Assisting The Electorate To Wake Up To The UK Government's Discrimination Against The People Of England.

Saturday, December 22, 2007

Don't You Just Wish Google And The Rest Of The PC Crowd Would F*ck Off?

As a care worker I'm not on holiday. In fact, it's likely to be a very busy time for me. But I will make time to attend a Christmas church service and pull a Christmas cracker.

But the above and other ridiculous motifs, with a "happy holidays from Google" tag, are what the slimiest, most politically correct, patronising and thought controlling search engine in the world are marking Christmas with.

The vast majority of people will be celebrating Christmas. But it's not good for us to have that fact recognised.

Christ, I hate Google!

Hasten the day when we see an end to these idiots trying to submerge our culture and control our lives in the name of "inclusiveness". I note it's not ethnic minority groups carrying out the vanquishing of Christmas - it's the usual smug, superior and arrogant arseholes who consider themselves above the common herd, above following tradition or endorsing any particular religion.

Rant over.

Tuesday, December 18, 2007

Scottish Pride - It's All At The Co-op Now! And England As Part Of Medieval Europe...

It seems the world has just gone madder.

Seen at my local Co-op in Chesterton Road, Cambridge - most of the milk on sale is now called "Scottish Pride" - but the eggs are "British" - shades of the Tesco anti-England stance?

Walking on through Cambridge, I used the subway at the junction of Elizabeth Way, Maids Causeway, Newmarket Road and East Road. I noted with a frown the so-called "Union" flag of Scottish Raj occupation fluttering at the Magistrates Court on East Road (by order of our dictator, sorry, non-elected PM Gordon Brown), and walking through the subway was struck by a huge mural painted by local schoolchildren depicting "Stourbridge Fair - The Biggest Trade Fair In Medieval Europe". But Stourbridge Fair was held on Stourbridge Common, Cambridge, England and England was not PART of medieval Europe, although the fair was attended by people from near and far.

Am I being pernicketty, or is this an example of our schoolchildren being brainwashed into believing that England/Britain has been part of Europe for a lot longer than it actually has? And that Europe, AKA the EU, is very much part of our established order of things?

Friday, December 14, 2007

Gordon Brown - No "English Question"

Gordon Brown is at it again, sneaking in and signing the EU Treaty without the promised referendum (not the same document at all? The Waendal Journal lists insiders' opinions here) and rejecting calls for an English Parliament, making out that we all value the Union far more!

Gareth has this.

When will the politicians start listening? Do we need a return to 1980s style street riots before anybody takes notice? God forbid - but even our modern day fragmented, shallow and consumerist electorate will only take so much.

Tuesday, December 11, 2007

The Break Up Of England

When the North East of England voted 78% NO to regionalisation, we thought that was it. The end of the regionalisation project. This was the only area allowed a referendum and the electorate had spoken. Silly us! The wishes of the people count for nought and regionalisation continues apace. It suits the anti-English Union Government, headed by Gordon Brown, to dismember our country (we didn't vote for him) and it suits the EU (we didn't vote for that, either).

So we now have Yorkshire, Europe. Actually that's not really the old county of Yorkshire - it's "Yorkshire and Humber", an EU/NuLab region. Not UK. Not England. A tinpot region to be ruled from on high in Brussels.

More here .

David Cameron

David Cameron in Edinburgh yesterday: "This is where I stand, here in this great and beautiful capital, an English politician in a Scottish city saying clearly today and for all time that Britain comes first."

Ooh, strangely bursting with pride about Edinburgh this "English politician", isn't he? One would almost think he was Scottish. Perhaps that's because he is. Scottishness is a state of mind, like Englishness or Welshness, and Cameron, who brags about ancestors who were "Scottish Empire builders" "conquering all sorts of parts of India" and "Scottish blood" (there's no such thing) in his veins, is clearly not English.

And so, in his speech in Edinburgh yesterday, Mr Cameron underlined his plans for the English under his government:

1) England can NOT expect an end to health apartheid if it threatens the Union. Just go on dieing or going blind or suffering with your cancers, dears.

2) England can NOT expect an end to the Barnett Formula if it threatens the Union - just go on forking out and getting crumbs in return, dears.

3) England can NOT expect an end to the West Lothian Question if it threatens the Union - just go on accepting dictates, dears.

And then Mr Cameron tried to crawl up the backsides of the Welsh - claiming a Welshman designed the NHS - (the English had nothing to do with the concept, did they, dears?) and ignoring the fact that the NHS no longer exists. Health apartheid is rampant. The "NHS" in England is NOT the same NHS as in Scotland or the same NHS as in Wales!!

David Cameron does not give a damn about England. He doesn't care if you die in England for want of medication available on the NHS in Scotland, or scrimp and save for vital prescriptions free to millionaires in Wales. He does not speak for you. I cannot help wondering if the guy is suffering from some sort of mental illness, so blinkered and jaundiced is his view, so uncaring, insensitive and basically racist is his outlook.

But he can't be as mad as the Conservative Party. Is the gravy train so comfortable that its MPs never want the bother of governing again? What on earth are they playing at, letting David Cameron lead them?

Supporting People

A letter received today:

I work for a housing association as a mental health support worker and I can tell you it stinks.

The association was established in the late 1960s, and for years provided general purpose and special needs housing. In recent years, the majority of the mental health projects have been de-registered. Their vulnerable tenants were promised higher staffing levels and better overall financing, but under the auspices of an odious government organisation called "Supporting People", services have actually been slashed, staffing drastically reduced (some homes which previously had 24-hour cover now leave vulnerable tenants alone overnight, with various medications sought after by drug dealers on the premises) and staff are dismissed instantly if they share their concerns outside the organisation. Concerns shared WITHIN the organisation are dismissed with glib comments such as "you must adapt".

These housing associations now compete against each other for tenders under New Labour legislation and services come as a poor second. Many organisations are now reduced to a level of service which is grave cause for concern, but with staff gagged, a lot of what is happening is shielded from the public gaze.

Supporting People, another odious New Labour venture in England - http://www.spkweb.org.uk/




Monday, December 10, 2007

Read Between The Lines: David Cameron hates England.

Here's David Cameron in the Daily Telegraph today speaking about his family background: "My father's side of the family by being Camerons are predominantly Scottish. On my mother's side of the family, her mother was a Llewellyn, so Welsh. I'm a real mixture of Scottish, Welsh and English. Her grandmother's side were Scottish Empire builders - conquered all sorts of parts of India, I think."

WHAT?! "SCOTTISH Empire builders"?! I thought we were all supposed to be BRITISH?! Mr Cameron certainly reveals his true Little Scotlander motivation here.

Mr Cameron seems to think that his mixed family background is a good reason why we should all be British. And perhaps why England should not have a parliament. But surely people in Scotland have mixed roots? And yet they have a parliament. And they call themselves Scots.

Mr Cameron again: "I would rather have an imperfect Union rather than some perfect constitutional construct that would threaten the Union." Roughly translated, this means that discrimination against the English is fine, so long as the Union is preserved. The well-being and fair representation of the electorate in England is NOT the priority.

On the funding issue he admitted: "Increasingly it looks unfair and increasingly people are questioning it. I say to English audiences of course the time will come when we have to look at it, but do not believe that there's some pot of gold here. It's not those perfidious Scots taking all our money.

"If you replace Barnett with a needs-based formula then Scotland will still get a large amount of money. Don't treat it as a big grievance."

I'm afraid a government dominated by Scots IS looking after Scotland at the expense of England. It IS a big grievance.

