... and now John Major!

Following hot on the heels of Labour's most distinguished Prime Ministerial failure, George Brown, now John Major, the modern Tories' most hopeless PM, has entered the Scottish Independence debate. If you listened to his interview on this morning's Today programme (BBC Radio 4, September 10) Sir John has used the opportunity of the end of the cricket season to give his strident message of doom regarding the consequences of Scottish independence for Scotland - and for the rest of the UK. 

The interesting part of his solemn, unctuous warnings is that they were mostly focussed on the future troubles facing a specific part of England and the English in the event of separation. We would lose our special relationship with the US because the Scots did not want Trident; we would lose our seat at the UN 's top table; our ability to negotiate a good deal with the EU would be damaged - leading to withdrawal; woe, woe, thrice woe! 

Sir John feels the last threads and binds of Empire being gently pulled away from the hands of Westminster and the City. He foresees his blessed England drifting down the first division of nations settling somewhere way below France and even, possibly Italy! 

A lot of Scots clearly already feel that they would rather do something for the local health service than follow the US into another one of its wars for the 'willing.' Perhaps they are already happy with the prospect of being a smaller country giving priority to looking after its citizens. Sir John's words may well strike deaf ears. As a large section of the English share such sentiments, perhaps Grammar School outsider Sir John will find that his cosy assumptions about post imperial greatness cut little ice with most of the English too. That's why the Bullenden boys don't discuss such things in public.