Who are we?
Divided We Fall is a non-party political campaign group launched in August 2020 made up of those who believe we are stronger, wealthier and safer as one progressive United Kingdom. The reintroduction of medieval borders across Britain would be a hugely regressive step, one that would crush deep bonds of solidarity and leave us atomised and divided as we enter a truly revolutionary era in human history. Whatever the question, turning the clocks back 300 years is not the answer.
Our supporters come from a variety of political traditions, ranging from socialism to conservatism, and we’re determined to remain a broad tent for those who support the union and liberal-democratic principles. What unites us is the belief that its time to start standing up to the nationalists, along with their ideology of partition, and that doing so will help build a stronger and more prosperous Britain.
What will we do?
Divided We Fall aims to combat nationalist and separatist ideas wherever they are found; be that online, in communities or in parliaments. Crucially we won’t focus exclusively on any one of the UK’s constituent countries – we will challenge those who believe in division, or are prepared to tolerate it, across England, Scotland and Wales. Our initial focus will be online, where we will publish articles and share social media graphics, but in time we hope to expand this into on the ground campaigning.
Britain urgently needs a muscular, self-confident unionism that is ready to take the fight to the nationalists, challenging both their underlying ideology and quite frankly appalling record in Government. This should be rooted in support for the core principles of any democratic society, including the view that public votes must be honoured and not simply re-run until electorates give the ‘right’ result. Our aim is to form part of a new wave of assertive and self-assured unionism.
Why the breakup of Britain would matter
It is virtually impossible to overstate the economic, social and security implications the Balkanisation of Britain would have. Economically the UK nations are utterly interdependent, the result both of geographic proximity and over 300 years of union, with for example 61 percent of Scotland’s exports going to other parts of Britain. The introduction of trade and regulatory barriers, along with disputes over currency, would be disastrous for our prosperity.
But the union is about so much more than just economics. It’s always been a union of peoples, not just of institutions. The collapse of Britain would turn compatriots into foreigners in the most acrimonious of circumstances. Cultural ties that have flourished for three centuries would be undermined and replaced with a new wave of insular nationalism. A victory would have been achieved by those who base their politics on finding sources of division, not unity, between different peoples.
From the perspective of national security and stability the union has been enormously successful. Britain is virtually unique amongst the nations of Europe in having escaped foreign occupation over the past three centuries, as well as the ravages of both fascism and communism. This has been a blessing, but also risks complacency about the conditions which brought it about.
The security and political challenges of the coming decades, from the prospective of defending the liberal-democratic world, are likely to be enormous. We simply cannot assume our current era of relative stability will hold, and it would be beyond naïve to base our politics around this expectation. Authoritarian state capitalism, the model being practiced in China, is emerging as the most serious ideological challenge to liberal-democracy since the Cold War. The explosion in artificial intelligence this century is likely to see, almost certainly one of the most profound revolutions in human history, will offer new challenges to those of us who base our politics around individual liberty and rights.
Britain remains one of the most important defenders of liberal-democratic principles not only at home, but around the world. To tear it apart just as humanity faces a new wave of ultra-authoritarian threats would be not merely mistaken, but irresponsible. Our adversaries know this of course, even if we sometimes forget. Alex Salmond, to give just one example, wasn’t given a show on Kremlin funded TV by accident.
The case for an assertive unionism
There is little point pretending unionism hasn’t spent the past decade on the defensive. This cannot be allowed to continue. Our objective isn’t merely to defend the union, but to strength it, whilst fully supporting the autonomy of the devolved parliaments. As unionists we have a number of advantages; from the economy to national security and social solidarity the arguments are firmly on our side. But this only counts for so much unless we can also match the nationalists on passion.
Unionism needs to regain its rightful self-confidence whilst abandoning the impulse to retreat. There is no reason why this can’t be achieved. Those of us who believe in the British union is a force for good, both at home and around the world, will have to fight for it. And that’s exactly what we’re going to do.
How you can help
As a movement we are only as strong as our supporters. If you’d like to help out in any way we’d love to hear from you via dividedwefalluk@gmail.com.
Our initial focus will be online so we’re especially keen to hear from anyone with skills in graphic design or video editing, both vital for a modern campaign.
We’d also be grateful if you’d like to connect with us via social media on Twitter and/or Facebook.