Cameron: "Point one, an imperfect Union is better than anything that threatens it. The Union always comes first. Point two, I always say to my party yes of course there are things that can upset you - like different spending levels, but remember, the Union comes first and don't blame the Union, blame the government. Third, I want to be Prime Minister of the United Kingdom not England."

This last comment is an unacceptable thing to say. It's almost offensive. Will you award England its own parliament with it's own First Minister, then, Mr Cameron? Because that is what's required if the Union is to continue. And just WHY is the Union so essential?

Here's a quote from the article:

The question of money is what can cause most anger, with Scotland getting a higher share of public spending per head than England (although regions in the North of England do get higher spending than Scotland.)

Wrong. "Regions" in the North of England have far larger populations than Scotland's, but proportionally spending is much lower. England does not benefit from the Barnett Formula. It is not apportioned on a "regional basis" but to the "nations" of Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland, the inference clearly being that England is not a nation. This paragraph of the Telegraph article is either lousy research or a downright lie.

Cameron - regarding the West Lothian Question: "It is something I would like to sort out. It would help add to constitutional stability and it needs to be done in a careful way. We haven't decided what path to go down but the Rifkind plan does not create two classes of MP. It is no good saying that the answer to the West Lothian Question is to stop asking it. We will be putting forward a plan for dealing with this issue."

It is amazing that Malcolm Rifkind is also a Scot, is it not? On an island of some sixty million souls, only five million of them Scots, that Mr Cameron selects a fellow Scot to deal with his party's approach to the English Question? How British you are, Mr Cameron!

Back to Cameron: "Think of 1940, Britain standing alone to defeat Hitler. Think of the proportion of the Armed Forces that were made up of Scots, Welsh and Irish." So what? That has nothing to do with modern day devolution issues.

Mr Cameron says of the West Lothian Question that it is "not one of his top five issues" - illustrating again how out of sympathy and out of touch with the electorate in England he is. Remember, this is the man who called those of us demanding parity with Scotland "sour Little Englanders", the man who went to Glasgow and slagged the English off, whilst making bizarre statements about the greatness of Scots.

My advice to the Tories is ditch him. David Cameron is an anti-English Little Scotlander who is hiding his motives behind "Britishness" just as much as Gordon Brown is.

He won't get you elected and will simply cause further rifts in your beloved Union with his ridiculous, barely concealed anti-English nonsense.

Thursday, December 06, 2007

"Solve Everything - Dissolve England Into Regions!"

I’ve never understood the “regions instead of an English parliament” argument.

For a start, regions would not solve the West Lothian Question, Barnett Formula, non-representative MPs problem. And whilst those who argue for regions profess to be liberals, terrified of an “over centralised” state, it is far more “over centralised” and indeed downright undemocratic for the UK Government to foist regions onto the electorate in England.

First, England needs its own, totally representative, national parliament. Then we work out the nuts and bolts of internal governance in England.

As for the EU angle, I’m all for integration and interaction with the rest of our tiny planet, but I don’t approve of the way the EU is going - it is undemocratic.

And surely everything being controlled from Brussels is rather more over-centralised than England having its own domestic parliament?

Gareth is on the subject over at the CEP News Blog.

Thursday, November 29, 2007

Missing out on devolution is far worse for England than being left out of the union flag is for Wales

CEP Press Release: 29 Nov 2007

The Welsh MP Ian Lucas has called for the Union Jack to be changed to incorporate a Welsh symbol. He wants the flag to reflect all the four nations of the UK and not just England, Scotland and Northern Ireland. And Margaret Hodge Minister of State at the Dept. of Culture, Media and Sport, has come out in support of the suggestion.

‘If MPs and members of the Government want to bring about equality and fairness in the Union,’ the Campaign for an English Parliament has retorted, ‘then it’s about time it concerned itself with getting rid of far worse inequalities and injustices between the four nations than just what’s on a flag’

‘This government’s Devolution legislation gave self-rule to Scotland, to Wales and to Northern Ireland. Absolutely none whatsoever to England. England is the only nation in the Union without any home rule at all, the only one without its own parliament or assembly. In fact it is the only nation in the EU without its own parliament or assembly.

‘And that is not the only injustice being done to England. Under the now infamous Barnett formula each person in Scotland, Wales and NI has £1500 more spent on them every year than what is spent on any man or woman in England –be it in education or the health service or social services. In addition people of England have to pay for prescriptions, they don’t in Wales and shortly won’t in Scotland either. Students in Scotland get free university, but in England they have tuition fees and top up fees, causing them to leave university with debts up to £20,000.

‘Union MPs should get their priorities right,’ is the demand of the Campaign. ‘What’s on the Union Jack is a very secondary issue. Welsh MPs and UK ministers should regard Justice for England, a Parliament for England, as their first necessity if they want to make the Union a fair and equal partnership of nations’.

Nick Clegg: Abolish England Into Regions, Don't Give The People Any Say In The Matter...

Heavens, can't politicians waffle? Here's Nick Clegg during a BBC question and answer session:

Q: Do you support the establishment of an English Parliament, or at least sessions of the English Parliament to sit at Westminster without MPs from the other British nations. If not - please explain what you mean by federalism. Doug , Edinburgh

A: There is a real anomaly in the way Scottish MPs vote on English matters - but it is only one of countless anomalies in our electoral system, and they all need to be addressed together as part of a new constitutional settlement. Focusing on the West Lothian issue alone just plays into the hands of people who want to break up the United Kingdom.

The real English Question is in a sense the same as the Scottish Question or the Welsh Question - it’s about breaking down an overbearing, over-controlling central state and returning power to local communities and to individuals. I don’t think that English people primarily see this as a question of exact symmetry - the question is one of democratic control. The answer isn’t to try and divide MPs into sheep and goats and risk creating problems whereby one party is in government, but doesn’t have a majority for English affairs. We need to move beyond this sterile debate and look to devolve power within England, and continue the push for a whole new constitutional settlement. Remember - every decision not taken in Whitehall is a decision where the West Lothian Question doesn’t apply.


Mr Clegg basically wants England broken up into regions and abolished. He is not interested in noting the results of recent polls, including one on the BBC itself, which indicate that around 61 to 67 per cent of the English want a national parliament. He is happy to put words into the mouths of the English electorate and ride roughshod over them.

That's a slightly rough but absolutely accurate translation of Mr Clegg's reams of waffle.

Tuesday, November 27, 2007

Victoria Derbyshire

Paid for by your licence fee, another BBC PC ignoramus prepares to broadcast to the nations and regions. Don't let it vex you - you HAVE to pay her salary.

I've no time for radio presenter Victoria Derbyshire - I remember a St George's Day debate she was involved in a few years ago, where she harassed a black English caller - trying to get him to state that he was not English, but British, everybody was British, including her. The man refused to back down, fortunately, but it rather put me off Victoria.

Now, as concerns grow about the impact of recent mass immigration on schools, Ms Derbyshire is showing her concern and in-depth grasp of the facts relating to the situation on 5 Live...

Here's a snippet relayed by the
Waendal Journal:

Caller: "In one school children are speaking 34 different languages!"

La Derbyshire: "Is that a problem?"

Good grief, what planet do some of these people live on? It's all so oblivious, smug and removed from reality.

Reminds me of Trevor Phillips' recent statement about David Cameron's speech on immigration:

"He is asking the 21st Century question about immigration. But unfortunately, he is giving the 20th Century answer in proposing that all of these issues can be solved by capping numbers.

"Rather, we need to meet head on the challenges of rapid and diverse population growth.

"We need to find ways to capitalise on the injection of energy that new migrants bring and bolster our infrastructure and public services to cope with the new demands."

