ireland , and chose to remain within the state today, which is now officially termed the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland. The 300th anniversary of the union of Scotland and England was marked in 2007. In England, support for
1677-607: The uncertainty that followed the French Revolution of 1789 and the Irish Rebellion of 1798 . If Ireland adopted Catholic emancipation willingly or not, a Roman Catholic Parliament could break away from Britain and ally with the French, but the same measure within the United Kingdom would exclude that possibility. Also, in creating a regency during King George III 's "madness", the Irish and British Parliaments gave
1720-790: Was "bad for the UK", and that "raids on the powers of the Senedd is not the way to persuade people that the UK is a deal [that] they want". The following is a list of active political parties and organisations that support the Union. Does not include organisations focused on Unionism which do not mention British nationalism in their official makeup. Does not include organisations supportive of Unionism or Scottish independence without mentioning nationalism in their official makeup. Does not include organisations supportive of Unionism or Welsh independence without mentioning nationalism in their official makeup. Act of Union 1800 The Acts of Union 1800 were parallel acts of
1763-559: Was being discussed in Great Britain, and fears that a newly enfranchised Catholic majority would drastically change the character of the Irish government and parliament also contributed to a desire from London to merge the Parliaments. According to historian James Stafford, an Enlightenment critique of Empire in Ireland laid the intellectual foundations for the Acts of Union. He writes that Enlightenment thinkers connected "the exclusion of
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1806-542: Was formed on 1 May 1707 through the Acts of Union 1707 , two simultaneous acts passed by the parliaments of England and Scotland . These created a political union between the Kingdom of England (consisting of England and Wales ) and the Kingdom of Scotland . This event was the result of the Treaty of Union that was agreed on 22 July 1706. The Acts created a single Parliament of Great Britain at Westminster as well as
1849-513: Was the promise of Catholic emancipation , allowing Roman Catholic MPs, who had not been permitted to sit in the Irish Parliament, to sit in the United Kingdom Parliament. This was however blocked by King George III who argued that emancipating Roman Catholics would breach his Coronation Oath , and was not realised until the Roman Catholic Relief Act 1829 . The traditionally separate Irish Army , which had been funded by
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