Archive for England

English accents

December 19, 2006 England 3 comments

English Blogs has a post about English accents.  You have to be registered to post comments so I thought I’d pick up on it here.

Living in Shropshire, we have quite a wide range of local accents that are substantially different from each other.  The traditional Shropshire accent is almost extinct now although it is possibly more accurate to say Shropshire accents as the accent is different throughout the county.

The traditional Shropshire accent in the south and east of the county of the county is a good old “farmer giles” kind of accent.  Ooo arr.  The accent in the north and west is similar but with a noticable Welsh twang.  I have an uncle who lives in the wilds of Shropshire, near Shrewsbury, who speaks with the Shropshire accent with the Welsh twang.  He has two sons – one speaks with a bit of a Shropshire accent, the other with a cockney accent (go figure!).

Telford has a real mixture of accents due to the massive influx of West Midlanders bringing their dodgy accents with them but some parts of Telford are still clinging to their own accents.  Such as Dawley, for instance, which has a dialect that is virtually uninteligible to outsiders – listening to the locals jabbering away in what appears to be a foreign language at the top of their voices in the high street is actually quite entertaining.  There’s a local joke:

“I think it’s gunna ren” (rain)
“Dust?” (Do you?)
“No, bloody wearter” (water)

Ok, I didn’t say it was funny.

Tories propose EVoEL bill

December 15, 2006 England, Tories 3 comments

NEWS from BOB WALTER MP
Member of Parliament for North Dorset
Date: 13th December 2006
Release: Immediate

BOB WALTER MP’s BILL WILL PROPOSE ANSWER TO WEST LOTHIAN QUESTION

Robert Walter MP (North Dorset) today (13th December) launched a NEW bid to stop Scottish MPs voting on issues that only affect England and Wales.

Bob Walter will today present his Private Members Bill, House of Commons (Participation) Bill, to answer the “West Lothian Question” and create a new constitutional settlement between the constituent parts of the United Kingdom. The Bill is ranked 6th in the list and will be debated in Second Reading on Friday 9th March

Bob Walter’s Bill will provide for the Speaker of the House of Commons to have power to determine the eligibility of members of the House to participate in certain legislative and other proceedings. When the Commons debate matters concerning England and Wales, MPs from Scotland and Northern Ireland will not be able to participate.

Tam Dalyell, Labour MP for the Scottish constituency of West Lothian, posed in 1977 and 1978, and again in 1998, the West Lothian question during a House of Commons debate over Scottish and Welsh devolution. The question is – how can it be right that MPs representing Scottish constituencies in the Parliament of the United Kingdom have the power to vote on issues affecting England (including those that don’t affect Scotland), but English MPs do not have the power to vote on Scottish issues?

The text will be based on a Bill introduced in the House of Lords in the last session by Lord Baker. Critically, however, Bob Walter’s Bill will rectify a number of the problems raised with Lord Bakers Bill. Lord Baker’s Bill would have enabled Northern Ireland legislation at Westminster to be determined solely by the Northern Ireland MPs which would be contravening the spirit of the accord that has been struck between the various parties. The new Bill will regard England and Wales as one, until such time as the Welsh Assembly might acquire primary legislative powers.

It is anticipated that Bob Walter’s House of Commons (Participation) Bill will receive a second reading on Friday 9th March 2007.

Before presenting the Bill today, Bob Walter said,

“The present stage of devolution is unfair in that Scottish MPs at Westminster can vote on English and Welsh domestic affairs for which they have no constituency responsibility.”

“My Bill will meet the call for “English votes on English laws”. I do not believe we need to create a separate English parliament. We already have 428 MPs elected from English constituencies; it is perfectly possible for them alone to consider English legislation.”

“It clearly unfair that a Scottish MP can exercise a decisive vote on matters that do not affect Scotland, whilst neither he nor his English counterparts have any role in similar Scottish legislation.”