Words like "small island" and "jobs" and "financing" come to mind. Also, employers paying slave wages to immigrants. This is not a desirable state of affairs. This is not how things should be.

And just what are the practicalities and the impact on our environment of Mr Phillips' desire to play Lord Bountiful? Just how does he know that everything in the garden is/will be lovely when he hardly ever experiences real life as lived by the vast majority of us?

A friend of mine who lives in a council flat, had his kitchen renovated last month. One of the workmen, a recent Polish immigrant, spoke to my friend about the wondrous publicity in his homeland about coming to work in England (his term).

"The money seemed very good, but nobody told me how expensive it is here - I can barely afford to live and I can't send any money home."

Instead of slating "idle English" people who won't take poorly paid jobs, this Government should be ensuring that employers pay living wages - and stop importing slave labour.

Then there are those long-term inhabitants who feel the effects of rapid mass immigration. One woman I spoke to recently told me she feels "displaced" at times. New Labour and the PC crowd would pronounce her "racist" or a "Little Englander", but the fact is it is these same New Labour/PC folks who have backed national bodies for Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland, charged with "invigorating" those countries traditional cultures, and also created dreadful inequalities like health apartheid and the West Lothian Question.

Double standards and rank hypocrisy.

Immigration? Yes. A thousand time yes. I'd hate to live in a stagnant pond. The current situation? No - it's absolute madness, we're too small, not wealthy enough and a lot of it is happening against the will of the electorate. What is New Labour trying to do? The slave labour angle is obvious, but are they also trying to create such a state of flux here that their chances of retaining power are enhanced? If you don't like the electorate (and let's not pretend that New Labour has any affection for England), change it? With record numbers leaving the country, I can't help wondering.

Big hat tip to Tony Sharp over at the
Waendal Journal.

Thursday, November 22, 2007

Scots Who Still Won't See The Injustice Of Devolution And English MPs Who Won't Do Their Jobs...

In the Scotsman today...

This is funny:

“The Union has to be seen as looser, more flexible, more diverse and modern and in turn allow the issues at the heart of devolved government - sovereignty, identity, democracy and nationality - to be better understood and made more relevant to Scotland, Wales, Northern Ireland and England.”

Despite the first three nations already being showered with devolution goodies, despite the fact that health apartheid is rampant, England is still last on the list.

And this is sickening:

“It [the Union} has within it different nations and regions with views and attitudes towards the Union that vary widely.”

The Union is not composed of regions.

It’s time England was independent. That certain Scots still think they can seek to impose a different set of rules on England to those enjoyed by themselves, and all this posturing and preening -
“Scot of The Year” - I mean YUCK!! - shows that insight and fair mindedness is far too lacking for the Union to continue.

When you put these people together with the selfish and greedy English MPs, refusing to act in the interests of their constituents, the message is clear:

End the “Union”.

Then Scots meddlers can mind THEIR OWN business and English MPs will be forced to get on with WHAT THEY ARE SUPPOSED TO BE DOING - representing their constituents’ interests in England.

You never know, the "Scot of the Year" might actually be somebody who lacks the bigoted "auld enemy" mentality and actually sets in motion an end to the devolutionary mess... but don't bank on it.

Big hat tip to the
CEP News Blog.

Monday, November 19, 2007

Some Scots MPs Would Like To See England Abolished...

Despite the North East, the only area of England allowed a referendum, voting 78% NO to regionalisation, Ian Davidson, a Scots constituency MP totally unaccountable to the electorate in England, believes that England should be abolished as a unified nation.

"I think the proposals that we had before for regional assemblies seemed to me to be a way forward.

The ‘English votes for English issues’ proposal is a recipe for some degree of chaos. We should be looking for some way of devolving power to the English regions. The first time we had a referendum for the Scottish Parliament, we didn’t get it - so just because the referendum in the north-east [of England] went against the plan, it doesn’t mean it should be rejected completely."
Ian Davidson, Labour MP for Glasgow, reported in the Scotsman.

You can let Mr Davidson know your opinion over at the
Scotsman. His phone number is 0207 219 2610.

Regional devolution to England does not solve the West Lothian Question. The internal government of England, whether it should be delivered by our ancient counties, regional bodies or something else, should be decided by MPs representing the people of England in its own national parliament, not by non-representative MPs in the current UK parliament. I boggle at the attitude of some these Scots MPs - it's incredibly arrogant. England's own national parliament is the first priority for restoring democratic rule to the so-called "UK".

Hat tip to the
CEP News Blog and the England Project.

Campaign for an English Parliament Press Release: English Parliament Is Only Answer To West Lothian Question

CEP: English parliament is only answer to West Lothian question

On Wednesday November 14th the the House of Commons Justice Committee of MPs taking evidence from invited experts on constitutional matters was informed by Professor Robert Hazell, the Director of the Constitution Committee, that ‘the closest to a complete answer to the West Lothian Question was a separate English Parliament’.’ It was a statement with immense political significance. moment. The Constitutional Unit, located within University College London, had been set up with Professor Hazell as its Director in 2000 with full government backing to address the complex constitutional issues arising out of the 1998 Devolution legislation which had set up the Scottish Parliament and he Welsh Assembly but which had granted no devolution to the English nation whatsoever.

The so-called West Lothian Question has become the most difficult issue of all caused by that legislation. The Scottish Parliament and the Welsh Assembly have created a totally unfair and undemocratic situation for the English. Scottish MPs in the Union Parliament in Westminster are still entitled to vote on such very important matters as health, education and transport for England, even to be cabinet ministers of health, education and transport for England, while no English MPs can do the same on the same issues for Scotland. It has enabled Scotland to vote for free prescriptions for all Scottish people, free personal care for the elderly, no university fees for Scottish students and free bus travel throughout Scotland for all its pensioners. The Scots each get £1500 more spent on their health and education than people in England. Nothing has created more disunity in the United Kingdom and friction between England and Scotland than the West Lothian Question since the Act of Union of 1707, three hundred years ago.

When the Constitution Unit was set up in the year 2000 its Director Professor Hazell, in his ‘State of the Union’ lecture at its inauguration stated that an English Parliament was not the way to resolve the West Lothian Question. He declared that an English Parliament would mean the end of the United Kingdom. Now, after seven years of investigation, his influential Unit has informed the House of Commons that an English Parliament physically separate from the United Kingdom Parliament is the best way to resolve the very question that is creating tension and break-up within the Union. It is a political conversion of Road-to-Damascus proportions, and all the more significant and reliable for that reason.

Saturday, November 17, 2007

Come To Wales - Come To Chester...

The Scottish/Welsh imperialist project is getting ridiculous. First we read that the Scots have colonised England, then we discover that the Welsh have taken Chester. The postmark above is absolutely bloody daft and should not exist, but it has greatly upset one CEP member, who sent it to Drew and Fiona with the command "Send in the troops!"

Ironically, the postmark was on an envelope containing the latest CEP "Think of England" newsletter...

Friday, November 16, 2007

Professor John Curtice - "We survey the English about public spending in Scotland, don't tell them the facts, and THEN they think it's OK."

Professor Curtice

I'm paraphrasing in the post title above, but this is what Professor John Curtice of Strathclyde University actually told the House of Commons Justice Committee:

“…The other grumble in England, allegedly, which is about public spending - it’s not as obviously a grumble - or at least it’s not obviously as salient a grumble as perhaps you might imagine.

“What we’ve done here with this question is to simply ask people: Do you think Scotland gets more or less than its fair share of public spending? and we’ve asked it on both sides of the border.

