Nationalist Mayday - Justice for england march

[q_w_e_r_t_y]

England urgently needs its own parliament,

tution fees - pushed through by Scottish MPs
charter schools - pushed through by Scottish MPs
foundation hospitals - pushed through by Scottish MPs.

The Brit left is one of the things which is fuelling the right wing in England, its a fundamental democratic right to determine what goes on in your own country through its representatives, not pushed through on the backs of reps from other countries where they would get lynched if they tried supporting it for their own constituents.

Britain and the butchers flag have a disgusting reputation. There is nothing commendable about a political union which systematically raped the globe. English folk have lost their radical history, which the Scots have been recovering for a number of years.

In Scotland, the independence movement has a very progressive edge, apart from a couple of nutty groups around the fringes it is opposed to the forms of British identity currently being imposed - "British Identity" Cards; the British immigration regime; the British support for imperial wars.

England has so much potential to reclaim its history, to redefine its identity and leave Britain well behind.

Get on the demo, for heavens sake and reclaim Englishness from the little Englanders and England for the people who live there.

 

[Frank1]

An English Parliament

The English Question,

Do the English need their own separate political voice, to compete with the political voices of Scotland, Wales, and Northern Ireland?

Would an English parliament satisfy this need?

Do we the English need votes on English laws by English MPs only?

Do we want total independance for England?

Do the English need devolution?

What would it mean for England to withdraw funding from Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland?

I see these questions as part of the English question. The political agenda has come to recognise these and other questions like these as a result of devolution to the other countries of the UK. Scotland, Northern Ireland and Wales. The English question is probably the biggest political issue in the country today, although you wouldnt think so with the media coverage the way it is.

Devolution has changed the whole country's system of government, but to only 15 percent of the population.

England has 85 percent of the total population of the country and has been totaly left out of the devolution process. If the English are ever given the choice to opt in, the choice they make will be to have an England that governs itself without the influence of Scotland, Wales or Northern Ireland. This will have massive consequences for the government of England and the whole country but especially for the future of the Union.

psychological literature on identity revolves around Erikson's (1968) stages of identity development and the four major identity statuses articulated by Marcia (1980)-diffusion, moratorium, foreclosure, and achievement, which people experience in their quest for identity.
Now I dont know if I suscribe to all this psychobabble myself I believe identity is passed down through family, community and schools. Identifying with a particular culture makes people feel they belong and gives them a sense of security. Culture can also play a part in promoting social wellbeing in other ways. A strong national culture or identity, and strength in creative endeavours, can be a source of economic strength and higher material standards of living.

Identity is a huge issue for the English people, We all need a firm sense of identity. I asked a few of my friends and work colleagues about how they approach their childrens upbringing, cultural issues quickly become important as many are from different cultures to the English, I was especially pleased to hear the English people I asked say that Culture was more important now than ever before what with devolution for all the other country's of the UK but not for England.

Culture refers to the customs, practices, languages, values and world views that define social groups such as those based on nationality. Cultural identity is important for people’s sense of self and how they relate to others. A strong cultural identity can contribute to people’s overall wellbeing.Identifying with a particular culture makes people feel they belong and gives them a sense of security.

 

[rhys gethin]

The English Question,

Do the English need their own separate political voice, to compete with the political voices of Scotland, Wales, and Northern Ireland?

London, I supposed, had devolution.

 

[treelover]

yeah , this 'barnet' question certainly needs resolving

 

[Frank1]

Barnet Formula

Unfair formula? Not in my name says Barnett
BRIAN BRADY
WESTMINSTER EDITOR ([email protected])

THE most committed political anoraks glaze over, members of the public run for cover and even MPs yawn widely, but in one 70-year-old man the dread words "Barnett Formula" are provoking fury.

Lord Barnett has had enough, and is demanding that his name be removed from what he says is an "embarrassing" Treasury formula that puts an extra £1,000 per head on Scotland’s spending power when it comes to public services.

And the former cabinet minister says he is now ready to take on Westminster’s "Scottish Mafia" and fight for the end to a legacy that has blighted his life for 25 years.

He told Scotland on Sunday: "I wrote a book on this in 1982 and I never even referred to it as a formula, let alone the Barnett Formula. I wish they would stop using my name.

"It was never meant to last this long, but it has gone on and on and it has become increasingly unfair to England. I didn’t create this formula to give Scotland an advantage over the rest of the country when it comes to public funding."