END

The CEP rightly wonders what happened to the Democracy Taskforce that were supposed to be deciding on the feasibility of EVoEL before they introduced a bill on it.

Thieving toads

December 12, 2006 Anglophobia, Britain, England, Northern Ireland, Scotland, Wales One comment

The New Labour election fund Barnett formula has been sending even more English money to our neighbours.

The Times has today published an article explaining exactly how much of our taxes goes to our thieving, subsidy junkie neighbours leaving our health service so underfunded that cancer patients are told to shut up and die because we can’t afford the treatments our taxes are paying for in Scotland and Wales.

The Chancellor – elected to a Scottish constituency – sets the rates for the Barnett Formula and has, once again, ensured that Scotland’s loyal Labour voters receive more money than those dastardly Tory voters in England.

UK government spending in Scotland was an average of £7,248 per head compared with only £6,361 per head in England.  The difference between spending in England and the rest of the UK has jumped significantly with Wales now receiving £7,248 per head and Northern Ireland £7,597.

The Scottish Parliament has the ability to vary income tax in Scotland to raise more revenue, thereby reducing the burden on the English taxpayer but this would cost valuable votes for Labour who have only a 66 seat majority in the British parliament with elections looming in May next year.

The Conservatives have responded with an attack on Labour for their discrimination against the English which they now accept is leading to the break-up of the union.

The SNP has responded with the “oor oil” argument, again ignoring the fact that a lot of it is actually “our oil” and in spite of figures showing that if Scotland received North Sea oil and gas revenues it would still have had a £3bn budget defecit.

Labour responded by saying the SNP figures on oild had been discredited.  Because that’s relevant.

EDM on English Independence

December 2, 2006 England 6 comments

Angus MacNeal, SNP MP for Na h-Eileanan an Iar (Western Isles), has introduced an Early Day Motion – EDM 296 – calling on Parliament to give England it’s independence:

That this House welcomes the recent ICM poll showing a majority in both Scotland and England for English independence; feels that the time has come for England as Europe’s largest stateless nation to become visible again amongst the independent nations of the earth whose number has quadrupled over the 20th century from 50 to around 200; notes the benefit to the aggregate GDP of the British Isles of an independent Ireland; and asserts a belief in England’s ability to govern itself in the same manner as France and Germany without any direct help from the Scots.

Will the Scottish Raj ever allow England the right to govern itself?  Not much chance really is there?  Write to your MP and ask them to support EDM 296.

More press coverage of English devolution/independence

November 29, 2006 BBC Bias, England One comment

No matter how hard the BBC try to bury the story, it just isn’t going away …

The Business

Next May is the 300th anniversary of the Union of the Scottish and English Parliaments, which followed the Union of the Crowns in 1603 and began the United Kingdom. It should be a cause for much celebration of one of the most successful Unions the world has ever seen, one which (along with the Welsh and the Ulster-Scots) dominated the 19th century through the British Empire, played a crucial role in seeing off the great 20th century evils of fascism and communism and which remains an important economic, diplomatic and military power, even in the 21st century.

But instead of celebration the air is thick with talk of divorce on both sides of the border. What was put together in 1707 might soon be about to come apart. It has not yet dawned on the rest of the world that, in the foreseeable future, there might not be a United Kingdom.
(more)

International Herald Tribune

LONDON: A majority of British voters support Scottish independence and the breakup of the country’s 300-year-old union with England, a poll released Sunday suggests.

Fifty-two percent of Scots polled by ICM supported Scottish independence, as did 59 percent of English voters.

