In January 2007, regarding the growing support for Scottish independence, the then-Chancellor of the Exchequer of the United Kingdom, and later Prime Minister, Gordon Brown talked of a "Balkanisation of Britain".
En xaneiro de 2007, en relación co crecente apoio á independencia de Escocia, o primeiro ministro do Reino Unido naqueles días, Gordon Brown falou dunha "balcanización de Gran Bretaña".