Red (White and Blue) Ed

In an attempt to improve his standing on the back of the Summer of feelgood British events, Ed Milliband has put forward strong arguments for a Federal Britain during his speech at the Royal Festival Hall. 

Unfortunately his strictly Unionist viewpoint has led him to conclude that you can't be British and English without a constraining United Kingdom. Surely it is obvious to anyone that it is quite possible to be British as well as any other nationality within the British Isles even if the United Kingdom did not exist.

In fact, a Britain, where the parties to such a partnership were sitting at the table on equal terms, would surely be a stronger proposition than it is now - fatally weakened by the Unionist disposition that only a United Kingdom dominated by Westminster is worthy of being called Britain.

It is typical of the Unionist mindset to accuse nationalist politicians of being narrow-minded and separatist. The truth is that Westminster Unionists are insular, bigoted and blinkered. They spend so much effort on control freakery within these shores that they are unable to see the potential that exists beyond them. The nations of Britain need to be empowered to fly themselves rather than be fed worms by London.

A federal Britain would be greater than its constituent parts. It would be more outward looking. A federal Britain would know the strengths and weaknesses of its individual elements and would be able to take greater advantage of the opportunities that exist in Europe and the wider global economy.