Panorama - shhh, don't mention the English...

Many who watched the Panorama programme, True Brits, this week, may have been struck by the disparity of the treatment of Scotland and England. In Edinburgh the presenter proclaimed that Scotland had once been an independent country with its own parliament - yet no mention was made of the fact that England had once been an independent country, with its own parliament. Although Scottish devolution was discussed as a possible, though unintended, driver for the dissolution of the UK no mention was made that the current unequal devolution settlement will only further the alienation of England's people - who are always second best within the UK while subject to the whim of a UK parliament full of MPs not elected in England. It is about time the BBC actually addressed the democratic deficit in England - they didn't hesitate to talk up Kosovan independence recently, why not democracy for England too?

A long time coming....

But now the mainstream media are predicting both the end of the union and of the Labour party.

In both cases this is being blamed on the flawed devolution that was forced through by NuLabour in Scotland and Wales. At the time, Nu Labour claimed that devolution would kill nationalism and separitism stone-dead in Scotland. The Tories, who argued that unequal devolution would fuel Scottish separitism and revive English nationalism, were dismissed as right wing nutters by the BBC and Guardian front. As for the other media, I recall Minette Marin writing an article in The Times about how benign a constitutional reform devolution had been, I emailed her at he time saying that, far from being benign, Scottish devolution would revive the SNP as the opposition to Labour in Scotland - and it did, now the SNP are in power.

The whole sorry devolution mess left England ruled by a Labour party with Scottish interests at heart and England's role being the cashpoint for the whole UK, but without any democratic body solely representing England's people.

In the Sunday Times, Simon Jenkins reads the Glasgow East election result as the end of the union:

http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/comment/columnists/simon_jenkins/article4407171.ece

And in the Daily Telegraph, Iain Martin sees the end of the union and the Labour party in a double whammy from the SNP, in Scotland, and the revitalised Tories in England.

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/opinion/main.jhtml?xml=/opinion/2008/07/30/do3001.xml

At some point the Tories will have to grasp that they will never be able to rule in Scotland again, as the SNP are the party of choice for voters abandoning Labour in Scotland. In the event of a Tory UK government in 2010 (or before 2010?) The SNP will then play the foreign-rule from England card on every issue. When the Tories do get it, perhaps we'll finally see some recognition that England needs it's own parliament and that then, and only then, will some post-devolution UK federal settlement be possible.

In the meantime I can't see how Labour can get out of the mess of their own making - unequal devolution will be on Labour's headstone.

Scottish plan land grab at Berwick.

And who will speak up for England's interests when the Scottish parliament votes to take over bits of England? Hmm, why our Scottish Prime Minister of course! or maybe our Scottish Chancellor!

The article is not online but the text from the Sunday Post is here:


Scots plan to capture20 miles of England
By Campbell Gunn
A politician has called for the Scottish border to be moved 20 miles south.Liberal Democrat MSP Jeremy Purvis says current calls for Berwick to be transferred back to Scotland are not ambitious enough.

He wants to see the border moved 20 miles to take in a large area of Northumberland.Mr Purvis claims it could be done quite simply, with two statutory instruments, one each at Holyrood and Westminster.
One is already going through Westminster as the Government is set to abolish Berwick-upon-Tweed Borough Council.
So a simple order at Holyrood could see a massive land grab by Scotland go ahead.The move comes as a television poll for ITV's Tonight programme, carried out in Berwick, is expected to show a majority in the town in favour of a shift to Scotland.
Strong feeling
"There's a strong feeling that Berwick should be in Scotland" said Mr Purvis, who was born in the town. "Until recently, I had a gran in Berwick and another in Kelso, and they could see that there were better public services in Scotland."Mr Purvis continued, "Berwick as a borough council is going to be abolished and it would then be run from Morpeth, more than 30 miles away." All that would be required would be two statutory instruments, and one of them is already going through the House of Commons." "So it would only need a statutory instrument at Holyrood and then all that would be required would be an adjustment of the Borders Council area to take in part of England." "Scotland would then go down almost as far as Alnwick, as the Berwick Borough Council area extends 20 miles south into England.

Well, the benefits of devolution for Scotland are clear - when will England get a voice?

Stephen

England excluded (no change there then) from UK devolution

Please follow the link below to see who is deciding the future direction of the UK's devolution process, here's a clue, they're all Scots.......and England is not on the agenda.

http://thecep.org.uk/news/?p=371

You could ask your MP why this is so?