(CNN) -- On Thursday, Scotland goes to the polls to consider leaving the United Kingdom. I'm praying they say no. For their sakes and for our sakes as fellow Britons. We need each other. Don't get me wrong: the English, the Scots, the Welsh and the Northern Irish are all very different people. You can tell it in the accents -- as an Englishman, I find it almost impossible to do a passable Scottish voice because I just can't sustain the requisite level of anger. And while the English are known for introversion and a terror of being noticed, the heat generated by the independence referendum has been a testament to the Scots' uncompromising desire to say what they're really thinking.
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Historian Timothy Stanley wants Scotland to stay in the United Kingdom
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He notes that the historical relationship changed after World War II
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Scots' quest for a wider social safety net may be hard to achieve alone, he says
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Stanley says he'd miss England's romantic, talkative partners if they go
As the empire vanished and industry declined, so the economic outlook of @placeholder and England began to diverge.
As the empire vanished and industry declined, so the economic outlook of Scotland and @placeholder began to diverge.