The Campaign for an English Parliament

“In the island of Britain today there are three governments representing three constitutional and political bodies. There is the Scottish Parliament, there is the Welsh Assembly, there is the United Kingdom Parliament. They represent Scotland, Wales and the United Kingdom. Constitutionally and politically just those three exist. Constitutionally and politically England does not exist. That situation, and its implications, constitutes the English Question.”

David Blunkett (2005), A New England: An English Identity within Britain

Despite its comparable size and apparent dominance within the UK, England does not have self-determination. Important matters such as education fees and our hospital system have over the past 10 years been significantly determined through the votes of Scots politicians.

Those politicians have no mandate from the people of England. They are mandated through votes of people in Scotland (a distinct nation, where those same matters are nationally self-determined).

To English students paying expensive fees and facing debts, this is no small example. But MPs, with no mandate from the people of England don’t just influence English legislation, they influence the government that England gets and are often part of that government. Without our own parliament, no-one speaks for England.

No parliament…

England is ruled by a UK Government drawn from MPs elected within England’s borders and MPs elected outside England’s borders. This government is accountable to the UK Parliament which is comprised of MPs from across the UK and, ultimately, accountable to all the people of the United Kingdom.

Unlike the people of Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland, who have all been given the opportunity and have chosen to set up their own democracies and national governments, the people of England are governed as the rump of the UK with English interests regarded as indivisible from the interests of the UK as a whole. This leads to the situation often referred to as the West Lothian Question in which MPs elected outside England can make laws and vote on laws that affect only England when competence for the concomitant legislation has been passed to the devolved administrations that govern their constituents.

No Parliament – No Voice

Who speaks for England? The answer is no-one – directly. The UK parliament, composed of MPs elected in England, Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland, speaks for the United Kingdom as a whole.  England’s interests are regarded as either equivalent to the interests of the United Kingdom as a whole, or subordinate to the greater whole, and whilst individual MPs may speak out on England’s behalf if they so wish, they are neither elected  nor mandated to do so.  By contrast the devolved administrations in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland speak for the people of Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland respectively.

Above: The Joint Ministerial Committee: Members of the Scottish, Welsh and Northern Irish governments meet the UK Prime Minister  (June 7, 2010 – Photo by WPA Pool/Getty Images Europe)

As the prime minister of the United Kingdom David Cameron – and before him Gordon Brown – does not, and cannot, fulfill the same role for England as Alex Salmond does for Scotland.  As if to underline the fact that England has no voice and no one to speak on its behalf, David Cameron stated before he became Prime Minister that “I do not want to be the prime minister of England”.

No parliament – no equality

The Campaign for an English Parliament believes that public spending should be directed to where it can be most efficiently used, no matter where the border happens to come on the map. The concept of funding for nationhood rather than actual needs should disappear.

The UK Parliament has failed to defend England’s financial interest. This means that today the average English person gets around £1600 less per person per year from central government than a resident of Northern Ireland, and around £1500 less than a denizen of Scotland.  Wales is similarly disadvantaged.

The origins of Scotland’s high levels of public spending has its roots way back in the 1880s.  The Conservatives opposed Home Rule for Ireland partly because they feared it might also spread to Scotland. Tory Chancellor of the Exchequer, George Goschen, who had defected to the Tories in opposition to Gladstone’s policy on home rule for Ireland, came up with a rule designed to push money towards Ireland and Scotland in a bid to buy off independence. Many people believe that this policy of ‘Killing Home Rule by Kindness’ is still in effect today.

Professor David Bell of Stirling University has analysed the impact on Scotland of the Welsh Assembly’s Holtham Commission report into a needs-based funding formula to replace the Barnett Formula.  He calculates that a move to a needs-based formula could lose Scotland £4.5 billion a year of Treasury funding.  We at the Campaign for an English Parliament do not campaign for lower funding for Scotland and Northern Ireland; we call for fair and transparent funding for all irrespective of national borders.

No parliament – no accountability

It is the job of an MP to represent, defend and promote the national interest and to further the needs and interests of constituents wherever possible. But in which national interest do they serve and to which nation are they accountable? At the election England came within a hair’s breadth of being ruled by a coalition reliant on the support of Scottish and Welsh nationalists. Where do you think their loyalty lies?

MPs and Ministers elected outside England are not directly democratically accounatable to English voters in important areas of governance such as Health and Education, yet they have the same voting rights as English MPs and equal opportunity to serve in government.

It is also the role of your MP to help furnish and maintain Government and Opposition so that the business of parliamentary ‘democracy’ may proceed. The Government of the day calls upon all its MPs, irrespective of the nation in which they were elected, in order to conduct its business.

It is for this reason that Parliament divides along party lines rather than national lines, which means that the UK Parliament can never properly function as a dual mandate English and UK Parliament.  Although Parliament has a majority of MPs elected within England there is really no such thing as an ‘English MP’ because no MP is elected as such, and consequently, because Parliament divides along party lines, there is no ‘English majority’ that can be relied upon to protect England’s national interests.

For MPs in the UK Parliament, elected on a UK manifesto, the national interest is the national interest of the United Kingdom. And given the nature of Parliament, which is essentially an electoral college that selects the UK Government, the majority of MPs can be expected to put the interests of the UK Government above those of England.

An English parliament for England

Politicians are good at promising change but not very good at delivering. We in the CEP believe that one change will be more progressive for England than all the other promises put together.

For far too long the people of England have been ignored and side-lined by Westminster. England needs it’s parliament back, to provide a national voice for England.

The people of England deserve to have their own parliament representing their interests in the same way the Scots, Welsh and Northern Irish do. The English people deserve a parliament that will speak in the interests of the English people; that is democratically accountable to England alone; that represents and is representative of the English nation; an English parliament in recognition of English nationhood.

The asymmetric democracy that has resulted from asymmetric devolution simply will not do.  Each nation of the United Kingdom should have equivalent democratic representation so that each nation of our Union stands as an equal, both in regard to one another and in relation to the centre.

Let’s make it happen

Register as a supporter of the Campaign for an English Parliament

The Campaign for an English Parliament (CEP) is made up of ordinary people of England who volunteer their time and support. We receive no corporate support, public funds or means of income outside that which is received by members’ donations or membership subscription. We are also a non-partisan and cross-party campaign.

We would obviously prefer you to become a full member of the CEP, but we know only too well that times are hard in England.

If you can’t afford to become a member but you agree with the three points below. Please sign up as a supporter of the CEP.

As a supporter you add weight to our campaign when we tell the establishment how much support we have. If you leave your email address then we will send out occasional emails keeping you up to date on the most important issues affecting England.

1.  I believe that England is a nation and has the right to determine  the form of government best suited to its needs.

2.  I support the CEP in its aim of stimulating a national  conversation on the governance of England; in establishing a  cross-party, pluralist, English Constitutional Convention, and; in  securing a referendum in England on the establishment of an English  parliament.

3.  At such time that there is a referendum in England on the  establishment of an English parliament I will vote YES because I believe  that England should have its own national parliament and government.

Sign up as a CEP supporter.