“WE DON’T TELL PEOPLE - as most commercial polling evidence is done - that actually…what the difference in level of spending is, because that leads people, that makes it obvious to them what the difference is, OK?"

You are clearly saying that you don't inform people of the facts. No that IS NOT "OK"! How could you think it?

Here, the Constitution Unit describes Professor Curtis as a "polling expert". Not as I understand polls. They don't usually depend on not furnishing people with relevant information. And furnishing people with relevant information is not "leading them".

I'm indebted to Al Wilson on the CEP comment thread here for highlighting Professor Curtice's warped and hugely unfair sense of logic.

Thursday, November 15, 2007

Robert Hazell

Robert Hazell, Director of the Constitution Unit - habitual liar who has done great harm to the prospects of democratic rule for the people of England over a long period of time.

I'm picking Mr Hazell out for particular comment because he wandered into my sights this morning, via this BBC article, spouting the great lie, not for the first time, and I wished to let him know that we are looking. We are hearing. The electorate in England has awoken from its coma and the kind of manipulative nonsense he and his like have been spouting for years is now being noted and seen for what it is by large numbers of people beyond his priviliged clique.

From this morning's BBC online article:

The “closest to a complete answer” would be a separate English Parliament but no “heavyweight” politicians had come out in support of such a move and there was “no significant public demand for that,” he told MPs on Tuesday.”

“No significant public demand”? When last I looked there were polls showing sixty one to sixty seven per cent in favour of an English parliament! The BBC's own poll in January this year showed sixty one per cent (see it here).

What WOULD be “significant” in your view, Mr Hazell?

Wednesday, November 14, 2007

Anti-English Channel Four Lies Again...

Channel Four is at it again, back on its old familiar anti-English track, blurring and muddying the facts of devolution. By delving into spending between the English regions, by trying to state that Scotland owns all the North Sea Oil and should benefit from it, by generally playing down the West Lothian Question.

The "English regions" are part of England and do not benefit from the Barnett Formula. The English have never voted for regionalisation. These government-imposed regions should not come into the equation. England is a unified nation. Its county (and note I say COUNTY) spending allocations should be sorted via a nationally representative parliament. Not the current UK set-up, with non- representative MPs (like Gordon Brown) holding sway.

All UK resources should go into the UK pot, but if we're on the subject of North Sea oil and gas, the majority of the gas is England's, and about ten per cent of the oil - probably more if tales of the UK Government tweaking the maritime border in the 1960s are true.

Channel Four doesn't dwell on health apartheid, makes light of the West Lothian Question, which should serve to underline the fact that its loyalties do not lie with the people of England. As if we needed reminding - this is the whole back catalogue, as recorded on this blog.

What's most disturbing is the bare faced twisting of facts and smugly anti-English stance of this TV channel. Time and time again.

Still, as this was the channel which set out to be different and succeeded - bringing us the likes of The Mini Pops and Big Brother, perhaps I shouldn't be surprised.

Feedback is welcome at Channel Four - you can e-mail - Faisal.islam@itn.co.uk

England 2007

An England 2007 tweaking of a scene from the charming 1979 film, "Alien". Apologies to the squeamish. It was the best photograph of Gordon Brown I could find at short notice.

I sometimes think the “Britain”/UK Government thing is like that scene from “Alien” - with the UK Government “thing” bursting from the stomach of England and killing it stone dead.

The UK Government is something that doesn’t seek to serve England. Come to that, I’m sure it’s now regretting devolution for Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland.

The UK Government is something very ugly, very self serving, very dangerous. It exists for itself, its own perpetuation is its prime concern. It is in no way a representative organisation, it is a monster, its primitive instincts completely egocentric.

As well as killing off the country of England by imposing regionalisation, the UK Government is quite content to play favourites so that English citizens can die whilst Scottish citizens do not as health apartheid spreads.


Monday, November 12, 2007

CEP Press Release - Senior Government Ministers Oppose Solutions To The English Question

Michael Knowles of the Campaign for an English Parliament and Head of its Media Unit has criticised Gordon Brown, author of the Queen's Speech, for failing even to mention the biggest constitutional issue in the UK today, namely the English Question, and three of Brown's senior government ministers for opposing anything being done about it.

The English Question is the situation the UK is now in in which Scotland, Wales and NI each have formal constitutional and political recognition as distinct nations and self-rule, which they did not have before devolution, while England has neither. As a consequence Scotland, Wales and NI can grant themselves such benefits as free prescriptions and free university education, denied to the people of England. In addition Scottish, Welsh and NI MPs have kept their right to make laws for England's internal affairs like health and education while English MPs have no say at all in the internal affairs of Scotland, NI and Wales.

In the Queen's Speech the Prime Minister Gordon Brown, MP for Kirkaldy and Cowdenbeath in Scotland, excluded all mention from the Queen's Speech of the discrimination England is being subjected to. In the Common's debates that followed, both the Lord Chancellor/Justice Minister Jack Straw and the Secretary of State for Wales Peter Hain have expressed total opposition to England having its own parliament like Scotland has and even to English MPs alone being able to make laws which affect England only. Mr Straw claimed that either solution 'would wrench the UK apart' even though he and his party were the MPs who gave Scotland its own parliament and Wales its own assembly.

Mr Straw and Mr Hain, both Labour party ministers, oppose devolution for England because they fear that it would be the Conservatives who would hold a majority in an English Parliament. They also oppose English MPs alone having the right to make laws for England's internal affairs because they calculate that without Scottish and Welsh MPs Labour would not be able to rule in England. In other words they regard the issue of England purely from the perspective of party advantage.

Mr Alistair Darling, Chancellor of the Exchequer and MP for Edinburgh South West, has called for an end to any discussion of the English Question. As a Scottish MP he looks at the English Question from the perspective of what is of advantage to Scotland. His worry is that devolution for England, particularly in the form of an English Parliament with the same powers and responsibilities as the Scottish Parliament, will reduce Scottish influence over English matters and the number of Scottish MPs in the Union parliament. The Campaign for an English Parliament has written to Mr Brown and his colleagues demanding that England is treated in the Union equally with Scotland.

Monday, November 05, 2007

Trevor Phillips Says Everything's Lovely - Let's Have Loads More Immigrants, Peter "Apartheid" Hain Slags Off Nigel Hastilow... Hypocrisy Rules...

Peter Hain - only backs apartheid when it is levelled against the electorate in England.

I believe that Nigel Hastilow was an absolute twit. Sorry, Nigel, not that I imagine my thoughts will cost you a wink of sleep, but it seems to me that apparently condoning a speech perceived by many to be racist is a fool way of going about opening up the issue of mass immigration. And plays right into New Labour's hands.

"You racist!" screams that party, which has put into place a system of devolution which ensures you can die in England for want of medication available on the NHS in Scotland. "You racist!" screams that party which has put into place a system of devolution that ensures you can scrimp and save for prescription charges free to millionaires in Wales. "You racist!" screams that party which has put into place a system of devolution that ensures non-representative MPs, MPs representing a privileged elite outside of England, including Gordon Brown, Prime Minister, can dictate policy for England.
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And apparently Peter Hain, digging up cricket pitches in his native South Africa in 1969 in protest at apartheid, but fully backing it when it is levelled against the electorate in England, has also been having his two penny worth.

How sickening. The hypocrite's hypocrite.

But I find comments like this from NuLabour "Equality" quango poodle Trevor Phillips far more worrying...

Speaking of David Cameron's speech on immigration, Mr Phillips said:

"He is asking the 21st Century question about immigration. But unfortunately, he is giving the 20th Century answer in proposing that all of these issues can be solved by capping numbers.

