The 25th British Social Attudes report is, like other recent examples, apparently largely cobbled together to keep the people of England squarely under the undemocratic cosh of the UK Government.
Would we rather be governed by a "new" English Parliament OR by Westminster? Er, I'd like to be governed by an English Parliament AT Westminster, it's the traditional location of English Government. But the phrasing of the BSA report carries hints that a new building will have to be forked out for if an English Parliament were established! Once more the bogus, "cost" issue is vaguely wafted about. It's all in the word "new" - new usually costs!
And then there is a very undemocratic tick box response to the question:
With all the changes going on in the way different parts of Great Britain are run, which of the following do you think would be best for England?
There are three options, and the second one is:
b) Each region of England should have its own regional assembly that runs services like health
But we shouldn't HAVE regions - the North East, the only area allowed a referendum, voted 78% NO to them!
Some of the questions are carefully phrased, water muddying is going on as per usual, but one finding stands out a mile and cannot be disguised: 61% of those surveyed think that Scots MPs should not be allowed to vote on English issues!
I must go to bed now, work looms in about seven hours - but Gareth has lots more on the BSA Report - I strongly recommend a visit to Toque.
Goodnight!
Friday, January 30, 2009
Thursday, January 29, 2009
Telford: Traffic Road Works Signs In Welsh - First And Foremost?!!
From Wonko's World:
It’s my birthday on Saturday and I’m off work tomorrow so, as tradition dictates, I popped to a nearby Chavda to buy some cakes and biscuits.
As I was driving back through some roadworks I noticed the roadsigns were all written in bloody Welsh with English translations underneath. Welsh. In Telford, which is about 40 miles as the crow flies from the nearest point of the Welsh border.
I phoned the council and they said that as long as it’d got English on there and it was legible it’s fine. I pointed out that if you’re reading a road sign and the first line is foreign it means you’ve got to scan the sign for the English which takes longer and hence makes the signs less safe. The disinterest went off the disinterest-o-meter.
This strikes me as being positively dangerous: road safety signs in England with Welsh as the primary language? There are tourists and newcomers here who are not even that familiar with English and the signs could be very confusing when people are driving at night in wintery conditions...
And just how many people in England speak and read Welsh? Our road safety signs need to be ABSOLUTELY CLEAR. What the hell’s going on?
It’s my birthday on Saturday and I’m off work tomorrow so, as tradition dictates, I popped to a nearby Chavda to buy some cakes and biscuits.
As I was driving back through some roadworks I noticed the roadsigns were all written in bloody Welsh with English translations underneath. Welsh. In Telford, which is about 40 miles as the crow flies from the nearest point of the Welsh border.
I phoned the council and they said that as long as it’d got English on there and it was legible it’s fine. I pointed out that if you’re reading a road sign and the first line is foreign it means you’ve got to scan the sign for the English which takes longer and hence makes the signs less safe. The disinterest went off the disinterest-o-meter.
This strikes me as being positively dangerous: road safety signs in England with Welsh as the primary language? There are tourists and newcomers here who are not even that familiar with English and the signs could be very confusing when people are driving at night in wintery conditions...
And just how many people in England speak and read Welsh? Our road safety signs need to be ABSOLUTELY CLEAR. What the hell’s going on?
Tuesday, January 20, 2009
Fiona Bruce - Radio Times - Bigging Up Scottish Ancestry, But What About English?
We don't know who Fiona Bruce actually is, as we don't watch modern TV at all, but this Radio Times cover made us feel slightly ill. More Scots pride. More posturing. Can you bear it? Apparently, it's all in aid of a BBC show called Who Do You Think You Are? What's the betting that English participants will not be getting a lovely pride-filled Radio Times cover to themselves? In fact they'll probably be referred to as "British". I imagine if the surname "Bruce" had belonged to an English participant, the BBC would place great emphasis on its French origins - more here.With all that's going on, especially the racist attacks on the English in Scotland, the cover strikes us as the height of bad taste. Do we really want it on our coffee tables? Sadly, as we all know, Scots' pride can be a dangerous thing. Especially if you're English.
More here.Monday, January 19, 2009
Greedy And Hateful - UK MPs To Change The Law To Conceal Their Expenses From The Electorate?
From Little Man In A Toque:
On the 16th of May 2008 the High Court ruled that MPs’ expenses must be published under the Freedom of Information Act.
This Thursday, MPs are voting to change the law to keep their expenses secret after all, just before publication was due and after spending nearly a million of your pounds and seven months compiling the data.
Your MP may not even know about this proposal (it was sneaked out under the Heathrow runway announcement). Please take a few minutes to alert them to this attack on Parliamentary transparency and ask them to vote against the measure.
On the 16th of May 2008 the High Court ruled that MPs’ expenses must be published under the Freedom of Information Act.
This Thursday, MPs are voting to change the law to keep their expenses secret after all, just before publication was due and after spending nearly a million of your pounds and seven months compiling the data.
Your MP may not even know about this proposal (it was sneaked out under the Heathrow runway announcement). Please take a few minutes to alert them to this attack on Parliamentary transparency and ask them to vote against the measure.
I'm short of time today and can't write anything up, but I strongly recommend that you visit Toque to find out what YOU can do to try and avert this appalling proposal to change the law to suit "our" piggish (and often priggish) MPs.
Sunday, January 18, 2009
Yet More Anti-English Racism in Scotland. And David Cameron And Gordon Brown Do Not Condemn It!
The CEP News Blog is putting out some great articles at the moment.
Earlier this week it was reported that a woman in Aberdeen had been viciously assaulted by a Scottish racist who targeted her because she was English.
Now it appears that the Scottish racists have struck again, this time forcing an English family from their home in Paisley.
Despite leaving several messages for his press secretary, there’s still no comment from David Cameron on the racist attack earlier this week and no doubt he’ll remain silent over the latest racist attack and the wider problem of anti-English racism in Scotland which even the Scottish police admit is a serious problem.
I also expect David Blunkett will remain silent rather than calling on the Scottish to reclaim their flag from the racists like he famously told the English we must do to stop the racism of the British National Party.
And even more interestingly is this from the Comments thread:
"The problem is not the individual case although that is bad enough but that the Scots (and others) have been taught that abusing the English is acceptable. From the execrable Braveheart, Jack McConnell, Andy Murray, David Cameron and many others in my personal experience. I had a perfectly nice, sane and intelligent Scottish colleague who informed me that she hated the English because of what we had done to Scotland. Speaking for myself and all my relations, including those that are deceased, we have done nothing to Scotland. We are not responsible for past history (in which the Scots invaded England more often than the English invaded Scotland) nor for the activity of the British government."
Many Scots thrive on hating the English - it is one of their largest motivating factors. And that hatred is formed by centuries of anti-English lies and scapegoating. The same is true in many parts of Wales.
The only way England can get a fair deal is by breaking away from its Union prison. And with MPs representing English constituencies grunting merrily around the piggery that is Westminster, allowing the evil Scottish Raj to do exactly as it pleases, that is not going to be easy.
Earlier this week it was reported that a woman in Aberdeen had been viciously assaulted by a Scottish racist who targeted her because she was English.