The 1707 Act of Union joined England and Scotland under a single Parliament and monarch. Scottish independence has risen on the political agenda since the country was granted its own parliament, with power over many domestic functions, by Prime Minister Tony Blair’s government in 1999.
(more)

Daily Telegraph

One of the more astonishing features of our politics is the way in which really quite clever and experienced people fail, from time to time, to see the blindingly obvious. One example is the way in which some of those around Tony Blair — and for all I know Mr Blair himself — have believed, on and off over the past few years, that it might be possible to stop Gordon Brown becoming PM. Another was the even more foolish, and much more widely held, fantasy that granting devolution to Scotland would not, sooner rather than later, lead to a rampant rise of Scottish nationalism. As the more astute among you will immediately realise, these two concerns are inextricably linked.
(more)

The Herald

So, what’s the worst that could happen? If the opinion polls are broadly correct, and the SNP is returned as the largest party in May, what could be the realistic downside, given that most people seem to have dismissed Tony Blair’s forecasts of constitutional apocalypse?

he reaction to the government’s warnings about families being split asunder and the nation being left defenceless has been one of bemused disdain in the Scottish press – traditionally a bastion of unionism. Times change.
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The Guardian 

I think the word is panic. Last week the prime minister, chancellor of the exchequer, home secretary, defence secretary, trade secretary and Scots ministerial expatriates galore travelled in a posse north to a Labour conference in Oban, like a bunch of Spanish hidalgos racing back from the fleshpots of Madrid to quell a revolt in their home province.

Their objective was to suppress one man, Alex Salmond, leader of the Scottish National party. An opinion poll had shown support for Salmond’s crusade, an independent Scotland, rising to 52% of the electorate. Those regarding themselves as Scottish had risen from half to three-quarters in 25 years, while those saying “British” had halved to just 20%.

This is raw politics. Labour desperately needs its 40 or so Scottish seats at Westminster. Gordon Brown, probably the next prime minister, wears his distaste for England on his sleeve, and English voters sense it. Already devolution has subverted the legitimacy of Scots MPs in voting on English bills. Just when the 300th anniversary of the 1707 Act of Union is about to be celebrated, it seems to be falling apart, and Labour’s electoral fortunes with it. Battle will be joined next May in the Scottish parliamentary elections.
(more)

81% of Sun readers want independence

November 28, 2006 Britain, England, Northern Ireland, Scotland, Wales 5 comments

Yesterday’s phone-in poll amongst Sun readers resulted in 81% of people saying they wanted English independence from the rest of the UK.

UK Dead

Scottish Transport Minister says congestion fees only for England

November 26, 2006 Anglophobia, England No comments

Douglas Alexander, MP for Paisley & Renfrewshire South, Transport Minister for England, Secretary for State for North Britain, is introducing legislation to impose congestion charging on England.

However, the legislation won’t apply in North Britain where the people who voted for him live because transport is devolved to the North British Parliament.

Why should an MP elected in North Britain be minister for a department that only has jurisdiction over England?

The Union: Dead, Marw, Déide, Marbh, Neuvio, Marow

November 26, 2006 Britain, England, Federal Europe, Northern Ireland, Scotland, Wales 3 comments

A poll in today’s Sunday Telegraph shows that a massive 68% of English people believe that England should have an English Parliament and 48% of people believe that England should declare its independence.

What is most interesting is that English support for North British independence is higher than in North Britain.

The figures are as follows:

Should Scotland become and independent country?

England:
Yes – 59%
No – 28%

Scotland:
Yes – 52%
No – 35%

Should England become independent of Scotland, Wales & NI?

England:
Yes – 48%
No – 43%

Scotland:
Yes – 45%
No – 38%

Should England have its own Parliament with similar powers to those of the Scottish Parliament?

England:
Yes – 68%
No – 25%

Scotland:
Yes – 58%
No – 31%

Should Scottish MP’s be allowed to vote on English laws when English MP’s can’t vote on Scottish laws?

England:
Yes – 34%
No – 62%

Scotland:
Yes – 47%
No – 46%

Government spending per head is higher in Scotland that in England, is this justified?

England:
Yes – 28%
No – 60%

Scotland:
Yes – 51%
No – 36%

Are there too many Scottish MP’s in the Cabinet, not enough it or doesn’t matter?

