Check out the new poll on the above subject I’ve just added to the Polls section of this site. My preference, by the way: No. 4 – (con)federation with sovereignty – England fully sovereign but delegating responsibility on things like defence and foreign affairs to a new federal British government.
Not that I’m trying to influence [...]
Filed under: England, English Parliament, English independence, constitutional reform, devolution, federal UK, politics, sovereignty | 12 Comments »
I was bowled over by the government’s response last Monday to the ‘England nation’ petition that I posted on the Number 10 website, and which so many of my readers signed – for which, many thanks.
To remind you, the petition asked: “We the undersigned petition the Prime Minister to state whether he recognises that England [...]
Filed under: Britain, Downing Street petition, England, England Nation petition, English Parliament, English governance, English independence, English nationalism, English nationhood, Gordon Brown, Northern Ireland, Scotland, Scottish Claim of Right, Scottish nationhood, UK governance, United Kingdom, Wales, Welsh nationhood, constitutional reform, denial of England, devolution, federal UK, nationalism, nations and regions, parliament, parliamentary sovereignty, petitions, politics, popular sovereignty, referendum, representative democracy, say England, sovereignty, the English Question, unionism | 13 Comments »
The trouble with the UK is ‘Great Britain’. The future of the UK, if it has one, will be settled by coming to a more stable, mature and equitable relationship between the different nations that currently make up that state. Great Britain, and its even more ill-defined cognate ‘Britain’, is the great interloper that stands [...]
Filed under: Britain, British identity, Britishness, Cornwall, England, English Parliament, English governance, English identity, English independence, English nationalism, English nationhood, Englishness, First Past the Post, Gordon Brown, Great Britain, New Labour, Northern Ireland, PR, Scotland, Scottish Claim of Right, Scottish independence, Scottish nationhood, Single Transferable Vote (STV), UK governance, United Kingdom, Wales, West Lothian Question, constitutional reform, denial of England, devolution, federal UK, federalism, national identity, nationalism, parliament, parliamentary sovereignty, political vision, politics, popular sovereignty, proportional representation, referendum, representative democracy, say England, sovereignty, the English Question, unionism | 23 Comments »
The government’s recent response to an online petition calling for a referendum on English independence – not submitted although signed by myself – doesn’t appear to have provoked much commentary; unless I missed it. First the text of the petition:
“We the undersigned petition the Prime Minister to grant the English people a referendum on independence [...]
Filed under: England, English Parliament, English independence, PR, United Kingdom, constitutional reform, devolution, federal UK, parliament, parliamentary sovereignty, petitions, politics, popular sovereignty, proportional representation, referendum, representation, sovereignty, unionism | 7 Comments »
Here’s how I see the asymmetric devolution settlement brought in by New Labour in 1998. This may not be terribly original; but it could serve as a useful guide to the cynical politics that has brought us to our present pass.
Scotland-side, there’s the view that devolution, rather than being merely a nationalistic movement for greater [...]
Filed under: Conservative Party, David Cameron, England, English independence, First Past the Post, Labour Party, PR, Scotland, Scottish independence, Wales, Welsh independence, constitutional reform, devolution, parliament, politics, proportional representation, sovereignty | 9 Comments »
The Sunday Times reported yesterday that Frank Field has urged Gordon Brown to hold an immediate UK-wide referendum on the future of the Union. The Labour MP is quoted as saying, “Unless Gordon Brown wrongfoots [Alex Salmond] by addressing the English question and by holding a UK-wide referendum before he has the chance to build [...]
Filed under: England, English independence, Frank Field, Gordon Brown, Labour Party, Scotland, Scottish Claim of Right, Scottish independence, United Kingdom, constitutional convention, constitutional reform, parliament, politics, referendum, sovereignty, the English Question | 2 Comments »
Just signed the Downing Street petition for a referendum on English independence I came across today. This actually calls for a referendum on English independence irrespective of whether the Scots are offered a referendum on independence for Scotland, or if they go ahead and have one anyway whether the British government, or the Scottish First Minister for England, [...]
Filed under: Britain, Downing Street petition, England, English independence, Northern Ireland, Scotland, Scottish independence, Wales, Welsh independence, constitutional reform, devolution, federal UK, nationalism, parliament, politics, referendum, sovereignty, unionism | 3 Comments »
This is the first of a new mini-series in which I’ll be putting the argument for a referendum on new constitutional arrangements between the nations of the UK, which should be offered to all those nations not just one or two (e.g. Scotland and Wales).
Below is a copy of a comment I made the other [...]
Filed under: Britain, Cornish independence, Cornwall, England, English independence, Gordon Brown, Northern Ireland, Scotland, Scottish independence, Wales, Welsh independence, constitutional reform, devolution, federal UK, nationalism, politics, referendum, unionism | 2 Comments »
Another way to address the question of the constitutional options that should be put to all the nations of the UK at the same time as a Scottish referendum on independence for Scotland (see previous post) is to say that we should all have a vote, not just on independence for our respective countries, but [...]
Filed under: Britain, Britishness, Cornish independence, Cornwall, England, English identity, English independence, Englishness, Northern Ireland, Scotland, Wales, Welsh independence, devolution, federal UK, federalism, parliament, politics, referendum, sovereignty | 8 Comments »
At some point in the next few years (maybe as early as 2010; or 2011, 2012 or later), the people of Scotland will be offered a referendum on whether to become an independent country. In my view, it’s highly likely they’ll vote ‘yes’.
At the same time as this Scottish vote, the people of England (and, [...]
Filed under: Cornish independence, Cornwall, England, English independence, Northern Ireland, Scotland, Scottish independence, Wales, Welsh independence, referendum | 7 Comments »