Now it appears that the Scottish racists have struck again, this time forcing an English family from their home in Paisley.
Despite leaving several messages for his press secretary, there’s still no comment from David Cameron on the racist attack earlier this week and no doubt he’ll remain silent over the latest racist attack and the wider problem of anti-English racism in Scotland which even the Scottish police admit is a serious problem.
I also expect David Blunkett will remain silent rather than calling on the Scottish to reclaim their flag from the racists like he famously told the English we must do to stop the racism of the British National Party.
And even more interestingly is this from the Comments thread:
"The problem is not the individual case although that is bad enough but that the Scots (and others) have been taught that abusing the English is acceptable. From the execrable Braveheart, Jack McConnell, Andy Murray, David Cameron and many others in my personal experience. I had a perfectly nice, sane and intelligent Scottish colleague who informed me that she hated the English because of what we had done to Scotland. Speaking for myself and all my relations, including those that are deceased, we have done nothing to Scotland. We are not responsible for past history (in which the Scots invaded England more often than the English invaded Scotland) nor for the activity of the British government."
Many Scots thrive on hating the English - it is one of their largest motivating factors. And that hatred is formed by centuries of anti-English lies and scapegoating. The same is true in many parts of Wales.
The only way England can get a fair deal is by breaking away from its Union prison. And with MPs representing English constituencies grunting merrily around the piggery that is Westminster, allowing the evil Scottish Raj to do exactly as it pleases, that is not going to be easy.
Don't Forget To Celt Gelt
These awful £20 notes are becoming more and more common. Celt Gelt - you know it makes sense! Click on the red text for more details.Songs Of Praise: The BBC And Aled Jones - More Anti-English Bias
Scilla Cullen, of the Campaign for an English Parliament, has noted yet another example of anti-English bias on the BBC. You know, the English are to be referred to as "British", the Scots and Welsh by name? As with the outrageous anti-English The Surgery feature, on BBC Radio 1, this latest outrage involves a Welshman called Aled - this time the 1980s choir boy Aled Jones. Scilla has written to the BBC.
Songs of Praise 18th January 2009
The Welshman Aled Jones refers to the ENGLISH heroine Grace Darling as “one of Britain’s best loved heroines”. You can be sure that if she had been Welsh he and the BBC would have made sure that her origins were well advertised. However because she was English you deny her identity. Shame on you. You always ignore your own editorial instructions to differentiate between English and British when that would confer an English identity on a hero or heroine or an English achievement. This bias is institutional. You have a series on Scottish history but those on English history are always called British.
Scilla Cullen
Chairman, Campaign for an English Parliament
The BBC's anti-English/anti-England bias is getting beyond on a joke. Remember all their on-line stuff about the Olympics and how the English were always referred to as "British" and the Scots and Welsh as Scots and Welsh? Recall it here.
Songs of Praise 18th January 2009
The Welshman Aled Jones refers to the ENGLISH heroine Grace Darling as “one of Britain’s best loved heroines”. You can be sure that if she had been Welsh he and the BBC would have made sure that her origins were well advertised. However because she was English you deny her identity. Shame on you. You always ignore your own editorial instructions to differentiate between English and British when that would confer an English identity on a hero or heroine or an English achievement. This bias is institutional. You have a series on Scottish history but those on English history are always called British.
Scilla Cullen
Chairman, Campaign for an English Parliament
The BBC's anti-English/anti-England bias is getting beyond on a joke. Remember all their on-line stuff about the Olympics and how the English were always referred to as "British" and the Scots and Welsh as Scots and Welsh? Recall it here.
Thursday, January 15, 2009
John McDonnell - Heathrow Third Runway Plan: A Disgrace To The Democracy Of This Country
From the BBC:
A Labour MP has been suspended from the House of Commons for five days after angry exchanges over the decision to approve a new Heathrow runway.
John McDonnell was sanctioned after he picked up the mace, the ornamental club which represents the royal authority of Parliament, in a breach of protocol.
The Hayes and Harlington MP said the decision not to hold a vote on the runway was a "national disgrace".
Anyone manhandling the mace is considered in contempt of Parliament.
'Disgrace'
During a statement by Transport Secretary Geoff Hoon on Heathrow Mr McDonnell left his seat, grabbed the mace - which dates from the reign of Charles II - and put it down on an empty bench on the Labour side of the House.
While doing so, he shouted: "It's a disgrace to the democracy of this country."
The runway will wipe the village of Sipson from the map. Ironically, Gordon Brown, who presides over the current UK Government, could not inflict the same horrors on his own constituents as the Scottish Parliament controls their planning procedures.
Whatever happened to democracy? Whatever happened to accountability?
In England it is dead.
Thanks to the Scottish Raj at Westminster, unaccountable-to-England MPs representing Scots and Welsh constituencies, and MPs representing English constituencies who resolutely refuse to represent England's local or national interests, keeping their snouts buried deep in the trough.
Sickening.
Well done to John McDonnell, even if he's only just become aware that something's rotten in Westminster Heaven.
Take a look at the broader issues, John.
UPDATE:
“Gordon Brown has introduced a Bill specifically designed to circumvent current planning law and force a third runway through” - Susan Kramer MP
Gareth has more - just click on the red text to go to Toque.
A Labour MP has been suspended from the House of Commons for five days after angry exchanges over the decision to approve a new Heathrow runway.
John McDonnell was sanctioned after he picked up the mace, the ornamental club which represents the royal authority of Parliament, in a breach of protocol.
The Hayes and Harlington MP said the decision not to hold a vote on the runway was a "national disgrace".
Anyone manhandling the mace is considered in contempt of Parliament.
'Disgrace'
During a statement by Transport Secretary Geoff Hoon on Heathrow Mr McDonnell left his seat, grabbed the mace - which dates from the reign of Charles II - and put it down on an empty bench on the Labour side of the House.
While doing so, he shouted: "It's a disgrace to the democracy of this country."
The runway will wipe the village of Sipson from the map. Ironically, Gordon Brown, who presides over the current UK Government, could not inflict the same horrors on his own constituents as the Scottish Parliament controls their planning procedures.
Whatever happened to democracy? Whatever happened to accountability?
In England it is dead.
Thanks to the Scottish Raj at Westminster, unaccountable-to-England MPs representing Scots and Welsh constituencies, and MPs representing English constituencies who resolutely refuse to represent England's local or national interests, keeping their snouts buried deep in the trough.
Sickening.
Well done to John McDonnell, even if he's only just become aware that something's rotten in Westminster Heaven.
Take a look at the broader issues, John.
UPDATE:
“Gordon Brown has introduced a Bill specifically designed to circumvent current planning law and force a third runway through” - Susan Kramer MP
Gareth has more - just click on the red text to go to Toque.
Wednesday, January 14, 2009
Lucy Newman: Anti-English Scots' Racism - Violence On The Streets, And Inequalities Heaped Upon Us By The UK Parliament (Thanks, Gordon!)