England:
Too Many – 21%
Not Enough – 2%
Doesn’t Matter – 76%

Scotland:
Too Many – 4%
Not Enough – 17%
Doesn’t Matter – 77%

Who do you support when England/Scotland are playing a foreign team?

England:
Scotland – 70%
Foreign Team – 14%

Scotland:
England – 48%
Foreign Team – 34%

The SNP are predicted win the North British elections next year and with a win will come the end of the union.  The fact that it will coincide with the 300th anniversary of the Act of Union and the 50th anniversary of the European Federation (if the UK doesn’t exist then England won’t be in the European Federation either) will make it even more meaningful.

Gordon Brown told the Scots yesterday that they didn’t want independence and neither did the English yet this is the latest poll to prove that is a downright lie.  The Welsh Assembly was established on the back of a 51% yes vote in which only 50% of the country participated.  If this is claimed as the settled will of the Welsh people then how many more polls like this is it going to take to force the Scottish Raj to hold a referendum in England?

When the union is dissolved, Labour will pay for it’s anglophobia.  The SNP have taken Labour’s majority in North Britain and the Conservatives have long been the choice of English voters with Labour relying on a combination of votes from north of the border and gerrymandered electoral boundaries to win the last election.  The Conservatives will lose their beloved union because of their unwillingness to support equality for the English.  The Illiberal Democrats are nothing and without their combined vote in England, North Britain and West Britain they will soon disappear off the political radar.

Bliar & Brown denounce independence

November 25, 2006 England, Labour, Scotland One comment

The Ignorant Jock is at the North British Labour Conference today (well he wouldn’t be at the English Labour Conference – there isn’t an English Labour Party) to tell the North British Labour Party faithful that independence would be a disaster for the nations and regions of the UK.

No doubt he’ll harp on about this mysterious “union dividend” that we apparently all benefit from.  At first I thought the dividend might have been the subsidies paid out via the Barnett Formula but the dividend is supposed to benefit us all and the Barnett Formula costs English taxpayers billions.

The SNP are predicted to win the North British elections next year and have pledged to hold a referendum on independence when they do so.  This has Labour worried as their biggest support base is in North Britain where they regularly use MP’s that have been elected to North British constituencies to pass laws in England.

The Tartan Taxman and Traitor Blair are actually telling the truth when they say that independence will be a disaster for North Britain.  Over half of their GDP comes from the public sector whilst the entire country is insolvent, requiring billions of pounds of subsidies from the English taxpayer to pay the bills and keep the North Britons in the lifestyle to which they have become accustomed.

Whilst I remain a unionist, I do not agree that the union should be preserved at all costs.  If the cost is the abolition of England and discrimination against its citizens then the price is too high.  Ending the union would benefit England immensely and doing so on the 300th anniversary of the Act of Union would be appropriate timing.  At least nobody can accuse us of not giving the union a chance – we’ve given it 300 years and it just isn’t working!

Radio Shropshire talking about Englishness

November 8, 2006 England One comment

BBC Radio Shropshire are talking about Englishness this morning.

They’re on 96FM in Shropshire or online at BBC Shropshire.

Edit:
Had the following email read out on air:

I don’t feel British any more. I’ve always considered myself English/British but a couple of years ago I started to question what this Britishness was about. Generally, the Scots, Welsh and Northern Irish don’t feel British and they’re certainly not encourage to do so by the British government unless they start talking about independence or there’s an election to be won!

I’m very proud to be English. English men and women have achieved many great things. England – Shropshire in particular – is the birthplace of both the industrial revolution and modern democracy, both of which have had probably the biggest impact on society since the Romans.

The first English Parliament was held in Acton Burnell near Shrewsbury and this evolved over the years into the full English Parliament that pretty much every modern parliamentary democracy in the world is based on.

Cecil Rhodes once said that to be born English is to have won first prize in the lottery of life. I wonder what he would make of modern day England? We aren’t allowed our own government, you often can’t describe yourself as English without being branded a racist, we can’t even have our own national anthem.

