A Government Minister in the English House of Lords has dismissed outright the possibility of a village that is currently in England from returning to Alba/Scotland.

The village of Berwick, which lies just across from the border from Scotland, became English in 1860, but prior to that was the other side of the boarder. Earlier this year, as reported in Celtic News, residents of Berwick were polled by a popular English television channel to see which country they would prefer Berwick to be and 60 % of those who responded stated that they wanted the town to be administered by Scotland.

However, Government Minister Lord Hunt said in a debate on the subject in the House of Lords that:

"The Government have no plans at all to take any of this forward."

The reasons people gave for wanting Berwick to be administered by Alba/Scotland included a higher spending per capita on public services and better provision for the elderly. It was Lord Palmer who had asked Hunt for assurances that Berwick was to stay in England and for an edict to be sent to the Scottish Government requesting they do not "meddle in English affairs."

The Celtic League passed a resolution at its 2005 AGM on the Isle of Skye calling for the return of Berwick to Alba/Scotland.

Currently in the 'Berwick Advertiser' newspaper, there is an on-line poll asking readers if they think the Lords were right to dismiss Berwick from returning to Alba/Scotland. Currently the poll shows 9 out of 10 people favour administratively leaving England. The poll can be found by following the link below:

(voir le site)

J B Moffatt Director of Information Celtic League

22/04/08