I believe in an English Parliament because …

England is the last colony of the British Empire, the last country in the world directly ruled by the British.

Under British rule, England has been politically exterminated and through a programme of Britification, our culture and identity has been virtually wiped out.  But there has been a resurgence in English identity and national pride despite the best efforts of the British establishment to convince us that our flag is racist and to be English is wrong.

The English have suffered discrimination at the hands of the British for decades but never has the discrimination been so blatant and open as it has since 1997 when the British allowed the Scots and Welsh a referendum on devolved government but refused the English the same vote.

Since the Scottish Parliament and Welsh and Northern Irish Assemblies came into being in 1998 , British MPs elected in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland have been able to vote on matters affecting England only that they can’t vote on in their own constituencies because it’s devolved.

On two occasions since devolution was introduced for everyone but the English, British MPs elected in Scotland have overturned a majority of MPs elected in England to impose a law on England.  Those two laws were the Higher Education Act and the Health and Social Care Act.  The Higher Education Act introduced the hated university tuition fee tax in England and the Health and Social Care Act introduced foundation hospital trusts in England.  Neither of these laws affected Scotland, Wales or Northern Ireland and were opposed by a majority of MPs elected in England but were passed with the votes of whipped Labour MPs elected in Scotland.

Most British politicians either oppose any attempts to fix the denial of equal rights to the English or advocate the unworkable constitutional fudge of forming a Grand Committee of British MPs elected in England and banning any other MPs from voting on things that only affect England.  This would cause an unworkable mess and the British government would grind to a halt.  Bills would have to be read, amended and voted on line by line where parts of it apply to England and parts of it to Britain and conflicting English and British interests would lead to conflict and stalemate.

But the biggest failing of the Grand Committee idea – or English Votes on English Laws (EVoEL) as it’s usually called – is more fundamental than it being unworkable.  MSPs are elected in Scotland to make Scottish laws for Scotland in the Scottish Parliament.  They are elected to represent only Scottish interests and answer only to the Scottish people.  A Grand Committee of British MPs elected in England making British laws for England in the British Parliament and elected to represent British interests is not equivalent to the Scottish Parliament by any stretch of the imagination.

Nothing less than an English Parliament with English MPs elected in England to make English laws and represent only English interests is good enough.  Anything else is an insult.