I don’t think you can define what Englishness is. It doesn’t matter if you’re a second generation immigrant or a direct decendent of an Anglo-Saxon king – if you’re English, you know it.

And this one …

England, Scotland and Wales aren’t one race. Lowland Scots are genetically similar to the English, Highland Scots are genetically different to Lowland Scots and the Welsh share their genes with the Irish, Cornish and Bretons in France.

It’s all a bit of a mish-mash now but there are traditional genetic/ethnic groups in the UK.

Your genes are irrelevant anyway, I know plenty of Black and Asian people who describe themselves as English rather than British. Nationality and ethnicity are two different things.

And this one as well in response to someone who said that Englishness is all about ethnicity (who, it turns out, is a prominent member of Shrewsbury BNP) …

My two step children are half-English, a quarter Scottish and a quarter Irish. At 8 and 6 years old, they know the difference between England and Britain and consider themselves English. I think there is some Welsh in me somewhere along the lines as is the case with a lot of Shropshire families. I am an English nationalist and an active member of the Campaign for an English Parliament. Would those people who say that being English is all about ethnicity deny me my right to call myself and my children English?

Daily Referendum

November 8, 2006 England One comment

Daily Referendum has a poll today on whether we should have an English Parliament.

Go and cast your vote and pass the link on to everyone in your address book.  It may be just another internet poll but every one that shows a majority in favour of an English Parliament is another string to our bow.

You’re only supposed to blow the bloody jocks off

November 5, 2006 England No comments

Michael Caine is annoyed that England is the only part of the UK that isn’t represented and might end up being ruled by a North Briton that is unaccountable to the English.  He even reaffirms Sean “ILSSMICEBMTLT” Connery’s calls for independence north of the border.

Caine was thrilled when he received the CBE in 1993, and was awarded a Knighthood in 2000. “I am very, very patriotic, so don’t get me started, ” he warns. He frets that his beloved England has been overlooked as the other home nations enjoy devolution.

His friend Sir Sean Connery has become a cheer-leader for Scottish nationalism and Sir Michael is beginning to think he is right.

“I’m a very English man. And that doesn’t mean I don’t like foreigners and I hate all immigrants. I am married to an immigrant but I’m not happy at the moment. Everybody seems to be represented but the English.

“There is a possibility that a Scotsman is going to rule over me. A Scotsman who comes from a constituency where my member of parliament who I elected, has no say whatsoever. And there is an answer, given to me by my friend Sean: give Scotland its independence. Gordon Brown can then be the Prime Minister of Scotland”…..

“And I’m worried about the fact that they (the Scots) cheer for the other side in the football and I think to myself. “Have they really got my interests at heart?”

Hat-tip: Waking Hereward

Rugby: England -v New Zealand

November 4, 2006 England, Sport 3 comments

A tricky match for England tomorrow as they take on the mighty All Blacks.

The match is live on the BBC1 and BBC Radio 5 Live at 3:30pm tomorrow.

Do we stand a chance of winning?  We’ve lost 21 of our 28 matches against the All Blacks and since winning the world cup we’ve had a particularly bad run culminating in one of the most embarassing sporting defeats possible – losing to Scotland at anything other than Curling or Caber Tossing.

Still, it’s a home game and the run of bad luck has got to stop eventually and we are England after all!

Bring me my sword …

November 1, 2006 England 3 comments

The Conservative MP for Shrewsbury & Atcham, Daniel Kazywazykinkywinky, has proposed an Early Day Motion to support Jerusalem as Englands national anthem.

The CEP are urging everyone to write to their MP’s asking them to support EDM 2791.

My email (which my MP will thank me for but refuse to support because he’s a unionist and England’s existence is a threat to the union) is as follows:

Dear David,

Can I draw your attention to Daniel K’s EDM 2791 asking the house to promote Jerusalem as England’s national anthem?

Playing the British national anthem as England’s national anthem is offensive to English people who are tired of the (often deliberate) conflation of England and Britain, it is offensive to the Scots and Welsh who see it as English people taking the British national anthem from them and it is damaging to England’s national and international identity.

