Crossofstgeorge Debate

[Hotspur]

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/opinion/main.jhtml?xml=/opinion/2006/03/11/do1101.xml&sSheet=/opinion/2006/03/11/ixopinion.html

Falconer will regret his sense of humour

I do adore Charlie Falconer, our genial and companionable Lord Chancellor, and I especially admire his line in jokes. The old boy was at it again yesterday, saying that, even though the Scots, Welsh and (when they behave themselves) Northern Irish have assemblies, we English have no right to a parliament. In other words - and I bet we all find this rib-ticklingly witty - the Celtic fringe can continue to interfere in our affairs at Westminster, voting on matters that do not affect them, while English MPs are banned from voting on theirs.

Since the English taxpayer subsidises these people hugely, the whole thing is, in fact, even more hilarious than Charlie lets on. Of course, Labour would hate an English parliament, because without its tame Scots and Welsh MPs it might get very few Bills through. Labour is very silly about this, because the longer it denies our right to a parliament, the worse the retribution will be when the day finally comes that we get it. And, believe me, Charlie, we will.
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Lord Hugh Cecil 1918



"the truth is that colouring federalism with nationalism is like painting a rat red: it kills the animal.

Federalism and Nationalism are contradictory and mutually Fatal".

[Richard the Lionheart]

I don't find anything remotely funny about Scotsman Charlie Falconer denying us the choice on what kind of political settlement we want. It's got nothing to do with him whatsoever. This is our country and our choice. If he has concerns about devolution in England then he should keep his opinions to himself. It was his party that took the UK down this road and he should have the decency (if he has any) to let things take their natural course. That being, devolution for England as well.

Falconer should not have a say on this subject. It is for the people of England alone to decide what form of government they want. If it leads to the break up of the union then so be it. Perhaps he should have thought longer and harder about the consequences of devolution. The good thing about his comments is that the issue is firmly on the political agenda now and will not go away until a satisfactory settlement is reached. Labour cannot continue to deny democracy for England, and neither can those weak politicians we elect to represent us in Westminster.
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The Free England Party - England's premier nationalist party
http://www.freeengland.org

Free England.......supporting English independence

[CoSG]

[ENGLISH JEW]

Heffer seems to be one of our friends, we should go and talk to him, its now time for him to choose which side he is on.
One thing is for certain, Charlie boy has drawn a line in the sand. People like Heffer and others now need to decided who's camp they are in.
Does anyone have contacts for him, i'll give him a bell
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ENGLAND'S FIRST MINISTER ( in waiting )

Shalom
2nd Generation English and Proud

THEY made it more than just politics
THIS IS PERSONAL

www.englandsparty.com
www.justiceforengland.com
www.workersofengland.co.uk

'NO GOVERNMENT CAN CHANGE THE SOULS OF MEN, THE SOULS OF MEN CHANGE GOVERNMENTS' - Ed Abrams

[Black Prince]

10:20hrs

The original Telegraph URL is now "not available"!
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"Never tell an Englishman he cannot do something, for he will certainly go away and do it."

[isca]

Billy wrote:

[Lance Dragon]

[Hotspur]

the url is ok for me
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Lord Hugh Cecil 1918



"the truth is that colouring federalism with nationalism is like painting a rat red: it kills the animal.

Federalism and Nationalism are contradictory and mutually Fatal".

[ENGLISH JEW]

Just looked in the mirror and I can now confirm that I am not Heffer and he's not my ole man.

Shame, wouldn't mind his cash though

We need to engage him as he's got a lot of influence
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ENGLAND'S FIRST MINISTER ( in waiting )

Shalom
2nd Generation English and Proud

THEY made it more than just politics
THIS IS PERSONAL

www.englandsparty.com
www.justiceforengland.com
www.workersofengland.co.uk

'NO GOVERNMENT CAN CHANGE THE SOULS OF MEN, THE SOULS OF MEN CHANGE GOVERNMENTS' - Ed Abrams

[englishlongbow]

[Wear(d) Valley]

This article is also in the Telegraph today.

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/opinion/main.jhtml;jsessionid=J3UYZEIQEASFLQFIQMFSFFWAVCBQ0IV0?xml=/opinion/2006/03/11/do1103.xml&sSheet=/portal/2006/03/11/ixportal.html

I got toothpaste all over the bathroom yesterday when a self-satisfied Scot and a noisy Welshman starting arguing about England and the English, as if they both had a right to. I'm normally quite tidy about cleaning my teeth, but I was doing a brain exercise.

I'd been attempting to keep mentally fit by playing tricks on my grey cells, as advised by all the papers last week. Did everybody see that piece about how to give the brain a workout? I read it and forgot most of it instantly, which just goes to show you.

The only bits I retained are stuck there for life. 1) Provide an oily fish requirement for dinner twice a week (memo to self: buy sardines). 2) Clean your teeth with the wrong hand, which is what I was doing. (Additional memo: not while listening to Today.)