Lucy Newman was punched in the face in Scotland simply for sounding English. As fact has it, she is in fact English, but had lived in Scotland since she was four years old. 'Get back to ******* England - English *******!' her Scots attacker shouted at her.The attack severed nerves behind her eye, blacked both her eyes and broke her cheekbone. Her face may need reconstructive surgery.
Horrendous, isn't it? As is the anti-English racism (and charges of racism CAN be brought on grounds of discrimination against any nationality) perpetuated by Gordon Brown, David Cameron, and the Scottish Raj (health apartheid included), whilst arrogant, trough guzzling UK MPs representing English constituencies stand idly by.
It's on the streets of Scotland and Wales (for a recent Welsh incident see here). It's at Westminster and in the European Parliament. Anti-English racism is everywhere.
UPDATE:
From The CEP News Blog:
Where is David Cameron’s condemnation of this latest racist assault by a Scot on an English person? Or are his laughable ambitions for a Conservative resurgence in Scotland too important to risk upsetting the Scots? If there is English ignorance of Scotland and the Scots then it is amongst the out-of-touch, British political class typified by David “I’ve got Scottish blood coursing through my veins” Cameron.
Read the rest of the article by clicking on the red text.
Tuesday, January 13, 2009
CEP Press Release: CEP Welcomes House Of Lord's Review Of The Barnett Formula But Is Not Optimistic
'We very much welcome the statement Lord Joel Barnett, Chief Secretary to the Treasury under Harold Wilson, has issued this weekend about the Formula named after him,' Mrs Scilla Cullen Chairman of the Campaign for an English Parliament. 'It should have been made years ago but better late than never, even though vested interests will fight any reform every inch of the way. He is very critical of the Formula and the way it has worked out over the last 30 years. As he has said, although the Formula was not intended to give the Scottish population the immense financial advantage they have over the people of England, who are actually paying for it with extra taxation, that is how it has worked out.'
Lord Barnett has made a very emphatic criticism of the Formula. It enables each Scot, man, woman and child, to have £1600 more spent on them than every man, woman and child in England. But it is the English taxpayer who pays for it. As he has said, it was not based on need but on nationality. 'A fairer system', he has now said, 'would be based on need taking account of factors such as level of income in each part of the UK.' Parts of Scotland are richer than parts of England but all the Scots get the extra expenditure nonetheless.
Lord Barnett did not mince his words. 'Successive governments have failed to deal with the issue for fear of upsetting the Scots. When David Cameron made his first trip to Scotland as Tory leader he assured the Scots that he would keep the formula. 'That strikes me as absolutely stupid because Margaret Thatcher and John Major kept it going for 18 years and turned it into a formal formula only to lose every single seat that they had held in Scotland.'
'We can rightly supplement the criticism he makes of the Conservatives', says Mrs Cullen. 'All Labour governments since Wilson have needed Scottish MPs to give them a majority. Callaghan and Blair saw it to be in their interests to plunder the tax revenues taken from England to give to Scotland, which is precisely the attitude of Gordon Brown today.
'The CEP welcomes the fact that Joel Barnett has managed to get a Lords' committee to review the Formula. We recognise that its composition is weighted in Scotland's favour and we know that the present government under Brown will not implement any changes in the direction of justice towards England which might reduce Treasury excess in respect of Scotland. Brown is not going to do anything to harm his own prospects in Scotland or in Westminster, especially if it could be to the advantage of the SNP. But the Review is a start. And we welcome that.'
Contacts
Mrs Scilla Cullen, Chairman CEP. Tel: 01438 833155 Email: scilla.cullen@thecep.org.uk
Michael Knowles. Media Unit CEP. Tel: 01260 271139 Email: michael-knowles@tiscali.co.uk
Lord Barnett has made a very emphatic criticism of the Formula. It enables each Scot, man, woman and child, to have £1600 more spent on them than every man, woman and child in England. But it is the English taxpayer who pays for it. As he has said, it was not based on need but on nationality. 'A fairer system', he has now said, 'would be based on need taking account of factors such as level of income in each part of the UK.' Parts of Scotland are richer than parts of England but all the Scots get the extra expenditure nonetheless.
Lord Barnett did not mince his words. 'Successive governments have failed to deal with the issue for fear of upsetting the Scots. When David Cameron made his first trip to Scotland as Tory leader he assured the Scots that he would keep the formula. 'That strikes me as absolutely stupid because Margaret Thatcher and John Major kept it going for 18 years and turned it into a formal formula only to lose every single seat that they had held in Scotland.'
'We can rightly supplement the criticism he makes of the Conservatives', says Mrs Cullen. 'All Labour governments since Wilson have needed Scottish MPs to give them a majority. Callaghan and Blair saw it to be in their interests to plunder the tax revenues taken from England to give to Scotland, which is precisely the attitude of Gordon Brown today.
'The CEP welcomes the fact that Joel Barnett has managed to get a Lords' committee to review the Formula. We recognise that its composition is weighted in Scotland's favour and we know that the present government under Brown will not implement any changes in the direction of justice towards England which might reduce Treasury excess in respect of Scotland. Brown is not going to do anything to harm his own prospects in Scotland or in Westminster, especially if it could be to the advantage of the SNP. But the Review is a start. And we welcome that.'
Contacts
Mrs Scilla Cullen, Chairman CEP. Tel: 01438 833155 Email: scilla.cullen@thecep.org.uk
Michael Knowles. Media Unit CEP. Tel: 01260 271139 Email: michael-knowles@tiscali.co.uk
CEP Press Release: The Strange Case of David Cameron's Preferential Treatment Of Scotland At England's Expense
It may be because he has family in Scotland and a Scottish name. Or it may be because he is still hoping against hope and against all predictions that somehow he can hold on to the one seat the Conservative Party has in Scotland in Dumfrieshire and be able to claim, if he does become Prime Minister, that he represents the whole of the UK. ‘Whatever is the reason, David Cameron’s latest bulletin about what he intends to do if he gets into 10 Downing Street reveals a staggering disregard for justice for England and an equally amazing intention to give Scotland very preferential treatment’.
That is the response of the CEP to Cameron’s disclosure to the Financial Times (Tuesday 13th January) that he intends to cuts the number of MPs by 10% ‘in the interests of efficiency. He specifies that to meet that target he will reduce the number of English seats from between 40 and 50 and Welsh seats by about 10. But at the same time he will let Scotland keep every seat it has, and that despite the fact that Scotland is already over-represented in the House of Commons in comparison to England. Scotland has 59 MPs in Westminster (in addition of course to another 129 MPs in the Scottish Parliament). That number of 59 would need to be reduced to 53 to bring the two countries into line in terms of MPs per constituents. Nor is that all. The Isle of Wight, Britain's biggest constituency, has an electorate of 108,253 while Na h-Eileanan an Iar, formerly known as the Western Isles, is the smallest constituency in Britain with an electorate of 21,884.