The Scots and Welsh have their own national anthems which are played at official events, sporting fixtures, etc. Only England is denied its own national anthem.

There have been a number of polls on the subject, all of which show overwhelming support for Jerusalem as our national anthem. You may recall that during the Commonwealth Games, Land of Hope and Glory – a British royal anthem – was played for England. The English athletes stood there in bewildered silence through the song, which plainly (and quite understandably) meant nothing to them. The Scots and Welsh, on the other hand, belted out their national anthem with pride.

It is time England was allowed a national anthem. Will you support the Early Day Motion? If not, why not?

Yours sincerely,

Stuart

You can’t have your cake and dump it

October 26, 2006 Anglophobia, England, Scotland, Wales No comments

Jack McConnell, the North British First Minister, wants their nuclear waste dumped in north England rather than in North Britain where it is produced.

The British government, Scottish Parliament and Welsh Assembly are currently thrashing out a deal.

North Britain is roughly 2/3rds of the size of England but has only 5m inhabitants with England having 50m.  Most of North Britain is unoccupied and undeveloped with hundreds of uninhabited and/or uninhabitable islands.  Dumping nuclear waste in the north of England where, if something were to go wrong, it coule affect millions of people rather than dumping it in the Scottish Highlands where, if something were to go wrong, it would affect a flock of sheep and a few badgers is plain stupid.

If we had an English government the idea wouldn’t have been entertained, let alone seriously discussed.  North Britain produced the waste, they use the power, they welcome the jobs, taxes and vast sums of money that the operators of nuclear power stations throw at the local area to keep them happy.

See also: English Crusade

Protest against regional government in the South East

October 25, 2006 England, Federal Europe No comments

WATCH YOUR BACK, YOU’RE UNDER ATTACK!

SEERA IS COMING TO GATWICK

THIS IS YOUR CHANCE TO MAKE A STAND

AGAINST SEERA AND THE NEW ARC MANCHE REGION

(SOMETHING A BIT DIFFERENT IS BEING PLANNED)

AT LE MERIDIEN HOTEL, GATWICK, NORTH TERMINAL

ON

15TH NOVEMBER 2006 AT 9.30A.M.

AS USUAL BANNERS AND LEAFLETS WILL BE SUPPLIED,

OR BRING YOUR OWN

THE ARC MANCHE REGION IS TIED UP WITH ‘SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT’AND CURRENTLY RUTH KELLY IS PUTTING A LINKED ‘SUSTAINABLE COMMUNITIES’ BILL THROUGH PARLIAMENT

WE PLAN TO MAKE YOUR VIEWS KNOWN

PLEASE COME

For further info or a map please contact Jenny Sleep 01628-829188

English Constitutional Convention

October 24, 2006 England One comment

The English Constitutional Convention launched officially today at Westminster Palace.  The ECC is a joint effort between the Campaign for an English Parliament and the English Democrats with a number of Lords and MP’s as patrons.

The official launch was prematurely reported yesterday in the North British press but has still made it into the Daily Telegraph and the Guardian today as well as the BBC News website which produced an unusually unbiased report spoilt only by failing to mention that Lord Falconer is an unelected North Briton and shouldn’t have any say on whether we have a parliament or not and by finishing on a quote from Wrekin (Telford) MP, Mark Pritchard bizarrely claiming that giving England a parliament would be playing into the hands of the EU!  Here’s some news for you Mark – the EU wants England broken into regions, not given a national parliament.

Scottish Constitutional Convention Chairman to call for a “strong English parliament”

October 23, 2006 England No comments

The following press release was supposed to be made public tomorrow but the Scotsman and Herald newspapers both released it early so here it is:

PRESS RELEASE: 17 OCTOBER 2006
EMBARGOED: 05:00 24 OCTOBER 2006

SCOTTISH CONSTITUTIONAL CONVENTION CHAIRMAN TO CALL FOR A “STRONG ENGLISH PARLIAMENT” AT INAUGURAL MEETING OF PATRONS OF THE ENGLISH CONSTITUTIONAL CONVENTION

“I have become convinced that England has a growing sense of national identity as strong as ours, and therefore that an English Parliament, if the people want it, is as much your right as we claimed it to be ours.”

