Robin Tilbrook
Many English people have probably despaired about the way things have been handled over the last few years. Thousands of us feel betrayed by Labour, misled by the Liberal Democrats and confused by the Conservatives, who have all provided very little in the way of good ideas and leadership over the last 10 years.
But the encouraging thing is that England is awaking.
The English Democrats were launched in 2002 at the Imperial College London. Many of the founding members were also members of the non-party political pressure group ‘Campaign for an English Parliament’. It was increasingly obvious to the founding members of the English Democrats that the Westminster political establishment was not listening to anyone unless they posed an electoral threat to their careers. This was as true of Labour, as of the Conservative party, both of which has spent years denying that England is a nation, or that a national identity and a distinct culture actually exist. For the Conservatives, the UK consists of Wales, Scotland and Britain - which is news to 55 million English people who find themselves without any effective national representation.
Will there always be an England? Don’t bet on it. One of the sinister plans from the Labour Government which remains is to break England into nine European Regions. This plan is not to give England a vote on devolution but to create nine Regional Ministries, nine lots of bureaucracies, new flags, regional identities, nine different offices in Brussels and generally trying to break England into bits.
They are already beavering away changing the structure of local County based police into ‘Regional’ police forces. They are removing local ambulance and fire brigades to the Regions and have even tried to set up Regional Assemblies, despite the fact they are unelected and have been rejected by the people in the North East in 2004.
The Conservatives have been almost silent on the issue of the break up of England - why? Because it was the Conservatives who designed the Regional blueprint. Labour are busily implementing it and the Liberal Democrats support the break-up of England. Here you see England’s dilemma - all three of the main political parties are pro- European, pro-Union and pro- breaking-up of England. One has to ask the question why?
One intriguing insight comes from the Scottish Claim of Right: “We” Do hereby declare and pledge that in all our actions and deliberately (the) interests (of the Scottish people) shall be paramount. This was signed approved by Gordon Brown - Prime Minister, Menzies Campbell - Leader of the Liberal Democrats, Alistair Darling - Chancellor, George Galloway - Respect Party Leader, Charles Kennedy - ex Leader of Liberal Democrats, Michael Martin - Speaker of the Commons and John Reid - ex Home Secretary for England. Scots appear to dominate our political life, either as leaders of all of the three main parties, as funders and as senior figures in policy making.
The English Democrats believe that until the English have a parliament of their own within the UK the English nation is not represented. We consider it is an outrage that Scotland and Wales have been given devolution but the English have not only been left out of any consultation on the issue, but now find themselves ’sharing’ the UK Parliament with MPs from Scotland and Wales who regularly vote on English only matters when English MPs are barred from voting on Scottish and Welsh matters. We are also furious that since last September, English university students will be the only ones having to pay £3,000 in top up fees, whilst the Scots and Welsh pay nothing - as their national Governments have rejected fees for their students, but their MPs nevertheless used their votes in the UK Parliament to make the English pay!
England must have her own voice and great strides are being made to reinvigorate Englishness through the celebration of St. George’s Day, English culture and history. But we need more people who care about England to join in this enterprise.
England is a great country and we want to see a rejuvenated and liberated democratic England - and I encourage all my countrymen to ensure that there will really always be an England!
Robin Tilbrook is the Chairman of the English Democrats Party.
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An excellent summary of the English situation. It demonstrates very clearly why we need a strong Nationalist movement in England to work in partnership with our Nationalist brothers and sisters in Scotland and Wales. Only though cooperation can we achieve greater freedom from Westminster rule and self-determination for our nations.
Gerald Lambourne
4 Oct 07 at 3:30 am
No, we don’t need an English Parliament. We need a renewed and strengthened British Parliament and devolution abolished. We need to get out of the EU otherwise all such pretendy and ultimately EU-controlled ‘Parliaments’ (and that goes for Westminster which has now become virtually a museum piece of democracy) have no point to their existence.
Barry Scarfe
4 Oct 07 at 2:52 pm
I have always lived in England. I shall die in England.
Benedict Brown
5 Oct 07 at 2:36 am
I was born British but like Benedict I shall die an Englishman
in England, Britain disowned me when granting devolved powers to the Scots and Welsh whom I no longer consider to be my cousins. Barry you can stuff a British Parliament where the Monkey stuffs his nuts, I haven’t trusted this one since devolution and I sure as hell would never trust another one that, God forbid, takes it’s place. I say set England free of the Brits so that we can get back to our traditional English values
Len Welsh
8 Oct 07 at 11:19 am
Are you asking for ‘independence’ Len Walsh because if you are you wil have a fight on your hands with people like me. I am British and the ONLY passport I want is a British one. The way to beat people like the SNP isn’t to join them but to fight against them and their plans with much more vigour. People like you are unfortunately aiding them as are the EDP. It’s time Mr Cameron and his party bit the bullet and abolished Follyrood and the assembly in Cardiff. He would be able to do that as well since neither EU-controlled parliament/assembly has any inherent right to exist being devolved and not part of a federal system. Ted Heath closed-down Stormont in NI overnight. It’s time the devolved legislatures were too.
What are ‘traditional English values’ anyway and how are they distinct from British values? If there is one, I suppose it is one of tolerance but that isn’t shown by EDP supporters as evidenced here.