‘Such blatant favouritism in favour of Scotland should be not allowed’ the CEP has stated in response to Cameron’s announcement. ‘We hope that if he gets into No 10 and approaches the Electoral Commission with his proposal, they will throw it out. Whatever changes in electoral representation are needed, and doubtless some are, they should be made on the basis of equal treatment of each of the three nations of this island. Scotland should not continue to be favoured above England. Scotland enjoys the Barnett Formula which gives each Scot £1600 more health and education expenditure than anyone in England. It has the highest degree of devolution, while England has none at all. It has free university education, free prescriptions, a freeze on council tax, free personal care for the elderly, free hospital parking, and above all its own parliament with 129 MSPs elected just to focus on Scotland’s needs and development alone. None of any of that exists in England. And 80% of the cost of all of it is paid for by the English taxpayer. The injustice is grotesque. Cameron should think to represent England as earnestly as Scotland if and when he becomes PM’. .
Contacts:
Michael Knowles CEP Media Unit
Tel: 01260 271139 Email: michael-knowles@tiscali.co.uk
That is the response of the CEP to Cameron’s disclosure to the Financial Times (Tuesday 13th January) that he intends to cuts the number of MPs by 10% ‘in the interests of efficiency. He specifies that to meet that target he will reduce the number of English seats from between 40 and 50 and Welsh seats by about 10. But at the same time he will let Scotland keep every seat it has, and that despite the fact that Scotland is already over-represented in the House of Commons in comparison to England. Scotland has 59 MPs in Westminster (in addition of course to another 129 MPs in the Scottish Parliament). That number of 59 would need to be reduced to 53 to bring the two countries into line in terms of MPs per constituents. Nor is that all. The Isle of Wight, Britain's biggest constituency, has an electorate of 108,253 while Na h-Eileanan an Iar, formerly known as the Western Isles, is the smallest constituency in Britain with an electorate of 21,884.
‘Such blatant favouritism in favour of Scotland should be not allowed’ the CEP has stated in response to Cameron’s announcement. ‘We hope that if he gets into No 10 and approaches the Electoral Commission with his proposal, they will throw it out. Whatever changes in electoral representation are needed, and doubtless some are, they should be made on the basis of equal treatment of each of the three nations of this island. Scotland should not continue to be favoured above England. Scotland enjoys the Barnett Formula which gives each Scot £1600 more health and education expenditure than anyone in England. It has the highest degree of devolution, while England has none at all. It has free university education, free prescriptions, a freeze on council tax, free personal care for the elderly, free hospital parking, and above all its own parliament with 129 MSPs elected just to focus on Scotland’s needs and development alone. None of any of that exists in England. And 80% of the cost of all of it is paid for by the English taxpayer. The injustice is grotesque. Cameron should think to represent England as earnestly as Scotland if and when he becomes PM’. .
Contacts:
Michael Knowles CEP Media Unit
Tel: 01260 271139 Email: michael-knowles@tiscali.co.uk
EU Money For Scotland, Wales And Northern Ireland. But the UK Government Says "No" To England Having Any...
From FT.com
Some of England’s poorest regions are losing out on extra funding from the European Union while Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland benefit from the additional largesse, the Financial Times has learnt.
The government has determined there is insufficient time for the regions to spend a sudden windfall after the precipitate fall of the pound boosted the value of euro-denominated European Union grants by about a fifth.
To help them spend the money to fight recession, the European Commission recently offered an unprecedented six-month extension to its December 2008 deadline to all countries for unused funds as part of a €200bn (£178bn) economic stimulus package.
The UK took up the option for devolved regions but rejected it for England, casting a shadow over Gordon Brown’s tour of recession-hit areas and angering people in Merseyside, where the cabinet met on Thursday and which has missed out on a £10m exchange rate windfall.
Some of England’s poorest regions are losing out on extra funding from the European Union while Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland benefit from the additional largesse, the Financial Times has learnt.
The government has determined there is insufficient time for the regions to spend a sudden windfall after the precipitate fall of the pound boosted the value of euro-denominated European Union grants by about a fifth.
To help them spend the money to fight recession, the European Commission recently offered an unprecedented six-month extension to its December 2008 deadline to all countries for unused funds as part of a €200bn (£178bn) economic stimulus package.
The UK took up the option for devolved regions but rejected it for England, casting a shadow over Gordon Brown’s tour of recession-hit areas and angering people in Merseyside, where the cabinet met on Thursday and which has missed out on a £10m exchange rate windfall.
To read the full FT article, click on the red text.
So, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland, each with their own national governing bodies, have snapped up the money, whilst also wallowing in Barnett Formula payouts from England. But England, occupied by the UK Government and broken up into undemocratic regions against the will of the electorate, will not be getting any.
Because the occupying UK Government has said NO.
Big hat-tip to the Witanagemot Club.
Monday, January 12, 2009
Gordon Brown - Another Racist Hypocrite
As stated before, I in no way condone Prince Harry's use of the "Paki" word, but I do find it hard to keep quiet when hypocritical politicians move in to disapprove.
Take Gordon Brown: this man abuses England, the largest and most cosmopolitan UK nation, to an alarming degree. He isn't even accountable to his own constituents for around 75% of the legislation his Government passes, as these lucky people have their own Scottish Parliament. And the people who are affected, the people of England, cannot vote him out.
Gordon Brown thinks that the people of England should die for want of medication available on the NHS in Scotland. Indeed, he swiped £2bn from the English NHS in his last act as Chancellor, leaving the Scots and Welsh services (already more highly funded thanks to subsidies from England) intact. He thinks health apartheid, the West Lothian Question and the Barnett Formula are great.
And Gordon Brown's loyalties are to a tiny minority - the Scots in Scotland. To this end, he signed the 1988 Scottish Claim of Right (in 1989):
We, gathered as the Scottish Constitutional Convention, do hereby acknowledge the sovereign right of the Scottish people to determine the form of Government best suited to their needs, and do hereby declare and pledge that in all our actions and deliberations their interests shall be paramount.
Take Gordon Brown: this man abuses England, the largest and most cosmopolitan UK nation, to an alarming degree. He isn't even accountable to his own constituents for around 75% of the legislation his Government passes, as these lucky people have their own Scottish Parliament. And the people who are affected, the people of England, cannot vote him out.
Gordon Brown thinks that the people of England should die for want of medication available on the NHS in Scotland. Indeed, he swiped £2bn from the English NHS in his last act as Chancellor, leaving the Scots and Welsh services (already more highly funded thanks to subsidies from England) intact. He thinks health apartheid, the West Lothian Question and the Barnett Formula are great.
And Gordon Brown's loyalties are to a tiny minority - the Scots in Scotland. To this end, he signed the 1988 Scottish Claim of Right (in 1989):
We, gathered as the Scottish Constitutional Convention, do hereby acknowledge the sovereign right of the Scottish people to determine the form of Government best suited to their needs, and do hereby declare and pledge that in all our actions and deliberations their interests shall be paramount.
And he has NEVER renounced that Claim.
Gordon Brown seeks to break up England into tin-pot artificial EU regions, whilst ensuring that his fellow country people up in Scotland are treated as an elite.
As, legally, charges of racism can be brought on grounds of nationality, it is clear that Gordon Brown is guilty of the most appalling acts of racism against every man, woman and child in England.
And he has absolutely no right to go passing judgement on others. I think that Prince Harry's use of the "Paki" word was unacceptable. But I find Gordon Brown's hatred and spite against the people of England much more so.
