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Originally Posted by Toy Soldier

Having lived here for a bit longer than the "recent surge for independence", I can confirm that you are wrong. The empire was indeed a product of Scotland as much as England but that's not relevant as the empire is over; meaning that we now "pick and choose" (loosely, obviously we're talking about sweeping social choice here not conscious individual choice) which parts of culture and history form the overall basis of national identity.

England, whilst it does have a lot of REGIONAL culture and many strong - but notably, distinct - regional identities... It really has no overall unifying sense of national identity OTHER than empire.

It would probably be more accurate to say that there really isn't any strongly defined sense of English culture or English patriotism. Essentially, there is British culture, Scottish/Welsh/Northern Irish culture, and then a whole array of various regional English identities ("Londoner", "Yorkshireman", "Geordie" etc) and when English people talk about patriotism, what they really are referring to is British patriotism rather than English patriotism, whilst in Scotland, there are plenty of both Scottish patriots AND British patriots but they do not mean the same thing... And it is British patriotism that is rooted in Empire / Global strength.

Really this is reflective of the overall perception of Britain / British, though. For example, when filling in a form, English people are much more likely to use the terms "English" and "British" interchangeably whereas "Scottish" and "British" and certainly "Irish" and "British", are more distinct descriptions.

Ok I see your point now, it probably is true that England is more a collection of regional identities whereas Scotland and Wales often seem more homogeneous. Mind you there are plenty of Scots who subscribe to the God Save the Queen, Rule Britannia brand of patriotism.