Barry
9 Oct 07 at 12:59 pm
As I am sure you know Barry, so far from abolishing the devolved assemblies, the Labour government will almost certainly have to grant them extra powers - as would a future Conservative government. The genie, as they say, is out of the bottle and the Scots would never give up their Parliament now that they have got it. The Welsh are finding it that they like having one too. If you are first and foremost British and wish to save the Union, the only way to do so is to support fair representation for England - because otherwise the English will leave the Union before the SNP does.
Ian Campbell
10 Oct 07 at 7:04 am
Barry,wake up and smell the coffee, sport. The proverbial horse has bolted and only dreamers like yourself can hope to reverse devolution. Those misty-eyed, good old British days have gone and never will return. Why not turn your thoughts to getting a better deal for England?
greg
10 Oct 07 at 10:33 am
An English Parliament wouldn’t work as it would represent too large a proportion of the population (83%). No federation in history has survived longterm when the predominant element is so large. The best thing to do would be to abolish Folyrood and the Assembly in Cardiff but give both Wales and Scotland vastly increased representation in Westminster. I would suggest they both have an equal number of MPs as England does. Better still, why not have the entire United Kingdom voting as one with a PR system?
Barry
10 Oct 07 at 10:46 am
Barry, you live in a fools world and dream the dreams of fools, you will never be able to put the clock back, we can only go forward into the future, the past is dead and is taking your beloved Union with it, I can see clearly and I have the lessons of history as guidance, if the Brits do not treat England with fairness and equality with the other nations of these islands the Union is doomed. Of course I am calling for Independence, in the sure knowledge, given past action or lack of it, that the Brits will continue to ignore and put England down just as they have for the nine years I have been campaigning for an English Parliament within or without the Union, enough is enough.
Fairness and Tolerance are two of the traditional English values that I rate above all others, they are not traits of the other nations in these islands, they set us apart from them. BTW you will have to fight hard to beat the likes of me Barry, I have right on my side you only have English hating Brits on yours.
Len Welsh
10 Oct 07 at 12:18 pm
Barry, if your intention is to beat the SNP, you’d better think carefully. Abolishing Holyrood and the Scottish Government - as it is now called - would play into the hands of the fundies within the SNP who want independence ASAP.
Charlie Marks
10 Oct 07 at 3:55 pm
Barry,
You say,
“An English Parliament wouldn’t work as it would represent too large a proportion of the population (83%). No federation in history has survived long term when the predominant element is so large.”
In response to which I ask, how would the ‘federation’ which is the United Kingdom succeed any better if the Scottish, Welsh, and N. Irish Assemblies and Parliament are abolished? I ask because the English will still make up 83% of the population!
Methinks you are one of ‘them’.
Terry Brown
21 Oct 07 at 11:52 am
The SNP is not going to go away, no matter how much we might it to. Devolution and Independence for Scotland are also not going to disappear. We will have to deal with it. Northern Ireland will eventually become part of a united Ireland, too. It’s only a matter of time. Gerry Adams is only waiting to see what happens in Scotland. Wales, perhaps, cannot exist on its’ own, but demands greater autonomy. England remains the last area within this dis-United Kingdom without an independent voice. Can we let that remain so? I, and many others like me, say that we cannot. We must not sleep walk into oblivion.
Alan Jacobs
22 Sep 08 at 3:04 am
I think that the continuance of some form of union is very important because the Scots really hate us so much. If devolution continues, then the Scots will eventually regain political control of their military units from the British. The British will have to devolve the defence budget which will be used partly for border defence patrols to ensure that criminals and undesireables are not allowed entry to Scotland. These undesireable will include people like us, who think that England is greater than Scotand.
Eventually, the Scots will demand that certain undesireables (such as ourselves alone) should be handed over to Scotish authorities for punishment, I mean questioning or trial. I think that the British will just hand us over - and there an end to the English problem for the Scots.
In order to avoid the above, we should organise now into what I have previously described as the Technoprops - a well organised and disciplined unit designed to respond to and repulse British propaganda through expert publicity campagning and campaign stunts which make our political points. Initially, the unit would have to publicise its own existence, partly as part of a recruiting campaign and partly in the course of its stated campaign ends. Technoprops should be regional volunteers who would give up regular time for meetings, training and operations. I am happy to organise the recuiting with help. Any who wish to participate or help, please contact Robin for further details. Please quote where you saw the invitation.
Adrian Thurston
20 Dec 08 at 2:51 pm
I have never described myself as “British”. I was born and brought up in England, continue to live in England and am therefore, “English”. I resent watching my son and daugter-in-law struggle to make ends meet as she seeks to better herself by studying for a degree, whilst my taxes are being used to pay the tuition fees of any Scots, studying alongside her. I resent seeing my council tax go up year after year, whilst my taxes are being used to subsidise council tax in Scotland. I resent paying for my prescriptions and for those of the Scots. And I resent hearing Scottish sports fans sing their “Flower of Scotland” nonsense, whilst English fans have to sing “God Save the Queen!” I resent seeing the Scottish saltire on Scottish produce in supermarkets, whilst English produce is described as “British” and bears an image of the Union Flag on its packaging, (a banner I have come to loathe.) If we cannot have an English parliament, then roll on Scottish independence. As the nationalists there say, “independence for Scotland will mean independence for England.” Then, like Gorbachov before him, Brown, or his successor will wake up one morning, to find himself president of…. nothing!
Clive Lavelle
12 Mar 10 at 2:10 pm