"Rather, we need to meet head on the challenges of rapid and diverse population growth.

"We need to find ways to capitalise on the injection of energy that new migrants bring and bolster our infrastructure and public services to cope with the new demands."

Words like "small island" and "jobs" and "financing" come to mind. Also, employers paying slave wages to immigrants. This is not a desirable state of affairs. This is not how things should be.

And just what are the practicalities and the impact on our environment of Mr Phillips' desire to play Lord Bountiful? Just how does he know that everything in the garden is/will be lovely when he hardly ever experiences real life as lived by the vast majority of us?

Something else that springs to mind, as with Mr Hain and the NuLabour Party in general, is Mr "Human Rights" Phillips apparent complete approval of the health and democratic apartheid levelled against England, post-devolution for Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland.

Like Mr Hain, Trevor Phillips is a complete and utter hypocrite. I wonder how these New Labour minions sleep nights.
Evil, deceitful, self-serving bunch.

Rant over.

Sunday, November 04, 2007

Scotland - Give It ALL The North Sea Oil, Including England's Share, And It Almost Breaks Even...

Interesting article in the Guardian...

Tax revenues from Scotland almost match the country's £49.2bn a year public spending - although only if all North Sea oil and gas revenues are attributed to Edinburgh, a controversial allocation.

I've been waiting for the North Sea Oil issue to come to the fore.

A couple of problems I have with it...

1) Scotland does not own ALL the North Sea oil as things currently stand. Some of it is in English waters. So why should calculations be done based on it claiming England's oil?

2) Controversy persists about a claimed "tweaking" of the maritime border between England and Scotland in the 1960s, the border being altered in Scotland's favour. The English were not consulted. Concerns about this issue must be addressed.

3) UK resources should be shared UK-wide. Subsidies should be paid to needy localities, NOT whole nations and there is no justification for the current system of health and higher education apartheid.

4) If the UK Government gives Scotland English oil revenue, is that fair? And what happens when the oil runs out? Do we have Scots claiming that the dastardly English deceived them, fobbed them off with the revenue, then left them sitting on the cold hard ground?

In my view, the best answer is to end the UK. Pure and simple.

Unfortunately, the Scottish Raj, sheep-like English MPs and undemocratic die-hard Unionists are determined that this should NEVER happen, no matter what the people want.

Sunday, October 28, 2007

Murderers Come With Smiles - Ruling England With An Iron Fist...

Came across this on Toque. It apparently originates from an anonymous commenter on Iain Dale's Diary.

Check out the latest nonsense - an "English Grand Committee" no less - coming from the Tories, on the
CEP News Blog.

Sorry, Cons, it won't work, won't give England parity with Scotland, and is basically a silly, half-baked idea.

When will somebody decide to do the job properly? Parliament for England, NOW!

Saturday, October 27, 2007

Linda Grant - "I think people from Liverpool don't think they're English..."

Wow. Linda Grant, on BBC radio, speaks for a WHOLE city - an English one at that.

Linda apparently writes things about such topics "as the clothes on our backs" (hope the shoe on her foot isn't too cumbersome if she makes a habit of sticking her foot in her gob in this manner) and is apparently the daughter of immigrants.

"I don't really think of my self as being English, because my parents were immigrants. I mean, I was born in England but my father wasn't born in England, and we didn't behave as if we were English."

Is it just me, or is there a whole class of incomers here (and they underline their newness constantly and keep themselves rigidly separate from those professing to be English) which, added to the nauseating prattle of longer established English citizens and the Scottish Raj makes the situation in England rather thornier than it might be?

Whilst Scotland and Wales try to overcome those who will cry "Celtic" and produce modern, inclusive, civic national identities, Englishness is still submerged in the Union vaults for reasons suiting the British project. Of course, many people in England are not terribly aware of what Englishness means, it's been gone for so long.

But do the likes of Linda Grant have to add their two penn'orths? We are, after all, told that we need to exercise sensitivity whilst dealing with people of different ethnicities. Does this mean that people like Linda, who choose to disown their own right to Englishness, should go around making sweeping statements or acting as though Englishness is a faintly bad smell under the nose? Doesn't she understand the need not to go around trampling on other people?
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I'm absolutely 100% English.
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My background is half-Scots with a dash of German. That's nothing to do with how I feel about my country of birth.
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I find Linda Grant's attitude highly offensive.

Please engage brain THEN open mouth in future.

The Cross of St George blog has more details here. Scroll down to "Roots Broadcast on Mainstream Radio".


Friday, October 26, 2007

Brown is careful to avoid the important constitutional issues - CEP Press Release

At the beginning of this week the Scottish Parliament announced that prescriptions will be completely free for everyone in Scotland. For the Welsh they are free already by order of the Welsh Assembly.

But, as a result THE PEOPLE OF ENGLAND SUFFER HEALTH APARTHEID, stated David Wildgoose, Yorkshire member of the National Council of the Campaign for an English Parliament.

In England, said Dr Wildgoose, far from being abolished, prescription fees have actually risen. Even more of an outrage is that under the terms of the Barnett formula, a percentage of the tax revenue gained from English prescription charges is automatically handed over to Scotland and Wales.

Why should sick and needy English people, he asked, many of whom may struggle to find the cash to pay these charges, be forced to subsidise the free healthcare in Scotland and Wales that is not available to them? Whatever happened to the NHS principle of a UNIVERSAL health care free to all citizens of the UK at the point of need? On what grounds is it considered acceptable to make an exception fo those UK citizens who happen to be English?

CEP Homepage


Harriet Harman - Anti-English Dictator

Harriet Harman is back on the "let's formally dissolve England into regions" trail according to John Redwood:

Worse still is the government’s threat of a further assault on England. Whilst they are delaying and struggling to work out the detail, Harman yesterday confirmed that they want to establish “regional accountability” around the artificial EU regions proposed for England.

This despite the 78% "NO" vote in the North East, the only area allowed a referendum on regionalisation. Ms Harman's attitude demonstrates so clearly the contempt New Labour has for the electorate in England.

"You don't want what we propose? Well, you WILL have it, you WILL - because WE say so!!" The arrogance is frightening.
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Hat-tip to the CEP News Blog.


Wednesday, October 24, 2007

GMTV Gets Involved and Immediately Starts Talking Kack...

Has Wincey's mullet been on assignment for GMTV?
Yep, ITV breakfast TV station GMTV, that seasoned purveyor of political debate, has waded in to the great devolution controversy...

What do you think? Should Scotland be made to raise the money it spends? Or should Great Britain support all of its citizens as equally as possible, as the Barnett formula attempts to do.

Er, the Barnett Formula was introduced for one year to appease Scots Nats in the late 1970s and has never gone away. Its creator, Lord Joel Barnett, has disowned the formula, saying that it is unfair to England and needs to be changed. It was never a formula for fairness. Where did GMTV get that idea? The breakfast thinkers continue...

Would Scotland even need handouts from Westminster if it still controlled its North Sea oil deposits? Let us know your thoughts on the great divide.

Um, Scotland NEVER controlled North Sea oil deposits and it is not a Scottish resource. The oil belongs to the UK. There is even controversy about the UK Government tweaking the maritime border in Scotland's favour, without consulting the English, back in the 1960s, a situation which cannot be allowed to go unresolved if Scotland goes independent. In the meantime, the oil is a UK resource, its proceeds to be shared.

