"WE all know what Parliament is, and we are all ashamed of it."

The above quote from Robert Louis Stevenson who died on December 3 1894, is a timely reminder, that the UK’s problems are not new. The malaise that afflicts Westminster and its style of government is of long standing.

As it comes under greater stress, British governance shortcomings become starker. It was failing before; now its sickness is in open view. And it seems to have no means, or appetite, for fixing itself. All attempts at reform are abruptly dismissed. A constitutional doctor examining the UK might be forced to conclude that its condition is terminal.

There are also signs that an increasing number of observers outside Scotland have come to the view that reform is essential, before the UK is overwhelmed by events. One interesting aspect of this growing unrest is the new phenomenon of examining what it means to be English.

The Archbishop of York recently stated that the “English are crying out to be heard”.

He accused “a metropolitan elite” of labelling people who are proud to be English as “backwardly xenophobic”.

The Most Reverend Stephen Cottrell also claimed that “English people want to know what has happened to their country. These questions of identity and purpose have never really been addressed”.

He says that the Englishness he strives for is “the courageous, entrepreneurial spirit of an island nation. And it is time to be proud to be English”.

Unsurprisingly, as someone who has come to the constitutional debate somewhat late in the day, he stumbles from time to time to make complete sense to Scottish ears.

For instance, he believes that people should focus on institutions that bind them together such as the monarchy and the church. He also singled out the BBC.

Yes, I know. We can all hear the raucous laughter throughout Scotland on hearing these suggestions. Nonetheless, and despite some naivety, he makes real sense about a pressing need for England to come to terms with itself.

This is a theme addressed more directly by Anthony Barnett in an article in Byline Times, entitled Scotland Must Become Independent To End The Corruption Of The British State.

He identifies four factors that produced Brexit. Namely, a contemptible prime minister; banks that care more for the Cayman Islands than they do about Sheffield; neo-liberalism and the eagerness it was espoused by the Labour party; and the SNP.

He declares that “when these four factors are put together, we can start to understand how a deep sense of pointlessness gripped the souls of the English outside the metropolitan centres. They were invited to project their malaise onto the European Union”.

Barnett adds “the first step towards really ‘taking back control’ is to speak for England. An England liberated from Westminster Lords and Ladies, and MPs working for JP Morgan. There has to be a counter-patriot argument to initiate a different kind of democracy to Johnson’s. The way to take Britain back is first to celebrate the independence of our countries and then join together in a free association.’”

Barnett wants Scotland to be independent. As he puts it, “this is why I believe that every democratic English person should now wholeheartedly support Scottish Independence and look forward to Scotland joining the Republic of Ireland in Europe.

“It is the only definitive way to burst the Brexit project and at the same time, as English, to take confidence in ourselves.”

Now, some of this may seem odd to Scottish ears. Many Scots have been exposed to a seemingly endless harangue of too wee, too poor, and too stupid over the years. This has inevitably been accompanied by unwelcome comparisons to our southern neighbour, where all is apparently much better ordered and where people are supremely happy with the way they are governed.

We now learn the reality is very different. England will have its say. It may not be the England we are used to . The England of the BBC and Westminster may not survive the changes advocated above.

Whatever route the new England wishes to travel on its way to its altered destination, it is unlikely it will wish that voyage to be encumbered by recalcitrant and reluctant neighbours. It makes more sense for it to find its own destiny by itself. And why should any Scot who wishes independence not want success for them on that journey.

We ought to respect and encourage this growing search for a different England. There may be lessons we can learn from each other as this re-evaluation takes place.

The British constitution is kaput. It will likely be replaced by independent nations with their own modern constitutions. And we will all be winners when this happens.

Yes activist, Mike Fenwick, is Wednesday’s guest on the TNT show at 7pm