The Scottish referendum is only a few weeks off and in the midst of the usual reporting from the “Yes” and “No” camps came a report last week on English views on the future of the United Kingdom, the possibility of Scottish withdrawal and the position of England within the Union.

It appears that although the majority wish to preserve the Union many of those questioned by pollsters want the English to be more vocal on their wishes instead of perpetually remaining the silent majority. We have, of course, heard much of Scottish independence, even though the Scots already have their own Parliament, and some talk about further Welsh independence even though they too have separate representation in the form of their own Assembly.

By contrast, the English have no separate representation with neither their own parliament nor assembly despite the fact that they are by far and away the single largest entity within the Union and therefore the largest financial contributors. Instead, English MPs sit at the UK’s Parliament in Westminster alongside Scottish MPs who are all able to vote on English matters while the English cannot vote on theirs. This seems to be both unfair and anti-democratic.

A further grievance is the fact that English citizens pay the NHS £8.25 for their medical prescriptions whilst the Scots get theirs free of charge and Scottish children receive free university education whilst English children and their families pay thousands of pounds each year for theirs. All of this is despite the fact that England bears the lion’s share of the cost of running the Union. This cannot be right.

Even if Scotland decides to stay in the Union, and I hope they do, some English politicians are now talking of setting up their own Parliament just like that of their northern neighbours. And why not? After all, what’s sauce for the goose is sauce for the gander.