New CEP Branch blog

They're coming in thick and fast, folks!

Yes, we have a new CEP blogger: Mr. Ian Miller from Peterborough. Check out his new blog.

Nice one, Ian.

Reply from John Denham MP, 28th March 2007

Thank you for your letter referring to my recent remarks in the debate.

I understand the point you are making but I am not at all convinced that an English Parliament is the right way forward to develop the sort of inclusive national identity which we appear to both seek. There is however an important debate to be had about the institutions which can express an English identity. My own view is that my new proposals for the structure of the new elected House of Lords does provide part of the answer and should not be dismissed out of hand.

The debate about English identity is an important one and I hope that it will continue.

Yours sincerely,

John Denham MP

Ok.

I didn't dismiss out of hand his proposals of elected Lords- in fact I didn't mention them at all. That's because the issue of the House of Lords had nothing to do with what we were talking about!

In fact, that point proves my point. Mr. Denham argued that people jump straight from English to British identity. I said that this was because there are no English institutions. And yet, our elected English MPs like Mr. Denham are "not convinced" of the need for an English Parliament, but see the solution in reforming our existing- British- institutions.

HELLO?

New CEP Branch blog

I'd like to welcome Steve Allinson, co-ordinator of CEP Surrey & Middlesex, to the blogosphere!

You can see his newly-made blog here.

Nice one, Steve!

Sign the petition

"We the undersigned petition the Prime Minister to agree to the setting up of an English Parliament".

Please sign this petition.

Letter to John Denham MP, 12th March 2007

After a heads-up from Gareth and Chris, I saw that in a recent parliamentary debate, Labour MP John Denham said:

“It is much more likely that a member of the black and ethnic minority communities in Scotland will describe himself as Scottish than that someone in England with a similar background will describe himself as English. People in England tend to jump straight to the British identity”.

“I see no great need for an English Parliament or an English Government… I do not consider that our history leads the English to require a Parliament or Assembly as an expression of national identity”.

I sent this to Mr. Denham today:

Dear Mr. Denham,

In a recent parliamentary debate, you said:

“It is much more likely that a member of the black and ethnic minority communities in Scotland will describe himself as Scottish than that someone in England with a similar background will describe himself as English. People in England tend to jump straight to the British identity”.

In the same debate, you also said:

“I see no great need for an English Parliament or an English Government… I do not consider that our history leads the English to require a Parliament or Assembly as an expression of national identity”.

Does it not occur to you that these two statements are intrinsically linked? In Scotland, there is a Scottish Parliament separate from the British Parliament. In England, we are governed solely by the British Parliament. There is a Secretaty of State for Scotland, but no Secretary of State for England. There is a BBC Scotland, but no BBC England. There is a Scottish National Library, but here we have the British National Library. There is Scottish Labour, but no English Labour. Scotland’s sports teams sing the Scottish National Anthem, Flower of Scotland, while English teams sing the British National Anthem, God Save the Queen. On the 2001 National Census, people were asked to state whether they were “Scottish, Welsh or British”.

Can you see a theme here?

No wonder people in England, as you point out, jump straight to British identity. There are no institutions to maintain and promote any sort of English identity. That is why we are campaigning for an English Parliament. While you do not believe that “our history leads the English to require a Parliament as an expression of national identity”, the fact is the present and the future does require it.

Yours sincerely,


Tom Waterhouse
CEP Vice Chairman