Crossofstgeorge Debate

[Hotspur]

Sun

IF Gordon Brown really wants a holiday that puts him in touch with voters he should take a week's leave in England where most of his policies apply.

He could volunteer in one of England's cancer wards, soothing the dying while explaining why they couldn't have the same access to drugs his own constituents enjoy.

DELLA PETCH
Driffield, E Yorks
_________________
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".

[Hotspur]

http://www.doncasterfreepress.co.uk/letters/Come-back-to-us-Mr.5553623.jp

Come back to us Mr Mayor




« Previous « PreviousNext » Next »View GalleryPublished Date: 13 August 2009
RE the new mayor. We are really pleased that you have found fame, if not fortune, in Doncaster as an English Democrat but we miss you so much! We had such a lot in common and how silly it now seems that we broke up over such a trifling issue as an English parliament.

We can only hope that one day you may decide that our differences are less important than the views we share.

John Andrews
UKIP
Thorne Road
_________________
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".

[Hotspur]

http://www.yorkshirepost.co.uk/letters-to-the-editor/Tuesdays-Letters-Keeping-a-balance.5561932.jp

Health cash link to need for home rule

From: Della Petch, Campaign for an English Parliament, Burdale Close, Driffield.

THE issue of car parking fees (Yorkshire Post, August 7) goes much deeper than our rulers will care to admit.

Hospital parking fees have been abolished in Wales and are being phased out in Scotland. Just like the rising prescription fees, the British government only charges patients in England for these essential services.

A government can be judged on how it treats the weakest in society. Thanks to the Barnett Formula, patients in England are under-funded by over £200 per head of population, per year, compared to those in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland. So while we in England pay the highest stealth taxes on healthcare and everything else, we receive the lowest funding.

England may have the shortest waiting times (doctors and nurses know all about those dubious figures), but we are also denied some life-prolonging drugs and other treatments available to the neighbouring Celtic fringes, due directly to this underfunding.

So next time any MP pontificates about the need to charge for
healthcare access, remember that they only ever mean those in England should pay these fees.

They do not say the same about Scottish patients, because their colleagues would lose their places in the Scottish Parliament. That's also why none of the main parties will discuss the direct impact that the Barnett Formula has on English taxation and healthcare.

Alan Johnson, the previous Health Secretary, said that the Barnett Formula was a price worth paying to keep Scotland in the Union. It's a very high price indeed and a fickle friendship that demands it.

The truth is, we simply can't afford not to have an English Parliament, because as long as we are the only remaining nation in the UK ruled wholly by the British Parliament, we will always be the first place for the Scottish Chancellor to come calling in order to fill that gap in his tax coffers and the last place career politicians stick their necks out for.
_________________
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".

[HomeRuleforEngland]

Southern Daily Echo 19.8.09

New Work Scheme

A new part-time-working scheme has been introduced by the Welsh Assembly.
Called ProAct, it allows businesses in Wales that face making redundancies to put workers on short-time working without cutting salaries, and to use the extra time to give them additional training.
It's not available in England of course!

Derek Marshall
The Campaign for an English Parliament
_________________
The don't like it up em!

[Hotspur]

Sun

GORDON BROWN has talked about the next level of devolution for England and breaking our wonderful country up into city regions.


How much more of this man must we tolerate? Now is the time for an English Parliament, before Brown and his cronies orchestrate the destruction of our great nation.


STEPHEN THOMPSON
Hythe, Kent
_________________
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".

[Hotspur]

http://www.yorkshirepost.co.uk/letters-to-the-editor/Thursday39s-Letters-Airport-decision-will.5506832.jp

Social justice for those in England

From: Oliver Healey, Sunningdale, Hadley, Telford, Shropshire.

BRITAIN'S democracy has only been part finished, its evolution not yet complete and its model of government smouldering in flames of contempt and voter distrust.

Devolution from Westminster and Whitehall has enabled the drumbeat of social justice to beat louder in Scotland and Wales and in Northern Ireland, but England, the majority partner in the British Union, does not get devolution.