However, the exasperated peer admitted that no-one in government was likely to be interested enough to tackle the measure, originally designed to allocate extra Treasury funding among home nations on the basis of their population.

"It is a great embarrassment to have my name attached to so unfair a system," he said.

"Especially as, when I introduced it, it was going to last only a year. It has now lasted more than 20 years, because successive governments have failed to deal with it for fear of upsetting the Scots."

He added: "I’d be astonished if anyone in the government had any real influence over Gordon Brown on this one. But ultimately it will have to change, and I’ll be doing my best to make that happen sooner rather than later."

It has lasted 20 years because of a fear of upsetting the Scots
The then Joel Barnett was chief secretary to the Treasury in Jim Callaghan’s ill-fated government when he was asked to produce a funding formula that would be fairer to all parts of the country - and buy off the burgeoning electoral threat of Scottish Nationalists north of the Border.

But the short-term fix thrashed out during the desperate last throes of a Labour government survived almost two decades of Tory rule and remains untouched by six years under Tony Blair.

MPs and councillors in the north-east of England claim the set-up guarantees the Scots £537 per head more in public spending than their region, producing an annual funding gap of at least £1.3bn.

They, along with Barnett himself, are urging Brown to introduce a "needs-based" funding formula which would recognise the varying rates of poverty around the UK. Economists calculate that such a change would cost the Scots up to £2.5bn a year.

Barnett’s efforts to distance himself from his formula won him little praise from those campaigning to overthrow it.

"It may well cause Lord Barnett embarrassment, but it has done a lot more damage than that to the people of the north-east," said Councillor Bob Gibson, leader of the Association of North-East Councils.

"I have no doubt that, at the time, there was a need to put more money towards Scotland but the balance has now shifted so far the other way the northern regions are really losing out. But it doesn’t matter what it is called, it is the formula which is wrong."

An SNP spokesman underlined the problems Barnett still faces if he wants to appease the opponents of his creation once and for all.

He said: "One of the basic problems with the Barnett Formula is that Barnett himself doesn’t seem to understand it. It is a convergence formula and so it will disappear when the populations change.

"But any change away from the formula, apart from full financial independence for Scotland, would not be in Scotland’s interests."

Dumbarton MP John McFall, chairman of the influential Treasury Committee, predicted more years of misery for Barnett.

He told Scotland on Sunday: "Lord Barnett said he only came up with the formula to get people off his back 25 years ago and they are still jumping up and down on him about it today.

"Things are changing, not least in the assertiveness of English MPs, so we should at least be talking about it. But until there is convergence through population there is merit in keeping the formula in place."

 

[Frank1]

The English Question

Call to examine 'English question'

The Scottish Parliament is less than a year old

A left-wing think tank has called for the government to establish a commission to resolve the "English question" left by devolution.
The Fabian Society report, called The English Question, argues that establishing assemblies in Scotland and Wales could result in a constitutional crisis.

The report says devolution should not be regarded as a finished settlement and, although the Scottish Parliament and Welsh Assembly are less than a year old, their presence is already leading to a number of anomalies.

These include a lack of representation at a regional level in England and the continuing ability of Scottish and Welsh MPs to vote on English matters, the so called ''West Lothian Question''.

It also questions the Barnett formula for public spending, which, it says, is over-generous to Scotland and Northern Ireland in comparison to England and Wales.

'Constitutional crisis'

The report, co-edited by Labour MP Tony Wright, says: "Once a government at Westminster is dependent on Scottish votes to secure English measures, such matters will cease to be merely anomalies and will become the stuff of constitutional crisis."

The report accepts the need to change the legislative and voting system at Westminster to allow English MPs to vote on English matters.

Dr Wright adds: "From now on devolution stops being an argument about somewhere else and starts being an argument about England, the English question is now on the table and will not go away."

The report wants the government to set up a commission on the constitution, made up of individuals from across the UK, to debate the options put forward.

Michael Jacobs, general secretary of the Fabian Society, said: "There is legitimate disagreement about the various options for English government.

"There is a clear demand for elected regional assemblies in some regions, but not in others.

"But democratic decentralisation in some form is imperative. When Rover collapsed, who was there to speak -and act - for the West Midlands?"

 

[Frank1]

Youtube

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