Sunday, January 11, 2009
David Cameron, Racist, Criticises Prince Harry For Racist Comment
Good grief, here's David Cameron, criticising Prince Harry for his racist "Paki" remark, which I in no way condone, whilst backing UK discrimination - racism - against every single resident of England!
Speaking of Prince Harry's comment, Mr Cameron told BBC One's Andrew Marr Show:
"It is obviously a completely unacceptable thing to say and it is right that he has apologised.
"I think that it is important in the great institutions, whether it is the Army or whether it is political parties, we have had to root out attitudes... and that has to go right across the institutions."
Heavens to Betsy - but Mr Cameron thinks it is perfectly fine for people in England to die for want of medication available on the NHS in Scotland! He thinks it's fine for the Scots and Welsh to be subsidised by the electorate in England to enjoy better health and social care services than those in England. He brags jingoistically about his family's involvement in a Scottish Empire" (note - not "BRITISH"!) - "conquered all sorts of parts of India" whilst calling people in England who want equality with Scotland "sour little Englanders"; he brags about "Scottish blood" in his veins (some sort of white tribe, are they?).
He slagged off the English to the Scots at a time when Scots' racist violence against the English was making headlines.
On Tyneside a couple of days ago, Cameron basically told everybody in England to get stuffed:
One member of the audience complained of the huge differences between services in the North East and Scotland.
She complained that free prescriptions, university tuition and care for the elderly in England should be a priority issue for any Cameron Government.
Mr Cameron responded: “I don’t want to do anything that will encourage a sense of English nationalism and distance between the two countries.”
But Scotland having all these priviliges that the English don't enjoy is creating a sense of "distance".
In short, David Cameron is a racist himself. Before you write to tell me that the English are not a race, charges of racism can be brought on grounds on nationality, and before you write and tell me that Cameron is English, I don't believe it. His loyalty is not to England. He treats us with contempt. David Cameron is an arrogant Brit-Scot, and a racist. It's time the Tories ditched this outrageous hypocrite.
Speaking of Prince Harry's comment, Mr Cameron told BBC One's Andrew Marr Show:
"It is obviously a completely unacceptable thing to say and it is right that he has apologised.
"I think that it is important in the great institutions, whether it is the Army or whether it is political parties, we have had to root out attitudes... and that has to go right across the institutions."
Heavens to Betsy - but Mr Cameron thinks it is perfectly fine for people in England to die for want of medication available on the NHS in Scotland! He thinks it's fine for the Scots and Welsh to be subsidised by the electorate in England to enjoy better health and social care services than those in England. He brags jingoistically about his family's involvement in a Scottish Empire" (note - not "BRITISH"!) - "conquered all sorts of parts of India" whilst calling people in England who want equality with Scotland "sour little Englanders"; he brags about "Scottish blood" in his veins (some sort of white tribe, are they?).
He slagged off the English to the Scots at a time when Scots' racist violence against the English was making headlines.
On Tyneside a couple of days ago, Cameron basically told everybody in England to get stuffed:
One member of the audience complained of the huge differences between services in the North East and Scotland.
She complained that free prescriptions, university tuition and care for the elderly in England should be a priority issue for any Cameron Government.
Mr Cameron responded: “I don’t want to do anything that will encourage a sense of English nationalism and distance between the two countries.”
But Scotland having all these priviliges that the English don't enjoy is creating a sense of "distance".
In short, David Cameron is a racist himself. Before you write to tell me that the English are not a race, charges of racism can be brought on grounds on nationality, and before you write and tell me that Cameron is English, I don't believe it. His loyalty is not to England. He treats us with contempt. David Cameron is an arrogant Brit-Scot, and a racist. It's time the Tories ditched this outrageous hypocrite.
David Cameron Reveals His Anti-English Bias Yet Again
Quite a lot of folk I have spoken to in the past have told me that David Cameron is not anti-English. He is simply a Unionist.So, when he calls people in England wanting equality with Scotland "sour Little Englanders", nips over to Scotland and tells the Scots that the English are basically ignorant and unappreciative of them (and this around the time of racist attacks on English people wearing England football shirts in Scotland), and then nips back to England to bleat on about the part certain of his ancestors played in the "Scottish Empire" and the "Scots blood" in his veins (there's no such thing!), we're supoosed to think it's because he values the Union.
The fact that the Barnett Formula and West Lothian Question do such terrible things to the people of England is not supposed to matter.
Well, I'm sorry, but I've NEVER believed that Mr Cameron is only a Unionist. I believe that, like many of his ilk, part Scots, privately educated, politically correct, and insulated from the woes of modern day life, that he does not like England nor care for its people at all.
Occasionally, Mr Cameron muddies the water, by claiming to be "English", but his other comments negate those witterings. He merely seeks to confuse.
One gets the impression that Mr C does not hold any different views from the Scottish Raj and the current shameful shower of MPs "representing" constituencies in England infesting Westminster today. And that the sufferings of the people of England would continue under his leadership.
Gareth came across this report about David Cameron's recent visit to Tyneside:
One member of the audience complained of the huge differences between services in the North East and Scotland.
She complained that free prescriptions, university tuition and care for the elderly in England should be a priority issue for any Cameron Government.
Mr Cameron responded: “I don’t want to do anything that will encourage a sense of English nationalism and distance between the two countries.”
So, he's happy to spout jingoistic nonsense about the "Scottish Empire" and to slag off the English in Scotland, he's happy for the English to die for want of medication available on the NHS in Scotland, but he is not happy for the people of England to realise what is going on. He is certainly not happy for the people of England to wake up to the fact that England is a country and it is being abused.
What a complete and utter unreasonable... person... David Cameron is.
We have lots about David Cameron, his treatment of England, his thoughts on his family's part in the "Scottish Empire" (note NOT "British!!), and MORE here.
Big hat-tip to Toque!
Saturday, January 10, 2009
CEP: Promoting England's Farming Economy
CEP Organiser for the East Riding of Yorkshire, Della Petch, has written to Hilary Benn, Minister at the Department of the Environment, Food and Rural Affairs suggesting that leading supermarkets could encourage shoppers to buy English produce by using a 'bonus points' system similar to the one already operated successfully by retailers in Ireland promoting local products. Since the 1998 Devolution legislation the DEFRA Minister’s responsibilities are for England only.
Shoppers in Irish supermarkets are alerted to local produce by shamrock symbols on supermarket shelves, which then also appear on till receipts. These products can often earn bonus points through supermarket loyalty schemes. Della Petch’s suggestion is that English produce could be similarly 'flagged up' on till receipts with a small English flag, which could also earn bonus points where loyalty schemes exist.
She has now written to Cabinet Member Hilary Benn to ask him to raise the idea with England’s major retailers. The UK Government has already established working relations with the major supermarkets to promote environmentally friendly practices such as reducing carrier bag use.
Commenting Della said:
"Earning bonus points for buying local could be an excellent way to boost England’s economy and cut down on unnecessary food-miles this winter.
"There are already a number of labelling initiatives run by the supermarkets and producer groups, and introducing a further incentive to buy local could be a shot in the arm for England’s farmers.