Until the flame of English Liberty erupts from this barren soil and reclaims social and equal justice for every one living in England, no matter what colour or religion, England will not be the strong and fair community that will deliver prosperity for all its citizens,
but a bankrupt and socially deprived society
_________________
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".

[Hotspur]

Scots had guts to resist pressure of warped Americans
Wednesday, August 26, 2009, 09:20
12 readers have commented on this story.
Click here to read their views.

SCOTTISH Justice Secretary Kenny MacAskill was right to release Abdel Basset al-Megrahi (the supposed Lockerbie bomber) on compassionate grounds.

Whatever the controversy or your views on the merits of the release, it was a Scottish decision from a Scottish parliament for Scottish people which rubber-stamped their capacity to make their own decisions in an international arena.

A separate England and a separate Wales should try doing the same.

It is thought a website called boycottscotland. com has been set up, supported by the FBI and a top U.S. military officer – yes probably from the same ilk as the ones that took us to war in Iraq where our English, Scottish, Welsh and Irish soldiers were butchered for the warped U.S. way of life.

This website is making statements like: "We urge all Americans to protest this action by boycotting the United Kingdom and Scotland" and "Don't travel to Scotland or do business there (or in the United Kingdom in general) and don't buy any British or Scottish products."

Well I wish they would hurry up and begin this boycott now. We need to break free from the chains of the U.S. and stand on our own two feet and this could be just the catalyst for it to occur.

It is the U.S. economic model emulated by the British that has brought about near world collapse, so if they boycott our goods it can only do well to kick start our own new economy based on British Island independence for the home countries.

Let's face it, the UK–U.S. model has failed miserably.

KEVIN RAFTERY

Newcastle





http://www.thisisst affordshire. co.uk/news/ Compassion- needs-balanced- justice-victims/ article-1292697- detail/article. html





Compassion needs to be balanced with justice for victims
Friday, August 28, 2009, 08:00
1 reader has commented on this story.
Click here to read their views.

I DISAGREE with Mr Kevin Raftery's letter (The Sentinel, August 26), apparently condoning the decision of the Scottish Justice Minister, Kenny MacAskill, to release Abdel Basset al-Megrahi on compassionate grounds.

While the devolution settlement gives certain powers to the Scottish Executive, it does not prevent the rest of us from challenging decisions made in Scotland when we disagree with them, particularly those of great importance to us all and to our reputation around the world.

The release of Mr al-Megrahi was a disastrous decision to which we are all entitled to register our shock and .

I would like to see tougher and more meaningful sentencing of all criminals, let alone terrorists such as Mr al-Megrahi who served just 11 days for every life taken at Lockerbie.

Compassion for criminals and terrorists must be balanced with compassion for victims and their families and the imperative that justice be served.

Equally shameful is the conduct of our "invisible" Prime Minister, Gordon Brown, who has found time to let us know his position on England's superb cricketing victory, but not whether he agreed with the decision to release Mr al-Megrahi.

Gordon Brown must explain why it is necessary to risk British soldiers lives in the 'War on Terror' in Afghanistan when he is ambivalent over the release of convicted terrorists back home in the United Kingdom.

Once we complained only of the failure of Gordon Brown's leadership, now it is hard to detect evidence of any leadership at all.

We are fast approaching the point at which the patriotic act for Gordon Brown would be to resign and let others, with the courage and tenacity to lead pick up the pieces.

ROBERT JENRICK

Conservative Parliamentary Candidate for Newcastle





http://www.thisisst affordshire. co.uk/news/ National- laws-allowed- stand/article- 1302834-detail/ article.html







National laws must be allowed to stand
Wednesday, September 02, 2009, 08:00
Comment on this story

MR JENRICK'S remarks in The Sentinel, August 28 do not address my fundamental points that independence and self determination for England as well as Scotland, Wales and Ireland could initiate a stronger and more dynamic economic model. But instead uses the issue to spearhead a personal attack on Gordon Brown and the Labour party in a pitiful attempt to score points.

It's the same old, same old, which emphasises that those affiliated to political parties have still not grasped the reason why the electorate are fleeing in droves.

I thought I made the point clearly that whether I thought this man should have been released was irrelevant.

