British Confederation

The British Confederation is an alternate, but lightly changed, version of the United Kingdom. The key components include a united and independent Ireland, an independent Scotland, an independent Wales, and an independent England. The 4 are in an Union, similar to the real life Union (but Ireland is a component) and it is instead called the British Confederation (though United Kingdom is still commonly used). There is no animosity with the British and Irish. It's about the same as Scotland and England today, which is to say that everyone still kinda hates the English (mainly the posh wankers from London...). The British Confederation is a part of the European Union and has nearly completely converted to the metric system. However, the pound is still used.

A side note, the EU better in this scenario, in that the officals that govern are elected, not appointed.