From The Secret Person:
While I disagree with Peter Facey and co. Our Kingdom has also allowed the CEP's Michael Knowles and Gareth Young to make contributions. I think anything that gets people talking about the English question is worthwhile. These are exactly the type of people and arguments we will come up against in persuading the British establishment so it is useful to argue against them now.
We reply:
Thank you for writing.
With all due respect, we disagree. Our Kingdom is not what it stated it would be, the likes of Anthony Barnett are actually anti-English fascists, out to smear any campaigns for equality for England as "racist" - it is not a site for fair debate with its organisers having such a strong agenda of their own. They may deny they have such an agenda, but just read through the site. The facts speak for themselves.
Because of most of its content, we don't see Our Kingdom as a quality site. Just because it declared itself as important at the outset and the chattering classes fell on its neck, doesn't make it so.
At the end of the day, the likes of Peter Facey are spouting an awful lot of evasive, illogical drivel, which, once the public is made fully aware of the issues, he will cease doing because it IS such evasive, illogical drivel. He only does so at the moment to cloud the issues and because he hopes that he may fool a few more poor innocents into not peering too deeply into matters. "Unlock Democracy"? It's nonsense, of course - another anti-English/England organisation.
Once the issues go wide, the howls of derision at what the likes of Mr Facey have been saying will discourage any further nonsense.
Our Kingdom may allow contributions from the likes of Mike Knowles and Gareth Young, really it has to if you think about it, but that does not alter the fact that its organisers have a strong anti-English bias, and couldn't give a damn about the everyday man or woman in the street.
There's space for all sorts on the blogosphere, as I'm sure you agree. All of us involved in WENAP are breadline, working class care workers/nurses and what is happening in England makes us intensely angry.
In our view, people should not be giving the likes of Our Kingdom credence as an unbiased, respectable site for debate because it is not. It allows views to be expressed about England that it would never allow to be expressed about the other UK nations (did you read the post about our lack of moral vision being the reason why we don't deserve a parliament?) and backs up the fascist "Celt" assumption which is STILL prevelant in Scotland and Wales.
Whilst people continue to believe that Our Kingdom is "spiffing" and a "good egg", and whilst it continues with its dreadful, twisted, anti-English attitudes, we shall continue to highlight the true facts.
Thanks again for writing.
Thanks very much for your reply - and a whole new post for it!
ReplyDeleteI did indeed read the 'moral vision' post and responded to it. I agree completely about the anti-English bias, I think of it as know your enemy!
Did you see the House of Commons justice committee? Who was the CEP's Mike Knowles giving evidence with? Non other than Peter Facey. The arguments on Our Kingdom are the same arguments we will have to make to the establishment, who are guilty of everything you accuse OK of. Unfortunately for us, they also hold all the power so at some point we will have to engage them.
Thanks for that, Secret Person. Actually, we don't feel that the Establishment will continue to fudge and talk nonsense when the public is fully aware of the facts. We don't believe that we will have to engage with these arguments - because they are illogical and do not solve the problems posed by national devoution for some. They are shot down in seconds.
ReplyDeleteWe think a lot more strident calls of "CRAP!" are needed for the likes of Peter Facey and that revealing the anti-English fascism of Our Kingdom does the electorate a favour.
Why bother engaging with the likes of Peter Facey on fascist sites like OK? Shoot him down from the comfort of your own front room - your blog. No amount of reasoned argument will make him see reason. It's all highly mysterious.
And politicians are cowards. They won't continue to fudge when confronted by an aware majority. They will HAVE to act.
The more strident we are, the more people will hear, and the less we will hear nonsense from the Government and the likes of Peter Facey.
The Government only holds power because the population is quiescent and largely unaware of the current set-up. But that's changing.
And we aim to contribute as much as we possibly can to that change.
In the meantime, no, we don't agree that simply accepting that we must expect illogical arguments from the establishment is a reason for engaging with the likes of Unlock Democracy in preparation.
Come The Day...
The Establishment: "But you have regional assemblies!"
The People: "But we don't want them and they have been foisted on us!"
The Establishment: "But the regions are devolution..."
The People: "No, they are not! They are fragmentation! And they do nothing to answer our concerns about the West Lothian Question, North Sea Oil, the Barnett Formula, national parity within the United Kingdom..."
The Establishment: "Er..."
Believe us, it will happen. The nonsense-spinners like Facey only persist whilst there is a chance that the majority will not learn the true facts.
Shout loud!
Well I hope you are right.
ReplyDeleteWe're not usually terribly sure of ourselves, but in this case we are.
ReplyDeleteThe only trouble is, as the current gravy train gets increasingly uncomfortable, we must watch for lazy, immoral MPs clambering off and straight onto the next one which they will label "English Parliament"!
Thankfully, as the English Parliament will be far more accountable to the people, the electorate will be far more engaged and vigilant.
We must never let anything like the current UK Parliament happen again.
Yeah I really believe an English parliament could invigorate popular engagement in democracy. I wish I could be as optimistic as you!
ReplyDeleteWe're living increasingly in a dictatorship, Secret Person. Under the UK Government and, sadly, the EU. And dictatorships never last. Things have moved on a great deal over the last ten years.
ReplyDeleteIt hasn't been easy, things WON'T be easy, but nothing the UK Government or EU can do cannot be undone, no matter how binding it seems on paper. Remember, the UK was supposed, according to the original Act of Union, to be ruled by "one parliament forevermore" - or words to that effect!
Keep the faith!