That Scottish law dictated this man should be released on compassionate grounds was fundamental to the argument and if a different law expressed a different sentiment in an English Parliament for example, I would stand by that decision also.

Running parallel to my main argument of independence for the home nations was the U.S. perspective on decisions that they do not like.

Thus, kicking up a fuss and threatening boycotts because of the release, obviously influences that decision, and any future decisions, governments might have to make.

I unequivocally agree that 200 innocent people murdered over Lockerbie was a disgusting atrocity.

However, hundreds of thousands have been massacred in the Middle East, including the false war in Iraq, and nobody has even been brought to account, never mind jailed.

I am all for harsher punishments for criminals but I also believe that what is written in any constitution, or governing laws, should be adhered to.

KEVIN RAFTERY

Newcastle
_________________
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".

[Hotspur]

Telegraph

SIR – The institutional inequity of Scottish MPs voting on English issues can never have been more powerfully shown than in the Megrahi affair, constitutionally pitting a Scottish Executive against a British Government – with the added injustice of our Prime Minister representing a constituency in Scotland and without an English mandate.
Was David Cameron right in declaring Conservative policy "wrong" to oppose devolution in this form?
Timothy Bradshaw
_________________
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".

[Hotspur]

http://www.pontefractandcastlefordexpress.co.uk/letters/Parliament-for-England.5336004.jp


Parliament for England




Date: 04 June 2009
A RADICAL redistribution of power to the people, David Cameron's own words.
Wouldn't the fairest solution be for our controllers to stop pretending the English no longer exist as a nation and allow the people of England their own Parliament.

New Labour gave the Scots and Welsh the right to develop their own Parliaments. Now is the time to give the people of England the same rights.

J COOPER
Brunswick Gardens
Garforth
_________________
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".

[Hotspur]

Independent
9.9.09
Greater Scotland
Independence for Scotland (Letters 8 September) will have my full support, provided that Northern Ireland is included with it. The immigrant ancestry of Northern Ireland is far more Scottish than it is England, and so Scotland and Northern Ireland should go together."
John Trapp
Swaffham Bulbeck, Cambs.
_________________
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".

[Hotspur]

Salisbury Journal


Who is standing up for soldiers?



Salisbury Journal 03.09.09



As the difficult war wages in Afghanistan outnumbered British troops are fighting a fanatical opponent in the interests of democracy. None can doubt the courage, skills and bravery of our troops.



But, the English soldier unlike his Scottish, Northern Irish or Welsh counter part has no assembly or parliament to speak out for his democratic rights.



The English MPs sitting in Westminster lack the courage to stand up for the rights of the English.



It is ironic that this same government sent these soldiers out to Afghanistan to fight for a democracy that is denied them in their own country.



This government underfunds the military, as stated by Sir Richard Danatt, and the opposition MPs. The English soldiers when they return to life as a civilian will like the rest of us who live in England face inequalities in NHS provision, tuition fees, costly prescription charges and hospital parking fees.



Their Welsh and Scottish neighbours face none of this and these gaps will only get bigger as the democratic inequality in the United Kingdom continues.



Our English troops will have to put up with Scottish MPs ruling over them even though they do not represent one person in England or its interests.



Who is the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom? Well, he is a Scottish MP who signed the Scottish Claim of Right, a document that states he will put the Scottish people and Scotland’s interests paramount. This same man as Chancellor is also responsible for cutting military funding even though it was known that we were off to war.



This government will NOT in any way allow for an English Parliament to defend the views of England, unlike the assemblies and parliament enjoyed by the Welsh, Northern Irish and Scottish colleagues of our troops.



It is disheartening to know, as an English soldier, that you are undervalued in not having a government, and as an English person in terms of democratic equality. Your life is on the line for democracy in a far off country and yet the government in our own country favours the devolved nations.



We cannot afford to not have an English Parliament anymore.



Fred Best

Wilton
_________________
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".

[Hotspur]

Western Daily Press


A question of parliaments



In response to the recent letters from Mr. Hutt and Greg Heathcliffe I have the following comments.