"Just like the shamrock in Ireland, the English flag on the shelves and then on the till receipt would help to emphasise how easy and important it is to buy decent local produce, and reward shoppers in the process.
"I have written to the Cabinet Secretary asking him to look at the idea in more detail, and to discuss it at his next meeting with the major supermarkets.
"We need to make full use of England’s magnificent larder if we are to promote healthy eating, reduce pollution from transporting food, and boost the economy during the current downturn.
"A simple scheme like this could make all the difference."
Contacts:
Della Petch, email: dg.petch@btinternet.com
Michael Knowles, email: michael-knowles@tiscali.co.uk Tel: 01260 271139
Shoppers in Irish supermarkets are alerted to local produce by shamrock symbols on supermarket shelves, which then also appear on till receipts. These products can often earn bonus points through supermarket loyalty schemes. Della Petch’s suggestion is that English produce could be similarly 'flagged up' on till receipts with a small English flag, which could also earn bonus points where loyalty schemes exist.
She has now written to Cabinet Member Hilary Benn to ask him to raise the idea with England’s major retailers. The UK Government has already established working relations with the major supermarkets to promote environmentally friendly practices such as reducing carrier bag use.
Commenting Della said:
"Earning bonus points for buying local could be an excellent way to boost England’s economy and cut down on unnecessary food-miles this winter.
"There are already a number of labelling initiatives run by the supermarkets and producer groups, and introducing a further incentive to buy local could be a shot in the arm for England’s farmers.
"Just like the shamrock in Ireland, the English flag on the shelves and then on the till receipt would help to emphasise how easy and important it is to buy decent local produce, and reward shoppers in the process.
"I have written to the Cabinet Secretary asking him to look at the idea in more detail, and to discuss it at his next meeting with the major supermarkets.
"We need to make full use of England’s magnificent larder if we are to promote healthy eating, reduce pollution from transporting food, and boost the economy during the current downturn.
"A simple scheme like this could make all the difference."
Contacts:
Della Petch, email: dg.petch@btinternet.com
Michael Knowles, email: michael-knowles@tiscali.co.uk Tel: 01260 271139
Friday, January 09, 2009
Planning Wars - It's ENGLAND not BRITAIN Which Is Under Threat!
Waking Hereward reports on yet another load of media nonsense, in which devolution does not exist, in which England, the only country subjected to New Labour's undemocratic new planning laws is referred to as BRITAIN. Smoke and mirrors? Not 'arf!!
Here's Waking Hereward on January 7:
Last night's ITV's Planning Wars programme concerned itself with the imminent concreting over 'of Britain'. It majored on new must-have runways running straight through someone's front room, mega huge warehouses the size of Shropshire and 3 million new houses.
As per usual with such productions, they sanitised the info. England, the real target of this concretia was sort of buried and forgotten - much like the average English citizens democratic rights. According to the Gravelly-Voiced narrator, it was 'Britain' which was bracing itself for the flop of wet concrete on a verdant green belted landscape. It was Britain which was about to be trowelled into oblivion. It was 'Britain' which was about to suffer from the obscene new planning laws....
Interestingly, "Waking H" includes the following fact:
'Films of Record' were the producers of the programme. That's the outfit run by Roger Graef - the guy who likes to big up his factually accurate credentials. What a pity that instead of telling it as it is, his production company elected to follow the usual new Labour snail-trail of fudge, inaccuracy and lies.
Flipping typical when it comes to media types backing up New Labour's corruption of democracy for the citizens of England.
Read it all here.
Here's Waking Hereward on January 7:
Last night's ITV's Planning Wars programme concerned itself with the imminent concreting over 'of Britain'. It majored on new must-have runways running straight through someone's front room, mega huge warehouses the size of Shropshire and 3 million new houses.
As per usual with such productions, they sanitised the info. England, the real target of this concretia was sort of buried and forgotten - much like the average English citizens democratic rights. According to the Gravelly-Voiced narrator, it was 'Britain' which was bracing itself for the flop of wet concrete on a verdant green belted landscape. It was Britain which was about to be trowelled into oblivion. It was 'Britain' which was about to suffer from the obscene new planning laws....
Interestingly, "Waking H" includes the following fact:
'Films of Record' were the producers of the programme. That's the outfit run by Roger Graef - the guy who likes to big up his factually accurate credentials. What a pity that instead of telling it as it is, his production company elected to follow the usual new Labour snail-trail of fudge, inaccuracy and lies.
Flipping typical when it comes to media types backing up New Labour's corruption of democracy for the citizens of England.
Read it all here.
Saturday, January 03, 2009
The English Lobby - Talking Gobbledygook
From the English Lobby site:
For decades since the 1950s, England as a nation has been largely ignored, and use of the words 'English' (as applied to its citizens) and 'England' (referring to the nation) steadily declined. This trend continued throughout the 1970s, especially after law relating to discrimination on the ground of race, ethnicity, nationality and national origin was increasingly enforced in tribunals and the courts in the 1980s and after.
Hang on.
"This trend continued throughout the 1970s, especially after law relating to discrimination on the ground of race, ethnicity, nationality and national origin was increasingly enforced in tribunals and the courts in the 1980s and after."
So, this trend continued throughout the 1970s, especially after things which occurred in the 1980s and beyond? But surely the "1980s and after" came after the 1970s? Surely "this trend" couldn't continue throughout the 1970s as an effect of events in the 1980s - as the '70s had ended before the 1980s began?
Is this another "let's mention the 1970s for God's sake" type comment, which renders the rest of what's written complete and utter nonsense? The Web is full of them.
Surely it SHOULD read:
This trend continued, especially after law relating to discrimination on the ground of race, ethnicity, nationality and national origin was increasingly enforced in tribunals and the courts in the 1980s and after.
Sorry, English Lobby, it's my first look at your site and I have to say I find this type of thing disappointing.
For decades since the 1950s, England as a nation has been largely ignored, and use of the words 'English' (as applied to its citizens) and 'England' (referring to the nation) steadily declined. This trend continued throughout the 1970s, especially after law relating to discrimination on the ground of race, ethnicity, nationality and national origin was increasingly enforced in tribunals and the courts in the 1980s and after.
Hang on.
"This trend continued throughout the 1970s, especially after law relating to discrimination on the ground of race, ethnicity, nationality and national origin was increasingly enforced in tribunals and the courts in the 1980s and after."
So, this trend continued throughout the 1970s, especially after things which occurred in the 1980s and beyond? But surely the "1980s and after" came after the 1970s? Surely "this trend" couldn't continue throughout the 1970s as an effect of events in the 1980s - as the '70s had ended before the 1980s began?
Is this another "let's mention the 1970s for God's sake" type comment, which renders the rest of what's written complete and utter nonsense? The Web is full of them.
Surely it SHOULD read:
This trend continued, especially after law relating to discrimination on the ground of race, ethnicity, nationality and national origin was increasingly enforced in tribunals and the courts in the 1980s and after.
Sorry, English Lobby, it's my first look at your site and I have to say I find this type of thing disappointing.
