THE United Kingdom has been a very successful unit for 300 years and I don't think there is any strong feeling among most people towards wanting to break it up.

Any animosity, between England and Scotland particularly, is the result of rabble-rousing by some self-serving politicians and by the Government not treating all regions equally and fairly.

The gains that most people expect from the break-up would, I'm sure, be short-lived and probably illusory for both countries. With goodwill, any of our internal differences could be resolved.

The only people who would gain in the longer term are the bureaucrats in Brussels. They will find it difficult to hide their glee and astonishment that the people of Great Britain could be so foolish as to destroy their own power-base in a fit of pique.

Many in Britain feel that the EU is corrupt and already has far too much control over British affairs. To fragment the UK would leave France and Germany in a dominant position and further reduce our voice in Europe.

The one thing we should not even contemplate is the break-up of the United Kingdom.

WD Donovan, Darlington.