Lord Goldsmith has made some feudalistic remarks, and proposes an Oath of Allegiance to the Queen, and presumably to the British state. Such a thing would be a complete anathema to many people, and particularly those who have no interest in being a subject of the Royal Family, or those who hail from Scotland or Wales, countries which have been subject to the kings and queens of England for the past four or five hundred years.
In a democracy people should be allowed to choose their allegiance, if they are to be required to do so and, the way things are, there are many people in Wales and Scotland - Cornwall too - who would prefer to give their allegiance to their own native land, and not to a British state which has little meaning to a rising generation.
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From "Hearts and Minds" - 5th August, 2007 (enter "allegiance" and search the archives).
"It is all a question of allegiance is it not? Are you Welsh or are you British? To say that you are both is innacurate and indefensible. Being British implies that one denies Wales, as it does not exist constitutionally as a country except as a part of the English realm which teamed up with Scotland to form the Union. Are you a Unionist or are you a Nationalist? You cannot be both, or you are like fire and water which are incompatible and like fire your spirit is liable to be extinguished by the water-cannon or at the stroke of a pen. When we speak of Wales we speak of a nation with a long history, like Ireland, of struggle and resistance in the face of adversity. But I do not wish to dwell on the past with all its sorrows and lost opportunities. I wish to talk of now, the time where all that was is no longer with us, the time when fortune beckons. We are now the guardians of the nations fortunes, its heritage, its language and its people. Whether or not we were born in England, or Jamaica, or Pakistan or Japan we owe our allegiance to our nation, this nation, and our hearts and minds are well and truly here in Cymru - Wales."
Is your identity in crisis, or are you just happy to be Welsh and proud of it?
"The Nineteenth century saw a great Springtime of Nations as the revolutions of 1848 saw new countries created the length and breadth of Europe. In our world today we are now seeing our own Spring Awakening with people and cultures that have long been dormant and subdued asserting their right to exist, their right to dream." Adam Price MP
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