Stuart Cosgrove, Director Nations And Regions - Just One Reason Why Channel 4 Hates England And The English
From Britologywatch:
Channel 4 used to be edgy and innovative; now it just seems to churn out the same old formula programming and anti-English bias as all the other terrestrial channels.
But of course, old matey. Channel 4 has joined the UK Government in abolishing England, wothout a say-so from the electorate/viewers, and despite the North East of England, the only area allowed a referendum on regionalisation, voting 78% NO.
But never mind democracy. Like the UK Government, Channel 4 has no time for such a concept when it comes to England and now has a "Director of Nations and Regions" (because England is not a nation, of course). The nations are Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland. England does not exist.
Channel 4's Director of Nations And Regions is one Stuart Cosgrove, a Scottish journalist, not noted for his love of the English, but very much noted for his love of Scotland, his homeland.
So, there you go.
Read Stuart Cosgrove's Wikipedia entry here.
In the TV clip at the bottom of this post, Stuart Cosgrove is actually billed as "Director Nations And Regions 1997-present", which must be a lie as devolution hadn't happened in 1997 and "nations and regions" were unheard of! Perhaps Stuart Cosgrove was originally director of regions - areas outside London. Seems, Mr Cosgrove, there has been a little tweaking since devolution - which is, of course, completely in line with UK Government policy and brainwashing (lets make the English think "nations and regions" have ALWAYS been a facty of life) and in the interests of England-hating Little Scotlanders and Little Walesians everywhere!
The CEP News Blog has this on the "Nations and Regions" coinage, which is almost certainly post-1997 - because back then there was only one nation - the UK. Scotland and Wales had no government other than Westminster.
Interestingly, the “nations and regions” political spin so loved by Gordon Brown appears to be a Scottish idea from The Institute of Governance at the University of Edinburgh.
http://www.institute-of-governance.org/forum/Leverhulme/TOC.html
Actually from a Scottish or Welsh perspective, “nations and regions” does have a certain logic in relation to the disproportionate size, population and influence of England as a UK territory - makes things appear a lot more equal and proportionate. Unfortunately, from an English perspective its insulting.
Channel 4 used to be edgy and innovative; now it just seems to churn out the same old formula programming and anti-English bias as all the other terrestrial channels.
But of course, old matey. Channel 4 has joined the UK Government in abolishing England, wothout a say-so from the electorate/viewers, and despite the North East of England, the only area allowed a referendum on regionalisation, voting 78% NO.
But never mind democracy. Like the UK Government, Channel 4 has no time for such a concept when it comes to England and now has a "Director of Nations and Regions" (because England is not a nation, of course). The nations are Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland. England does not exist.
Channel 4's Director of Nations And Regions is one Stuart Cosgrove, a Scottish journalist, not noted for his love of the English, but very much noted for his love of Scotland, his homeland.
So, there you go.
Read Stuart Cosgrove's Wikipedia entry here.
In the TV clip at the bottom of this post, Stuart Cosgrove is actually billed as "Director Nations And Regions 1997-present", which must be a lie as devolution hadn't happened in 1997 and "nations and regions" were unheard of! Perhaps Stuart Cosgrove was originally director of regions - areas outside London. Seems, Mr Cosgrove, there has been a little tweaking since devolution - which is, of course, completely in line with UK Government policy and brainwashing (lets make the English think "nations and regions" have ALWAYS been a facty of life) and in the interests of England-hating Little Scotlanders and Little Walesians everywhere!
The CEP News Blog has this on the "Nations and Regions" coinage, which is almost certainly post-1997 - because back then there was only one nation - the UK. Scotland and Wales had no government other than Westminster.
Interestingly, the “nations and regions” political spin so loved by Gordon Brown appears to be a Scottish idea from The Institute of Governance at the University of Edinburgh.
http://www.institute-of-governance.org/forum/Leverhulme/TOC.html
Actually from a Scottish or Welsh perspective, “nations and regions” does have a certain logic in relation to the disproportionate size, population and influence of England as a UK territory - makes things appear a lot more equal and proportionate. Unfortunately, from an English perspective its insulting.
And to end on, here's Stuart Cosgrove, Director "Nations And Regions", 1997-present day. Or so he claims.
Thursday, January 01, 2009
Gordon Brown's New Year Speech - Just How Long Can He Fool And Abuse The People Of England?
Insisting that his "guiding principle" was the wellbeing of British families and businesses, he added: "What keeps me up at night, and gets me up in the morning, are the hopes and aspirations of the British people."
Gordon Brown in his New Year speech. But surely Mr Brown's first priority is the Scottish people? He signed the Scottish Claim Of Right in 1989 promising to put Scots' interests first in all he did. And he has never renounced that promise. In his last act as Chancellor, he swiped £2bn from the English NHS budget, whilst leaving the Scots and Welsh services intact.
Proof of his intent to serve his fellow "Celts" if ever there was one.
And now he's breaking up England into regions, against the will of the electorate, basically abolishing England, and still ensuring that Scotland is far better funded via the Barnett Formula.
"British people"? You are an evil liar, Mr Brown. You look after your own - and that means the Scots.
Gordon Brown in his New Year speech. But surely Mr Brown's first priority is the Scottish people? He signed the Scottish Claim Of Right in 1989 promising to put Scots' interests first in all he did. And he has never renounced that promise. In his last act as Chancellor, he swiped £2bn from the English NHS budget, whilst leaving the Scots and Welsh services intact.
Proof of his intent to serve his fellow "Celts" if ever there was one.
And now he's breaking up England into regions, against the will of the electorate, basically abolishing England, and still ensuring that Scotland is far better funded via the Barnett Formula.
"British people"? You are an evil liar, Mr Brown. You look after your own - and that means the Scots.
Campaign For An English Parliament: UK Establishment Prejudice against England, typified by George Monbiot, is blighting England’s Future
‘England, the land of my birth. means nothing to me.’
That is the declaration made by George Monbiot a very well-known campaigning environmentalist writing in the Guardian newspaper Tuesday December 30th 2008. It is as good an illustration anyone can get of the prejudice England experiences from the UK Establishment as England slowly but surely grapples with the realities and implications of the 1998 Devolution legislation which gave Scotland and Wales their own parliament but did nothing, nothing at all, for England. That legislation gave constitutional and political recognition to the distinct nationhood and national identities both of Scotland and Wales. It gave them self-rule thorugh having their own parliaments. But not England. Unlike them politically and constitutionally England does not exist; and that is because of the attitude towards England of the UK cultural and political Establishment to which George Monbiot belongs
It is an Establishment that is not at ease with England, with the idea of England as a nation, with Englishness and English identity. The great majority of them are English of course, but it is the sort of English who are itchy and unhappy in their English skin. The mere mention of England brings them out in all sorts of strange political and cultural goose-pimples. They duck and dive to avoid anything that might seem like a normal human attachment which love of one’s country is. They just cannot be English in the same relaxed and easy way a Scot is Scottish or the Welsh are Welsh. George Orwell recognised the type over 60 years ago. “England is perhaps the only great country whose intellectuals are ashamed of their own nationality. In left-wing circles it is always felt that there is something slightly disgraceful in being an Englishman and that it is a duty to snigger at every English institution, from horse racing to suet puddings. (The Lion and the Unicorn).
