Posted on 5 October 2009 by David
A truly comical row has broken out over SNP leader Alex Salmond’s insistence that he should participate in any debate between the party leaders broadcast in Scotland ahead of the next general election. The three main parties are insisting that as Salmond isn’t even standing for parliament – and therefore, by definition, is not a [...]
Filed under: Alex Salmond, Britain, British parliament, England, English democratic deficit, English social policy, SNP, Scotland, United Kingdom, democracy, devolution, devolved matters, general election, leaders' debate, nationalism, parliament, politics, reserved matters | 3 Comments »
Posted on 26 September 2009 by David
Watched the TV interview with the English Democrat chairman Robin Tilbrook on the Daily Politics yesterday. Effectively, he was given about half of the five minutes allotted to the item, with the remaining half being given over to a couple of panellists. I thought he held his own quite well against some fairly tough questioning. [...]
Filed under: Anita Anand, BBC, Barnett Formula, Britain, British parliament, Daily Politics, England, English Democrats, English NHS, English Parliament, English democratic deficit, English governance, English identity, English nationalism, English nationhood, Englishness, Fraser Nelson, NHS, PR, Radio Four, Robin Tilbrook, Scotland, Scottish Parliament, Today Programme, UK governance, United Kingdom, asymmetric devolution, civic nationalism, constitutional reform, democracy, denial of England, devolution, general election, media bias, national identity, nationalism, nations and regions, parliament, politics, proportional representation, referendum, the English Question, unionism | 4 Comments »
Posted on 17 June 2009 by David
The eagerness of the main unionist parties to seize on the Calman Commission’s report on Scottish devolution, published on Monday, suggests how little they are interested in factoring the English Question into their constitutional-renewal programmes. The report offers nothing for England: it deliberately avoids addressing the West Lothian Question; it urges that the Barnett Formula [...]
Filed under: Barnett Formula, British parliament, Calman Commission, Conservative Party, England, English governance, Scotland, Scottish Parliament, United Kingdom, Wales, West Lothian Question, asymmetric devolution, constitutional reform, devolution, parliament, politics, sovereignty, the English Question | Leave a Comment »
Posted on 3 March 2009 by David
I’ve been thinking and reading quite a bit recently on the subject of liberty and the national question. This was the topic of a debate at the Convention On Modern Liberty event in London at the weekend. I wasn’t there but I’ve read the interestingly divergent accounts by Gareth Young (who was speaking on behalf [...]
Filed under: Britain, British identity, Convention on Modern Liberty, Downing Street petition, England, English governance, English identity, English nationalism, English nationhood, Englishness, Scotland, Scottish Claim of Right, Scottish independence, UK governance, United Kingdom, Wales, anglophobia, constitutional reform, denial of England, devolution, liberty, national identity, nationalism, politics, popular sovereignty, sovereignty, the English Question | 3 Comments »
Posted on 17 January 2009 by David
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 »
Posted on 2 December 2008 by David
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 »
Posted on 15 September 2008 by David
Not often I do a direct plug; but here goes. I invite UK readers of this blog to sign a new petition that has appeared on the 10 Downing Street website. This reads as follows:
“We the undersigned petition the Prime Minister to state whether he recognises that England is a nation.”
The background to this is [...]
Filed under: Britain, Downing Street petition, England, England Nation petition, English Parliament, English nationalism, English nationhood, Gordon Brown, Scotland, Scottish nationhood, United Kingdom, Wales, Welsh nationhood, constitutional reform, devolution, national identity, nationalism, parliament, petitions, politics, popular sovereignty, sovereignty, the English Question | 1 Comment »
Posted on 16 August 2008 by David
Below is the text of a post of mine published on the OurKingdom site last week. It stimulated a lively debate, which has led me to think further about the fundamental issues involved. I discuss these below after the copy of the OurKingdom post:
Giving only Scotland a say on independence negates the existence of Britain
[...]
Filed under: England, Scotland, Scottish Claim of Right, Scottish independence, United Kingdom, Wales, constitutional reform, federal UK, nationalism, parliament, politics, referendum, sovereignty | 5 Comments »
Posted on 18 July 2008 by David
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 »
Posted on 14 June 2008 by David
Ireland’s ‘no’ vote to the Lisbon Treaty (aka the EU constitution) is a victory for democracy over the political class and the supporters of ever-greater integration of the EU member states. It’s also a victory for Britain, and for England, which was unjustly denied the referendum it had been promised by an arrogant and unrepresentative [...]
Filed under: EU, EU constitution, England, Ireland's no vote, Lisbon Treaty, Scotland, United Kingdom, federalism, parliament, politics, referendum | 2 Comments »