Canon Dr Kenyon Wright, CBE, the former Chair of the Scottish Constitutional Convention that paved the way for devolution in Scotland, will call for a `strong English Parliament’ to be established, `alongside the Scottish Parliament and a strengthened Welsh legislature – all equal parts of a reformed and healthier UK’, when he addresses the inaugural meeting of the Patrons of the English Constitutional Convention at 4pm on Tuesday October 24, 2006, in the Strangers’ Dining Room, House of Commons, Westminster. The English Constitutional Convention has been established jointly by the English Democrats Party and the Campaign for an English Parliament.

Canon Wright, formerly an active campaigner for the regionalisation of England, will declare that he now believes only the establishment of a Parliament for England will answer “the so-called West Lothian Question”. He will describe the current constitutional settlement as “undemocratic nonsense” and argue that simply banning Scottish MPs from voting in the Commons on English legislation will “create more problems than it solves”.

Canon Wright will say: ” Two things have changed my personal view. First, it is now clear after the North East Referendum, that regional government is a non-starter in the foreseeable future, and we cannot wait for further change. Second, I have become convinced that England has a growing sense of national identity as strong as ours, and therefore that an English Parliament, if the people want it, is as much your right as we claimed it to be ours. Could the `Claim of Right for Scotland’ with which we began our work be followed now by a `Claim of Right for England’?”

Canon Wright will also state that, “the initiative must come from the people, not just the official political structures. In this context I commend to you the recent Report of the POWER Inquiry (chaired by Helena Kennedy). It brings out the growing disengagement with formal politics, and makes 30 important recommendations for change. It concludes with this statement: `An alliance for change needs to be built amongst the most clear sighted (politicians) but only a sustained campaign for change from OUTSIDE the democratic assemblies and parliaments of the UK will ensure that meaningful reform occurs. We, the people, have to stake our claim on power.’ That is what the Scottish Convention did. I believe it is what you will do.”

At the meeting Mark Gill, Head of Political Research at MORI, will also set out the results of a recent opinion poll that indicates 41 per cent of voters support `England as a whole to have it own national Parliament with similar law-making powers to the Scottish Parliament’.

Robin Tilbrook

England -v- Macedonia tonight

October 7, 2006 England, Sport No comments

England are playing Macedonia tonight in their latest Euro 2008 qualifier.

As Tommy English says, are you ready to be embarassed by the lack of an English national anthem?

I got an apology from BBC Subtitling last time for calling the British national anthem the English national anthem.  Let’s see if they make the same “mistake” again.

Pop over to Anthem 4 England for information and polls on the subject.

Cameron pushes EVoEM

October 3, 2006 England, Tories No comments

David Cameron has reiterated his belief that English MP’s should be the only ones allowed to decide on English legislation.

He’s got the right idea in principle but the wrong solution.  He is absolutely correct in saying that MP’s with constituencies outside of England should be barred from interfering in English matters in the same way that MP’s elected outside of England are barred from interfering in devolved matters in their own constituencies.  However, English Votes on English Matters (EVoEM) is a ridiculous and unworkable proposal.

The Campaign for an English Parliament has produced a critique on EVoEM and openly invited any and all Tories or supporters of the policy to come forward and explain how it will work.  Nobody has taken them up on this offer for the simple reason that EVoEM will not and can not work.

I really hope that EVoEM is a simple ploy to get Labour and Lib Dem MP’s to demand an English Parlaiament be set up to fix the massive constitutional and practical mess that EVoEM will cause because the alternative – that they think the policy will actually work – shows that the Tories are not only naive but bloody stupid.

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