United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland England has existed as a unified entity since the 10th century; the union between England and Wales, begun in 1284, was formalised in 1536 with an Act of Union.

In another Act of Union in 1707, England and Scotland agreed to permanently join to form Great Britain

The union of Great Britain and Ireland was implemented in 1801, with the adoption of the name the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland.

The Anglo-Irish treaty of 1921 formalised a partition of Ireland; six northern Irish countries remained

The alliance has never been an equal one The alliance has never been an equal one. Population numbers make it inevitable that, in a democracy, more power will lie with England than with any of the other constituent parts. Guess the percentages…

England 84% Scotland 8% Wales 5 % Northern Ireland 3%

News Flash! Due to recent political divisions, cultural tensions and increased extreme nationalism, the Prime Minister has declared that the United Kingdom is to no longer be a union of countries. They are to separate, permanently. Your task as a member of parliament is to review this decision. You need to consider a list of advantages and a list of disadvantages. You will present this as a 3 (ish) minute speech from the perspective of your given country, to MPs from the other former countries of the United Kingdom. You must read, use and learn the information about your country’s situation, from the AQA textbook (page 237+)

After all the speeches have been made, discuss… Which of the four countries would have most to gain from a break-up of the Union? Explain your answer. Which has most to lose? Explain your answer. (Back to real life) How do you predict that the Union will evolve over the next 20 years or so? Justify your answer Nominate a spokes person to share your answers with the class. Outside contributions welcome. Extension discussion: Suggest why Spain might be opposed to Scotland breaking away from the UK and being allowed to remain in the EU. Refer to separatist pressures from the Basque region in Spain.