If Scotland wants independence then Scotland holds a referendum - under the rules in the UK, England has no say in that referendum, and there are very good reasons for that all connected with guaranteeing the rights of a minority.

In the treaty that created the Irish Free State, Ireland was United for as long as it took Northern Ireland to exercise its right to opt out of the arrangement. Therefore Northern Ireland and the Republic had been "independent" from Great Britain for about the same length of time albeit that Northern Ireland through choice is a self-governing autonomous part of the United Kingdom, and as with Scotland, neither Scotland, England or Wales has any right in the political determination of its status, so no, the people of Great Britain should not have a say in whether or not Northern ireland remains in the United Kingdom.

Jim still wittering on about the ludicrous threat of invasion, as I said hardly credible if Britain was trying to get shot of Ireland at the time. The partition was agreed to for one reason and one reason only and it was a very pragmatic one - The Irish Free State nearly collapsed fighting its own civil war against a few thousand members of the IRA. How on earth would they, the fledgling Irish State have coped fighting against 500,000 Ulstermen hell bent on wrecking the nation. Answer to that was they would not have been able to cope and everybody knew it.

What the people voted for with the referenda both North and South of the border Kevin was that it is up to the people of Northern Ireland to decide how they are ruled and who rules them. If the people of Northern ireland hold a referendum and vote for Union with the republic of Ireland, then the people of the Republic then hold a referendum to agree to Union or not.

I will ask my question of Jim again if the North wants Union and the South does not will you accept that decision?