Perhaps GMTV should stick to what it does best, exploring in depth top issues of the day like: "The 1980s Revival: Shoulder Pads, Lycra Leggings, Pixie Boots, Blonde Highlights, Ra Ra Skirts and Deelyboppers. Good Or Bad?"

Or: "What Do You Pop In Your Percolator Every Morning?"

The devolution blurb immediately misinforms readers.
Drew and Fiona wonder: "Who did the research? Wincey Willis' mullet?"

Nah. It would have had more sense. I strongly suspect a GMTV researcher is at the bottom of all this...

The Writers Are Not What They Seem...

The CEP News Blog points out this morning:

There’s not been much ‘added value’ to this blog recently because now that the press seem to be finally doing their job it’s just been a case of directing you to the relevant articles.

Excellent. But sometimes I wonder just what is going on, when I read things like this from a Mr Paterson (apparently English - he carefully refers in the course of his e-mail to "we English") in reply to newspaper articles highlighting the disparities of "Union":

"Devolution was offered to English regions We didnt want a vote on it!So we cant moan about it.I think there is a white lie being spun here about Scotland being subbed by English taxes.If Scotland voted for full independence today ,You will find that London will come up with some excuse not to respect the Scots vote ,We English must ask ourselves WHY?,Does Scotland actually Sub England ! Stop winging and get off your backsides and shout louder,Good luck to Scotland ,She has to shout louder to be heard,Its our own Gvt we should be angry with not the scots."

Read the full Times article
here.

This is bizarre nonsense from somebody who is apparently English and living under the effects of health apartheid, the West Lothian Question, etc. England was never offered a vote on "English regions" (an invention of a previous Tory administration, bolstered up by New Labour into expensive talking shops). The only area asked was the North East, which voted 78% "NO".

As for Scotland being subbed by English taxes, there is no doubt about it. How can Mr Paterson think it is any different? After all, North Sea Oil is a UK resource - and quite a lot of it lies in English waters. The Continental Shelf Act of the late 1960s tweaked our maritime border in Scotland's favour, but this has never been ratified by giving a vote on it to the electorate in England, and must be corrected if Scotland leaves the Union.

In the meantime, UK resources should be shared. It is not a case of Scotland being "Britain" when it suits it, or simply "Scotland" when it suits it.

I have read several very anti-English e-mails from apparently "English" folk over the years that we have been debating devolution issues. Is it simply that some English people have very low self esteem and thoroughly enjoy taking a one-eyed anti-English view of the situation? Or is that some contributors are simply not being honest about who or what they are, and aim to muddy the waters with some carefully thought out apparently English anti-English nonsense (if you get my drift)?

After all, if an "English" person is saying that the English are totally in the wrong over devolution issues, they probably have a point, the uninitiated reader might think. After all, they've no axe to grind.

Er...

Over to you, Sherlock...

Wednesday, October 17, 2007

Back to Indoctrinating Children In English Schools With "Britishness".

According to Christine Gilbert, OFSTED, it is important to indoctrinate children in English schools with "Britishness", although this does not apply in Scotland and Wales...

Ms Gilbert also cautioned that schools were not giving children a clear understanding of their own identity and “what it means to be British”. “Young people understand less than they should about how our democracy works, the forces which have shaped it and its values, history and heritage: in short, what we understand by ’Britishness’ in the contemporary world,” she said.

We've covered this before -


Whilst we are aware that schools in Scotland and Wales do not have "Britishness" on their curriculums, here in England our children will be BRITISH - or the government and its minions like Christine Gilbert, the OFSTED Chief Inspector, will be demanding to know the reason why.

No inclusive civic English identity, in fact no mention of Englishness at all...

Our children will do as they are told!

To be British basically means to be a citizen of England, Wales or Scotland - it is a recent, highly synthetic nationality designed to further the interests of the English, Scots, Welsh and Irish during the times of imperialism.

In these days it is a nonsense. Britishness cannot exist without its component nations or nationalities. Just what is in this for the likes of Christine Gilbert? What she desires is illogical and, in these days of health apartheid, the West Lothian Question and the Barnett Formula, amounts to corrupt indoctrination of innocent, questioning minds, denying these minds access to the truth about how England is being governed post devolution.

Read more at the The Times - here. Even the photograph caption at Times Online reads:

The annual report of the schools inspectorate has criticised standards in British secondary schools.

Wrong. Its subject matter is only English schools - schools in England.

Monday, October 15, 2007

Who Can Be English And English Attitudes To Britain...

Writing in Comment is Free, Anthony Giddens has this to say:

We cannot rebuild Britain without confronting the “English question" - the fact that England, the largest nation, is now the only one without separate representation. The West Lothian question, of course, is an offshoot of that. Britain will not survive, let alone become more integrated, if we simply let such issues be. “Britain” is a product of internal and external colonialism, where England was the dominant nation. It will not survive either if “Britain” continues to be widely thought of (by the English) as the same as “England”. How can we strip “England” of its association with being white? Ethnic minorities living in England should be able to feel English as well as British. Such questions can’t be papered over by inventing a few ceremonials.

Good that somebody else has taken up the point that the current state of devolutionary affairs cannot continue, but let's look at the piece more closely:

“Britain” is a product of internal and external colonialism, where England was the dominant nation."

Well, as the largest nation perhaps England could be expected to dominate, but bear in mind that Wales was not a nation, but a principality, and that the Union with Scotland was agreed by elites from both camps, with apparently large numbers of "commoners" not being at all happy with the prospect in both countries.

'It will not survive either if “Britain” continues to be widely thought of (by the English) as the same as “England”. '

So long as it is known that this isn't usually down to arrogance. It's down to the fact that politicians and the media and the "great and the good" routinely substitute "Britain" for England and "British" for "English" at every opportunity, thus giving rise to the notion that England is Britain.

'How can we strip “England” of its association with being white? Ethnic minorities living in England should be able to feel English as well as British.'

For a start, the government could allow a civic English national identity, something the devolved bodies are working on in Scotland and Wales. And people could be encouraged. The black refuse operative told not to wear the Cross of St George as a bandana because it's "racist" and the person I heard on the radio on St George's Day a few years ago, a black Englishman, happily proclaiming the fact, and being told by a white, middle class English presenter that he wasn't English, he was British, everybody was British, are prime examples of just what is wrong in "this country" today.

I'm afraid the answers to Mr Giddens questions are alarmingly simple:

Develop an English civic national identity.

Allow England national representation on a par with Scotland in the UK.

Stop scapegoating England for all the perceived sins of Britain. Remember, the Scots were disproportionately involved in the old British Empire and a Welsh Prime Minister partitioned Ireland.

Apart from all this, I'm glad that Mr Giddens is another voice highlighting the English Question. It's just the inference that it's all somehow come about because we're "not very nice" I take issue with.

Hat tip to the CEP News Blog.

Sunday, October 14, 2007

The Gordon Brown "Say England" Petition...

Ever noticed how Gordon Brown says "this country", "YouKay" or "Britain" to help cover up the facts of devolution and his lack of mandatedness in England?

He WILL NOT say "England".

Well, Gareth Young has a new petition on the Downing Street site aimed at remedying the situation. Click on the image above.

Saturday, October 13, 2007

Celtgelt - Still Happening?

We're still doing the Celtgelt every time a £20.00 note falls into our grubby little mits. How about you?

Friday, October 12, 2007

Against The Odds - Slough Flies The English Flag...

Slough Town Hall is to fly the Cross of St George, the national flag of England, on St George's Day for the first time next year, thanks to Diana Coad, a prospectuve Tory MP for Slough.

Cue panic in Labour ranks, and a quick quote from a seemingly un-informed bystander...

