Now Cameron Has to Appease the English

摘要

The United Kingdom endures after Scottish voters rejected independence. But the Sept. 18 referendum has unleashed forces that could reshape the 307-year-old union, nudging it toward a more decentralized, American-style democracy. Prime Minister David Cameron has promised greater self-determination to England, the U.K.'s biggest nation, after the independence campaign stoked English resentment over special treatment for the Scots. Scotland has its own parliament, which has powers over the environment, education, and health care-and, starting in 2016, the right to levy income taxes. England has no parliament of its own; laws affecting its citizens are enacted in the House of Commons in Westminster, which includes members from Scotland, Northern Ireland, and Wales. (Northern Ireland and Wales have parliaments with much less clout than Scotland's.)