Anyway, there was Charlie Falconer, being pressed by John Humphrys about the need for an English parliament. I wasn't sure I did need an English parliament, but Humphrys can get amazingly over-excited about the least thing over breakfast.

"Scotland has its own parliament," he said briskly. "And Wales has its own assembly. But the Lord Chancellor will be saying today that England will not have its own parliament! Not today, not tomorrow, and not for any kind of future we can see!" He cued in Falconer with "So, why not, eh?"

Charlie Falconer, who knows as well as Humphrys does that this is a fake argument about something that is never going to happen, played his smoothest and straightest bat. He agreed that it might not seem quite fair to Little Englanders (he didn't call them that, but he didn't need to) that the West Lothian question will never be answered. (He didn't call it "the West Lothian question", either, but we all know what it is by now, and he knows we know.)

Pausing only to assure the nation that Tony's Education Bill would pass smoothly and happily through the House next week, he said: "It certainly remains a possibility, but only a possibility, that a Bill could go through with Scottish and Welsh MPs and only a minority of English MPs supporting it."

Humphrys did his excitable best ("But that's not just a democratic absurdity! It's a democratic anomaly!") but old smoothy-chops rumbled on: "It is a clear anomaly, yes. But the right question to ask yourself is: how do you deal with that anomaly in a way that most promotes the Union?" and then began to talk about Scotland and Wales in a way that made this Englishwoman, for one, put her toothbrush firmly back in the correct hand, for fear of swallowing it in rage. The Scots had passionately demanded their own parliament. That's why they got one. The Welsh had demanded theirs. In England, there is no such demand.

There is some demand, in fact. Not from any of the main political parties (though I think the Scot Nats are happy to burble on about an English parliament because they know it annoys Tony). There is a party called the English Democrats, which would like an English parliament, but I haven't looked them up because I veer away from anything that sounds creepily UKIP-like, in case it involves Joan Collins. I did look up a website called the Campaign for an English Parliament (CEP), which posts opinion polls and articles evidencing such demand. But it's not exactly mainstream.

An English parliament is never going to happen. Falconer's argument yesterday with Humphrys was completely artificial. There will never be an English parliament because the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister has already set up the English regional assemblies (like the Welsh Assembly, only much richer) in all the English regions of the European Union.

I know, at the sound of the words European Union, everyone's head hits chest. Mine does, too, and that's the problem. I hear bored, muted voices saying: Surely that's wrong? I thought they'd been done away with, the regional assemblies? I thought Prescott tried to get the North-East to have one and everyone in the North-East said, Oh, get away with you, we don't want one, waste of money - naff off.

Well, he set the things up anyway. Mine is called SEERA, the South-East English Regional Assembly. It has a little sister called SEEDA, the South-East England Development Agency. (In fact, the little sister is called Seeda Ltd). SEERA, which is obviously what I must soon learn to call "my region" (after decades of calling it Hampshire or Oxon or Kent), is based in Guildford. It has a vast and "informative" website, which is a real headache to read, though I try to look at it occasionally in order to keep mentally fit, on the toothbrushing with the wrong hand principle. SEERA is what Humphrys would call "a democratic anomaly", in that its 112 assembly members are not elected by me, or by anyone else I ever met. They're appointed by local government, and most of them seem to be councillors already.

They have a children's website, called South-East England and Me (SEEME), which is a lot easier for grown-ups to understand, though I can't imagine a child I know enjoying it. SEEME tells me that the 112 members are supported by "a small team of staff". Having looked up the "small team", I find 29 people, plus assorted PAs and support, all drawing salaries.

One of them is called Anke Siedler. Her bio reads: "Fluent in German, French and English, Anke's role will be to represent the South-East's interests in Brussels by gathering intelligence, lobbying and networking. She divides her time between Guildford and South-East England House in Brussels." South-East England House? In Brussels? Who's paying for that, apart from me?

Well, you, obviously. This is the future for England, folks. Forget the English parliament.

[englishlongbow]

South-east ENGLAND house in Brussels!!! thats a f*****g long garden!!!

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Love of own Country and own Folk is not a crime! (England Awake, we have a job to do)

[Lance Dragon]

I thought at first that this was a going to be rather infantile piece until I got into it.

She mentions the English Democrats, forget the side swipe, it was obviously intended for readers to take note of.

She mentions the CEP, again forget the apparent slight, it was obviously intended to inform, it mentioned the website.

She revealed the Regional Assemblies and hidden costs, the Brussells connection.

The "forget an English Parliament" was intended to subliminaly provoke the opposite by implying that to stop the Eurorot an English Parliament is the only solution. This was reinforced by naming Prescott, which is guaranteed to compel Telegragh readers to look at an EP.

All in all it was a respectably clever article.
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RBS - Robbed by Scots
The deadliest enemies of the English are the British
Better a "Sour Little Englander" than a Poisonous Wee J ock.

[Richard the Lionheart]

[English Democrat]

We have requested a meeting with this lady, as it would appear she is almost 'on side'

Regards

ED
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Click for English Democrats Site
Tel: 0907 004 1066 (24hrs)