Says Rob Anderson, Slough's Labour Group Leader: "I do not need to prove my Englishness by wrapping myself in the flag of St George when the Union flag is the flag for everybody."

The "flag for everybody"? No it isn't. It is simply the flag of the UK, it does not represent ethnic diversity. In fact, some see it as an imperialist left-over. And Jack Straw has made plain that public buildings in Scotland and Wales will be exempt from new guidelines to fly the Union flag and be able to fly their own national flags, the Saltire and Welsh dragon instead.

So, "The flag for everybody", Mr Anderson? No. It is simply the flag forced upon England by an increasingly non-democratic government, trying desperately not to reveal to the electorate in England what devolution has done elsewhere.

India-born Professor Vijaya Gupta, founder of the Slough Senior Citizens Group, said: “Regionalism signifies diversity, and can cause havoc. We saw what happened in India as a result of the Partition. England is part of the United Kingdom and I think the Union flag is enough. It covers England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland.”

Actually, regionalism does not come into it, Professor. England is as much a nation as Scotland or Wales and with devolution for Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland running apace, and health apartheid, the West Lothian Question and Barnett Formula heaping inequalities aplenty upon the electorate in England, some form of English national representation is now needed in the UK.

And the English - and by this I mean citizens of England - should be as free to fly their flag from their public buildings as the Scots, Welsh or Northern Irish.

And to have their NHS and public services funded to the same levels as elsewhere in the UK, too.

At the moment, lives in England are not valued as highly as those in Scotland. MPs representing Scots constituencies force legislation onto England and we heavily subsidise the other nations of the UK, to our own detriment.

Anybody who objects to positive manifestations of Englishness in England is, at the best of times, suspect or at the very least ill-informed. But at these, some of the very worst of modern times for every man, woman and child in this country, such people are either on the deeply corrupt political gravy train or so out of touch that they should not be quoted in the first place.

More
here.

Hat-tip to Flagman.



Gordon Brown: "Notta Lotta Bottle"... Do You Want A General Election In 2007?

"Notta Lotta Bottle!" chanted the Tory Party, in a charming skit on the famous 1980s milk ads slogan (more here). And yup, Gordon Brown bottled out of calling a General Election.

Democratic rule is evidently not a priority for "this country" as Gordy calls England.

Well, he stated, only 26 people had bothered to sign the Downing Street site petition.

But, as Gareth points out over at the CEP News Blog, there are many more now!

If democracy is important to you, sign it here.

Monday, October 08, 2007

Gordon Brown Decides Against Any Hint Of Democratic Rule For England...

Gordon Brown

So, Gordon Brown has decided against holding a General Election. Frankly, I'm not surprised. The man craves power and glory and the will of the people would not aid him.

Just remember...

When Gordon Brown talks about "Britishness", he is talking about an entirely synthetic nationality, just three hundred years old. In his own country, Scotland, and in Wales, nationally representative bodies are Scottish and Welsh and these are inclusive nationalities, no bar via race or creed. Gordon Brown and his ilk wish to make out that Englishness is an exclusive ethnicity, and that "Britishness" is wonderful, inclusive, good and kind...

By denying England equality with Scotland, we find that the UK Government has:

1) Caused a system of health apartheid - life prolonging/enhancing medications available on the NHS in Scotland are not available in England, and prescriptions free to millionaires in Wales are scrimped and saved for in England.

2) Made the West Lothian Question of tremendous concern - Top Up Fees and Foundation Hospitals were forced on England by MPs representing Scots constituencies. Ministers for English ministries such as transport need not represent the people of England, it seems. They can represent Scots constituencies, where they have no authority over the relevant legislation as it is devolved.

3) Refused to address the issue of the Barnett Formula. Public spending is still far higher in Northern Ireland, Scotland and Wales than it is in England. The oil issue is a red herring as UK resources should be shared, and the maritime boundary was tweaked in the late 1960s anyway, giving English oil to Scotland! The English were not consulted.

So, when you hear Gordon Brown twittering on prettily about "Britishness" beware. The man is not being modern, inclusive and non-racist. He is simply hoping to perpetuate the system of non-democratic rule and health apartheid in England which he helped to create. He is hoping to hold onto power not given to him by the people.

Here is a man who swiped two billion pounds from the English NHS in his last act as Chancellor, but left the Scots and Welsh budgets intact; here is a man who promised the people a referendum on the EU, but will not allow one; here is a man who simply has no mandate to govern England. When he says "Britain", he lies. The vast majority of legislation passed by his government applies to England only. Health, transport, education and many other areas are devolved in Scotland and an increasing number elsewhere in the so-called UK too.

"Britain" is now a lie. Since devolution kicked in it has not truly existed. It is a sham - a ruse used to manipulate and cheat the people of England.

And, thanks to Gordon Brown bottling out of a General Election, we shall have to put up with this for several years to come.

Thursday, October 04, 2007

Scottish Liberal Democrats, Welsh Liberal Democrats and NOW Chinese Liberal Democrats. But No English Liberal Democrats.

It seems more than slightly multicultural to have a Chinese Liberal Democrats. And is the multi-culti thing now on or off? It is deemed good or bad? I've lost track.
The Chinese Liberal Democrats apparently exist to "create a bridge between the UK Chinese community and the Liberal Democrats" and also, puzzlingly, to "establish closer links with China". Why?!!
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And its patrons are Lord Paddy Ashdown and Sir Menzies Campbell. Sounds like a pathetic bit of posturing to me.
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Of course, the Lib Dems have made no effort to establish closer links with England or the English. Like the other mainstream parties, the Liberal Democrats treat both with complete and utter contempt.

Monday, October 01, 2007

English Civil War - Rewritten As "British"...

I note that many historical resources around the Internet are referring to what we call the "English Civil War" as the "British Civil War". Surely, civil wars only take place within unified nations, and as Britain did not then exist as a nation, this terminology is inaccurate? I'm not saying that only England was involved in the unrest (I know for a fact that Scotland has its own terms for the era), but from England's perspective "English civil war" was a perfectly legitimate title for this time span. Why should it now be erased?

And what kind of
National Archives nonsense is this?

Gallery 5: Why did Britain become a republic?

Aim

The primary focus here is on events from 1647-53 and the shock they caused in the kingdom. A secondary theme is that the execution of Charles and the setting up of the English republic was the result of the actions of a driven, minority group with a clear vision of the country they wanted to create. The existence and actions of these revolutionaries is sometimes overlooked.

Come on, dears, was it an English or British republic?

And then we have this:

Also, the “English” is a problem because it implies much more than “in England”. Even Conrad Russell, with his interest in the British problem, made the mistake of saying that before the entry of Scots and Irish units in 1643, the war was fought between Englishmen. Even before Mark Stoyle’s groundbreaking work in Soldiers and Strangers I was well aware that there were many non-English soldiers in the “English” armies. With his focus on the Welsh and Cornish, Stoyle has made the very concept of “England” look a lot more problematic than I used to think it was. It’s still useful as an arbitrary geographical boundary, but perhaps not much more than that.

This brand of academic, England denying twaddle I cannot understand at all. Show me a "pure" Cornishman and I'll probably faint (these "Cornishmen" were not a distinct nationality anyway) and if England is only useful as an arbitrary geographical boundary, why not Scotland and Wales?

Answers please...

Prodicus: Is Britishness Merely A State Of Mind, Gordon?

