One of my inspirations to start blogging was reading the many political blogs, particularly finding the many views not really represented by mainstream parties. One of the best, and a cause I agree with is the Campaign for an English Parliament and the many bloggers in support of this in the The Witanagemot Club.

Now it seems obvious to me that England should have a parliament, but apparently not to our politicians. Not one of the leading parties supports an English parliament. The Conservatives back a scheme for an ‘English Grand Committee’ of MPs already in Westminster, but this seems a messy compromise. The other parties have no answer to ‘the English question’, and prefer it not to be asked. The main (only?) English only party is the English Democrats, who are hardly in the same league as the SNP or Plaid, and unlikely to do well under our first past the post system, although hopefully they can have success in the European Parliament elections or in London local elections and bring the issue to a wider audience.

So it falls to people outside the mainstream to raise the issue. If bloggers can bring the English question to the attention of journalists, and through them to both people and politicians maybe something can be done. So I encourage you to read these blogs and websites, think about the issues and if you agree then talk to your friends about it down the pub, maybe even write to your MP. The only way politicians will listen to England is if we stand up and make a noise.

The are many arguments in favour of an English parliament, which I will try to explore in this blog in future in detail, with my own thoughts on the issues. Here I will simply outline a few major points.

Fairness.
Scotland has its own parliament. Wales has an assembly who’s powers are likely to grow. Even Paisley and Adams have managed to sit down opposite each other in Northern Ireland’s assembly. So that leaves England as the only place in the UK without it’s own national representation. Whilst recognising that not all cases are the same, this hardly seems fair or sustainable.

Identity.
When Scotland achieved devolution, Tony Blair praised it as a proud, historic nation. Well England is no less proud or historic. People do identify as English. We are escaping the confusion of English and British, once a symptom of English arrogance, now a pro-union PC attempt to surpress English identity. Seperate national identities give the UN supported right to national self-determination. England is a nation with an identity and has the same right as any other to choose her own government.

Good government.
Politicians need to act in the interests of the electorate. If noone is speaking for England, England will get a raw deal. The various governments can represent their own countries whereas England must make do with representatives only of the whole UK. This leads on to the West Lothian question. Which I think deserves its very own bold header!

The West Lothian Question.
This refers to the situation whereby MPs from Scottish constituencies can vote on English only legislation, but there is no reciprocal right where these powers have been devolved to the Scottish Parliament. These MPs are not accountable to their constituents for devolved issues. They can (and have) swing the balance against the decision of a majority of English MPs, and are unlikely to be voted out for something that doesn’t affect their constituents. This happened over tuition fees and foundation hospitals. To be fair, the SNP refrain from voting on English only issues, but the Labour party do not.

The Barnett Formula.
The system used to decide funding allocations to the different nations of the UK. It is calculated according to population (fair enough you might say) but results in Scotland recieving £1500 per head more than England. The formula only applies to changes in funding levels so over time will move towards equal funding per head, but very slowly. This formula takes no account of need, it was designed in the late 70’s and even its author (Baron Barnett) says it needs reviewing. This would be best done with an English parliament to represent England’s interests in any renegotiations.

Anyway, those are a few reasons why ordinary people are feeling upset about the current state of the Union. But the politicians are determined to protect the Union at all costs. Even if it means unfairly treating the people of England who are expected to take it and not complain. Well the time has come to start complaining until these politicians listen. People are really starting to talk about this now, the momentum is gathering. We (The Secret People of GK Chesterton’s poem) may never have spoken yet. But things are about to change.

Update I have now joined the Witanagemot club and CEP so must declare a vested interest in declaring them well worth a look!