British Reaction to Quebec Nation Vote

British reactions to the Quebec-a-nation vote are interesting for several reasons. First, references to the "four nations" of the United Kingdom are not controversial here and most British people would argue that a strong identification with one of these nations does necessarily imply a desire for political independence.

The movement for outright political independence (as opposed to a desire for more powers for Scotland's Parliament) is a marginal force in Scotland (notwithstanding Blair's recent scare-mongering about the threat from the SNP. http://commentisfree.guardian.co.uk/iain_macwhirter/2006/11/labours_scare_mongering_on_sco.htmland

In Wales, the movement for independence is even weaker. Even in England, the most unionist part of the UK, the majority of the people will tend to describe themselves as English rather than British.

All of nations of the British Isles have teams that compete in international sporting events. The UK sends a single team to the Olympics, but the constituent nations of the UK send teams to most other international events, most notably the World Cup (England's performance at the recent World Cup were probably watched by more people than any Olympic event ever is). The British experience helps to put Guy Betrand's advocacy of a Quebec national hockey team into perspective. See http://www.cbc.ca/sports/hockey/story/2006/11/02/teamquebec-hockey.html and http://www.sportsnet.ca/hockey/article.jsp?content=20061102_140139_5576 and
http://www.hockeyforum.com/world-cup-hockey/3341-push-team-quebec-hockey-worlds.html

The BBC news stories on the Quebec nation vote 22 Nov http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/americas/6190162.stm
and 28 Nov http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/americas/6174986.stmon
are their first items on a Canadian-related topic since a September story on Canadian public opinion and the Afghan mission http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/south_asia/5319310.stm

All of the BBC stories are narrowly descriptive and don't contain much in the way of interpretation and analysis. However, a Welsh website, icWales, has taken an interest in the "Quebec nation row".

http://icwales.icnetwork.co.uk/0100news/0700world/tm_headline=quebec--nation--row-hits-canada&method=full&objectid=18170736&siteid=50082-name_page.html

The really interesting discussion of this issue, however, is to be found in the discussion forum hosted by the Scotsman newspaper:

http://news.scotsman.com/international.cfm?id=1733202006

The irony is that many people in Scotland are much more sympathetic to Quebec nationalism than the average Scottish immigrant to Canada is (trust me on this one).

NOTE:

The BBC hasn't got a full-time reporter in Canada, and instead relies on the CBC and Lee Carter, a British-born Toronto DJ, in covering Canadian events. The reports he files for the BBC are totally neutral and factual, but I wonder if he has expressed opinions about this issue on air.

http://www.spiritofradio.ca/Personalities.asp?Show=Carter%2C+Lee