Prodicus has been in touch with news of an interesting post over at his blog:

... can you think of a single case of our thought-masters approving the infliction on, oh, pick any country in the developing world, of what they themselves have deliberately done to England - and to a lesser extent, to Britain - which is to say, they have destroyed, decried and denied its identity and its legitimate culture and customs and sacrificed its 'emotional inheritance' and its people's right to self-determination to both an imperialist foreign government and a group of colonising settlers. NO. If England were a 'developing country', they would march on the very streets for the freedom of the English (and the rest of the British) people and against imperialist interference and oppression. But this, my friends, is England, so all the rules are reversed. They save their energies for Marxist-approved cases like Burma and Kosova. (Not Zimbabwe, note.)

We are living Through the Looking Glass.

Read the full post here.

Sunday, September 30, 2007

Comments Now Open

When Drew started CEP Cambridgeshire some years ago, he had a severe problem with a bizarre and long-winded commenter (not "Alba" - as far as I know!) and, as Blogger was not then so sophisticated, decided that all CEP Cambs comments should be sent to a dedicated e-mail address for scrutiny before publication. I adopted this system when beginning WENAP, partly because WENAP was origionally a kind of CEP Cambs follow-on, and partly because I'm not very good with Blogger or anything else internet-wise.

This situation has continued up to now, but from this weekend I have finally found the time to explore the Blogger comments system, found it gloriously straight-forward, and now happily declare COMMENTS OPEN!

I hope that those who have contributed here on a regular basis via e-mail will continue to contribute, and that others will take advantage of the new easier-to-make-your-views-heard system.

Thursday, September 27, 2007

A Wild Goose Chase? In Search Of British Values...

Prospects has been asking fifty of the great and the good about their definitions of British values. Our PM, Mr Brown, has adopted "British" and "Britain" as two words to be repeated repeatedly - to keep the West Lothian Question and his own lack-of-mandatedness at bay. Britishness, he proclaims, is lovely and inclusive - it's the biz...
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So, what do Prospects contributors have to say? The first tome to leap out at me was by a formerly anti-British Muslim, recently converted to being an anti-English Muslim, who ignores that Scottish and Welsh devolution has happened and seems to feel that the English are an exclusive ethnicity, amongst many exclusive ethnicities present in the UK. No need for an English Parliament or inclusive English civic identity:
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This is what Ed Husain, Writer, has to say:
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I was born and raised in Britain, but never felt British. In fact, I actively rejected any notion of Britishness. At the age of 25, I went to live in the middle east for three years and it was there, while living among Arabs, that I discovered that, despite being Muslim, I was distinctly different in many ways.
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Back in Britain, I am concerned that the need to develop a British statement of values is taking place under the dark clouds of home-grown extremism and terrorism. Britishness is an emotion, an experience, a flavour that does not lend itself to empirical definition. But if we must draw up a British statement of values, it should mention the following. The English language, with its inherent modes of thought, culture and expression, binds us together as a nation; it roots us to British culture. And Britain has an exceptional history. The Magna Carta set in motion our heritage as a nation ruled by constitutional law, committed to justice for all. As a country, we want other nations to enjoy the same honour. Britain is a secular, Christian nation with a commitment to religious freedom. Britishness is not Englishness: it is many identities merged to form one nationality.
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The Magna Carta was English, not British. But not to Mr Husain. The goal posts have moved. He used to "actively reject" Britishness. Now he actively rejects Englishness, it seems. Illogical? I fear so. Motivated by some kind of bigoted chip-on-shoulder? I think so.
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Next, we find Rodric Braithwaite pointing out:
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Though I never expected to find myself saying so, the Union Jack is still a symbol of unity. If you are a Bangladeshi whose family is from the subcontinent, you may feel a connection with that flag that you could hardly feel for the red cross of England’s national saint.
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I can only speak from personal experience, but I know of two Muslims who have happily flown the Cross of St George for football and have happily joined pals for a bevy on St George's Day, and there is a Muslim schoolgirl in my village who happily carries a Cross of St George sports bag to and from school. Of course, it is not a Muslim flag. But Muslims know it is the flag of England before they move here and that it forms a large part of the Union flag. It is nonsensical to move to another country and expect it to change its national flag. I have never encountered a Muslim who would expect such a thing - and I live in Cambridgeshire where there is a large Muslim community.
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Stephen Chan meanwhile says:
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What brought me to Britishness was that I didn’t have to swear allegiance to anything. Not a goddamned thing. This was meant to be the most tolerant society on earth and, even now, when I return from escapades in dictatorships, I always walk to Westminster and pay my respect to the Houses of Parliament for letting me live as a different person.
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In this nation of health apartheid and non-representative rule?!! Mr Chan is also quite happy to trample all over English sensibilities:
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I would be happier if those British “core values” were also seen as influenced by Islam, Hinduism, African philosophy, Chinese polyglot mixtures of Buddhism, Taoism and Confucianism—and that Nasir Khusraw’s defence of intellectual freedom is seen as important as Milton’s defence of free expression.
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We're simply a multi-cultural mish mash. The English are just a minority amongst minorities. We are fragmented. I do believe that Mr Chan has a point, but I also believe that his attitude is crashingly insensitive and dismissive of England and its many years of existence.
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And once again devolution issues do not exist. They are mentioned a couple of times during the whole feature. Many of those expressing their views seem intent on impressing the fact that minorities have apparently contributed every bit as much as the majority; that Britishness is inclusive, Englishness is not; that despite devolution most favour a continuation of the Union (thank you, Mr Linklater!) and so on.
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The fact that you can die in England for want of medications freely available on the NHS in Scotland, or scrimp and save for prescriptions in England free to millionaires in Wales; the fact that Gordon Brown represents a Scots constituency and the majority of legislation passed by his government will not affect his constituents, seems to have passed these worthy observers by. The fact that school classes in England are now averaging over thirty pupils, whilst Scotland is aiming for eighteen, all courtesy of the outrageous Barnett Formula, matters not. How many of these folk send their kids to state run schools?
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It all points to class. Those up there in their ivory towers. Us down here. And of course the Chinese have played just as important a part in England's history as the... er... British (whoops - nearly said "English" there!!). To use an Australian phrase, it's all about people "big noting" themselves and their countries of origin. The ethnicities of those waffling away may have changed over the years, but they ensure that the class system continues to be a major mover and shaker in England today and that those working class peasants who term themselves "English" continue to be demonised, whilst attempts to exorcise the term continue.
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I recall a St George's Day programme on BBC local radio a few years ago: a guy phoned in, said that he was black and English, and the nice middle class, white presenter then spent ages convincing him that he wasn't English. English, it was inferred, wasn't nice. British was the thing to be - everybody was British, including the programme presenter. I was glad that the guy stuck to his guns - at the end of the call he was still proclaming his Englishness.
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Let's move on to the attitudes of Ed Husain - first "actively rejecting" Britishness (although it was his nation of birth) as a youth and now turning his attentions to Englishness. Mr Husain confirms my fears that bigotedness is not confined to those who fancy themselves as being of pure white "Anglo Saxon" or "Celtic" origin.
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We now need an English dimension to British politics - devolution has made it necessary. The great and the good must stop scapegoating the English for all the past sins of Britain - the Welsh, Irish and Scots were just as involved in the old British Empire as the English (in fact, proportionately, the Scots were even more so).
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It's time for the great and the good to stop the waffle, stop their barely suppressed anti-English bile, and face the fact that England must be reborn as a component of the 21st Century UK, bringing with it hopefully a greater spirit of understanding between the UK nations, equality for the electorate in England, and a new sense of Englishness, not so very different from Britishness, which has for far too long smothered and held England hostage and stolen its history, traditions and attitudes for use as its own.