The Scottish MPs are singled out in respect of tuition fees because their votes enabled the introduction of tuition fees in England when the Scottish Parliament had voted against such fees for their constituents. As a result of their vote, students in England have the highest levels of debt in the UK while students in Scotland have their tuition fees paid for by the Scottish government.



Regarding the cost of an English Parliament the significance of budgets for devolved departments also being devolved to an English Parliament cannot be ignored as these departments would no longer be the responsibility of a UK government.



This along with abolishing the Ministers for the Regions, the unelected Regional Assemblies and the Regional Development Agencies would provide perfectly adequate funding. I would also suggest abolishing the Government Offices of the Regions.



Mr. Hutt states the 1707 Act of Union makes England and Scotland the same country and the 1998 Devolution Acts didn’t change that.



The 1707 Act states that the United Kingdom of Great Britain be represented by one and the same Parliament, to be styled the Parliament of Great Britain and that all parts of the United Kingdom forever, from and after the Union, shall have the same allowances, encouragements, and drawbacks.



If all parts of the United Kingdom under the 1707 Act of Union are deemed equal then why do Wales and Northern Ireland now have national assemblies and Scotland a national parliament while England alone has no national representative body?



The 1998 Devolution Acts have obviously changed the relationship between Scotland and England. If this were not the case then why do people in England still pay for prescriptions, hospital parking, and tuition fees for example?



As for Westminster having all the power because it can invoke primary legislation, while this is true in the case of the assemblies, the Scottish Parliament does in fact have powers of primary legislation.



Despite the protestations of Greg Heathcliffe and Mr. Hutt, there is no logical constitutional argument against an English Parliament while the Scottish one exists. If the European Union and the United Kingdom government allow a Scottish Parliament to exist then neither can reasonably argue against the establishment of an English Parliament.



Veronica Newman
_________________
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".

[Hotspur]

Dual citizenship

Published Date: 10 September 2009
How very thoughtful of the SNP, in its latest attempt to persuade the Scottish electorate that it can enjoy all the benefits of the Union without being a part of it, to offer them continued citizenship of the United Kingdom by way of dual citizenship (your report, 9 September).
In another extraordinary piece of presumption, the party tells voters that an independent Scotland will be able to share UK embassies.

All this may be in the interests of five millions Scots. It would in no way be in the interests of 50 million English (the Welsh and Northern Irish will have their own views) and should not be on offer. No doubt your readers will understand, as the SNP clearly does not, that the remainder of the United Kingdom would have to agree to such arrangements.

JAMES MATTHEWS

Great North Road

London N2
_________________
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".

[HomeRuleforEngland]

Southern Daily Echo 12.9.09

What about Zeaxland-Wessex?

http://www.dailyecho.co.uk/yoursay/deletters/4590783.What_about_Zeaxland_Wessex_/

ALEX Salmond, Scotland’s First Minister, has announced plans for a referendum on Scottish independence.

If he secures a ‘yes'’vote, that would answer the so-called West Lothian question posed by Tam Dalyell years ago. The English Democrats would achieve their English parliament without having to get elected.

Salmond’s poll highlights the weak position of Zeaxland-Wessex, vis-à-vis Scotland.

Wessex was the first European country to emerge as a nation state with its own national language. By comparison, Scotland is a Johnny-come-lately.

Also, the population of Zeaxland-Wessex (the south of England) is two or three times greater than that of Scotland.

It is not right that while Scotland can follow her own path, Zeaxland-Wessex does not even have an assembly, let alone a parliament.

TR SPRATT, the Young Wessex League.
_________________
The don't like it up em!

[Hotspur]

western daily press


England left off the list again

The agenda for the 2009 Conservative Party conference has been published.

Here is the list of speakers for the discussion on The Union:-



Cheryl Gillan - Shadow Secretary of State for Wales

David Mundell - Shadow Secretary of State for Scotland

Owen Paterson - Shadow Secretary of State for Northern Ireland

Nick Bourne - Leader of the Welsh Conservatives in the National Assembly

Sir Reg Empey - Leader of the Ulster Unionist Party



There is one glaring omission from this list of speakers - a representative for England!



No doubt it is a foregone conclusion that England is of no importance within The Union.



Veronica Newman
_________________
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".