‘England means nothing to me’ states George Monbiot. Yet if anyone has benefited from the very best England has to offer it is him. In every possible respect England made him. He was brought up in a big country house in affluent Henley with a garden that backed on to Peppard Common. His father was the managing director of Associated Biscuits Ltd., Chairman of Campbells Soups UK and a deputy chairman of the Conservative Party. His mother is the daughter of a Conservative MP for an English seat. Both parents were leading members of the Oxford Conservative Party. He was sent to board at Stowe public school, he got a scholarship into Brazenose College, Oxford. His first job on leaving Oxford University was with the BBC. He is now a regular columnist with the Guardian newspaper, founded in England, printed and published in England, read overwhelmingly in England. Two years ago he moved to Wales and now boasts that he feels ‘an irrational impulse in supporting Wales in rugby, football and in all its competing claims against other nations’. Yet he says ‘I despise nationalism’ -obviously in the same way as on environmental grounds he condemned travelling to America by plane which he does, and to Australia too.
Unlike Wales, and even more so Scotland, England has no political or constitutional existence or recognition or self-rule. The people of England pay for prescriptions and hospital parking charges, which the Welsh do not. Unlike the Scots their students pay university tuition fees and their elderly people for personal care. They do not get free eye tests, their council tax has not been frozen. And each Scottish and Welsh man, woman and child receives £1600 more per year from the UK government than any English man, woman and child for education, health care and social services.
‘It is because of the indifference and hostility of such UK Establishment figures towards England as George Monbiot, because of their lack of concern for it, that its people are so discriminated against,’ Michael Knowles, media spokesman for the Campaign for an English Parliament, has said in his New Year message to CEP members. ‘Yet England made people like Monbiot. England gave them every advantage they now have. Culturally and politically they are its ruling class, a position they exercise to the full. In 2009 we must campaign even harder against them and their attitude to get for England what the UK has given to Scotland and Wales. If the United Kingdom is to continue, then each of its constituent nations should stand in the same relationship to both the Union and to each other’
Contacts:
Michael Knowles Head of CEP Media Unit. Tel: 01260 271139 Email: michael-knowles@tiscali.co.uk
Scilla Cullen, CEP Chairman. Tel: 01438 833155 Email: scilla.cullen@thecep.org.uk
That is the declaration made by George Monbiot a very well-known campaigning environmentalist writing in the Guardian newspaper Tuesday December 30th 2008. It is as good an illustration anyone can get of the prejudice England experiences from the UK Establishment as England slowly but surely grapples with the realities and implications of the 1998 Devolution legislation which gave Scotland and Wales their own parliament but did nothing, nothing at all, for England. That legislation gave constitutional and political recognition to the distinct nationhood and national identities both of Scotland and Wales. It gave them self-rule thorugh having their own parliaments. But not England. Unlike them politically and constitutionally England does not exist; and that is because of the attitude towards England of the UK cultural and political Establishment to which George Monbiot belongs
It is an Establishment that is not at ease with England, with the idea of England as a nation, with Englishness and English identity. The great majority of them are English of course, but it is the sort of English who are itchy and unhappy in their English skin. The mere mention of England brings them out in all sorts of strange political and cultural goose-pimples. They duck and dive to avoid anything that might seem like a normal human attachment which love of one’s country is. They just cannot be English in the same relaxed and easy way a Scot is Scottish or the Welsh are Welsh. George Orwell recognised the type over 60 years ago. “England is perhaps the only great country whose intellectuals are ashamed of their own nationality. In left-wing circles it is always felt that there is something slightly disgraceful in being an Englishman and that it is a duty to snigger at every English institution, from horse racing to suet puddings. (The Lion and the Unicorn).
‘England means nothing to me’ states George Monbiot. Yet if anyone has benefited from the very best England has to offer it is him. In every possible respect England made him. He was brought up in a big country house in affluent Henley with a garden that backed on to Peppard Common. His father was the managing director of Associated Biscuits Ltd., Chairman of Campbells Soups UK and a deputy chairman of the Conservative Party. His mother is the daughter of a Conservative MP for an English seat. Both parents were leading members of the Oxford Conservative Party. He was sent to board at Stowe public school, he got a scholarship into Brazenose College, Oxford. His first job on leaving Oxford University was with the BBC. He is now a regular columnist with the Guardian newspaper, founded in England, printed and published in England, read overwhelmingly in England. Two years ago he moved to Wales and now boasts that he feels ‘an irrational impulse in supporting Wales in rugby, football and in all its competing claims against other nations’. Yet he says ‘I despise nationalism’ -obviously in the same way as on environmental grounds he condemned travelling to America by plane which he does, and to Australia too.
Unlike Wales, and even more so Scotland, England has no political or constitutional existence or recognition or self-rule. The people of England pay for prescriptions and hospital parking charges, which the Welsh do not. Unlike the Scots their students pay university tuition fees and their elderly people for personal care. They do not get free eye tests, their council tax has not been frozen. And each Scottish and Welsh man, woman and child receives £1600 more per year from the UK government than any English man, woman and child for education, health care and social services.
‘It is because of the indifference and hostility of such UK Establishment figures towards England as George Monbiot, because of their lack of concern for it, that its people are so discriminated against,’ Michael Knowles, media spokesman for the Campaign for an English Parliament, has said in his New Year message to CEP members. ‘Yet England made people like Monbiot. England gave them every advantage they now have. Culturally and politically they are its ruling class, a position they exercise to the full. In 2009 we must campaign even harder against them and their attitude to get for England what the UK has given to Scotland and Wales. If the United Kingdom is to continue, then each of its constituent nations should stand in the same relationship to both the Union and to each other’
Contacts:
Michael Knowles Head of CEP Media Unit. Tel: 01260 271139 Email: michael-knowles@tiscali.co.uk
Scilla Cullen, CEP Chairman. Tel: 01438 833155 Email: scilla.cullen@thecep.org.uk
2009 - The End Of England?
Happy New Year, folks, though as the CEP News Blog reminds us, 2009 sees Westminster still very much occupied by political enemies of England and England in more danger than ever of being abolished forever.
We need an end to health apartheid and the evil works of the Primary Care Trusts and "Supporting People" organisation in England.
We need a proper, representative national Government.
We need an end to the arrogant Scottish Raj.
We need an end to enforced regionalisation. The internal government of England should be decided only by MPs representing the people of England.
We need an end to the Barnett Formula and West Lothian Question.
Here's to 2009, folks.
Let's keep up the fight for justice and equality for England and all its people.
We need an end to health apartheid and the evil works of the Primary Care Trusts and "Supporting People" organisation in England.
We need a proper, representative national Government.
We need an end to the arrogant Scottish Raj.
We need an end to enforced regionalisation. The internal government of England should be decided only by MPs representing the people of England.
We need an end to the Barnett Formula and West Lothian Question.
Here's to 2009, folks.
Let's keep up the fight for justice and equality for England and all its people.
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