Last weekend the English Democrats enjoyed extensive coverage in a large article in the Financial Times. The article, titled 'England stirs to waving of the nationalism flag' is reproduced below.

Robin Tilbrook, chairman of the fringe Engliah Democrat (sic) party – which has just six councillors but won almost 280,000 votes in th European elections – believes there is a whiff of change in the air.

"National identity is a state of mind, it is a sense of community, if you go to Scotland you can feel a very strong Scottish identity. In England it is not yet as strong as Scotland or Wales – where some people only feel 'British' when talking about passports or benefits – but that sense of difference will inevitably increase."

Later in the article former English Democrats election candidate and TV critic Gary Bushell is also reported as saying that;

it is unfair that English nationalism is sometimes seen as "sinister and unhealthy" while the "liberal media" applaud patriotism elsewhere in the UK. "It's quite understandable that the English think they're getting a raw deal when you look at the present set-up with the Barnett formula. I'm not anti-Scottish, we should just have a parity of equality and our own parliament."

Thelma McGrail will soon start putting out the flags ahead of the biggest day of her year: St George's day.

Mrs McGrail, 63, organises Manchester's St George's Day parade in Miles Platting, a working class district of the city. The seamstress founded it nine years ago with a group of friends after she was fed up of being asked whether she was going to a wedding on April 23: the red rose on her dress instead symbolised her fervour for England.

Attendance has reached 5,000 and the parade is hoping to head into the city centre. "People want to celebrate being English," says Mrs McGrail, who likes to put wheel trims with the flag of St George on her car. "I am dressing up as Queen Victoria and we are going to have belly dancers."

As Scotland talks of breaking away and Wales and Northern Ireland increasingly run their own affairs, there are signs that England is experiencing a growing nationalism of its own.

Robin Tilbrook, chairman of the fringe English Democrat party – which has just six councillors but won almost 280,000 votes in the European elections – believes there is a whiff of change in the air.

"National identity is a state of mind, it is a sense of community, if you go to Scotland you can feel a very strong Scottish identity," he says. "In England it is not yet as strong as Scotland or Wales – where some people only feel 'British' when talking about passports or benefits – but that sense of difference will inevitably increase."

The relative lack of representation of the English is not new, nor is the theme of financial imbalance: the "Barnett formula" has given more generously to those living north of the border for the last 30 years.

Mrs McGrail in Manchester believes most English people would be happy to see Scotland leave the Union. Though she says: "If the Jocks wanted out they should have gone a couple of hundred years ago."

The late 1990s saw a surge of interest in the issue: William Hague, then Tory leader, billed the idea of an English parliament – to counteract the new Scottish Parliament and Welsh Assembly – as his flagship proposal during party conference.

He backed off the idea after John Major, his predecessor, urged colleagues to reject the concept as "an unhappy notion for a Unionist party".

Gordon Brown as prime minister sought to encourage a "British" identity in various ways such as promoting a "British tsar" and writing the forward to a book called Being British.

Now, however, with Alex Salmond, Scottish first minister, planning a referendum on independence, politicians in London are again talking about how to fix the "democratic deficit".

Mr Tilbrook of the EDP says the English should have their own parliament to rectify the lopsided UK constitution. "The Scots and Welsh have a parliament and assembly, why shouldn't the English?" he says.

He is not alone: the idea is also being examined seriously by mainstream politicians.

The coalition has just set up a commission to examine the "West Lothian Question" under Sir William McKay, former clerk of the Commons.

"Scots acknowledge that it makes no sense for English MPs at Westminster to have no say over Scottish health, environment, local government and education, yet Scottish MPs at Westminster have both vote and voice over all those matters for England," says John Redwood, Tory former Welsh secretary. "Isn't it time that we had English votes for English issues?"

Opinion is divided over how this might work in practice, with few backing Mr Tilbrook's idea of an English parliament in a separate building.

A more mainstream idea – put forward by Simon Hughes, a senior Lib Dem MP – is that Scots members should be banned from voting on English issues in the House of Commons.

Malcolm Rifkind, the Tory former foreign secretary, says this might not be necessary. Instead he proposes that all members could still vote on English laws but a government would need a majority of English MPs. That would be anathema to Labour, which would seldom have a large majority among English MPs alone.

Attempts to solve the issue belie a traditional apathy over the issue – for decades many people have used the words "English" and "British" interchangeably.

Yet the "English" identity is starting to harden, according to a recent report by the IPPR think-tank which found that 79 per cent of people wanted Scottish MPs to be banned from voting on English laws.

Richard Wyn Jones, who co-wrote the report, says the trend is a subtle manifestation of national identity: "It's not that people are talking about the West Lothian question in the pub, but there has been an increase in English flags on cars, English tattoos, English football shirts," he says.

The increased use of the word "England" ranges from the benign to the more worrying: for example the rise of the "English Defence League", the far-right anti-Islamist group.

But Garry Bushell, the TV critic, says it is unfair that English nationalism is sometimes seen as "sinister and unhealthy" while the "liberal media" applaud patriotism elsewhere in the UK.

"It's quite understandable that the English think they're getting a raw deal when you look at the present set-up with the Barnett formula," he says. "I'm not anti-Scottish, we should just have a parity of equality and our own parliament."

Where regional pride holds sway

One long-standing barrier to English nationalism is the belief that in parts of England regional identities – "Scouse", "Geordie", "Brummie" – trump any national pride.

In Cornwall, where there have long been calls for some form of devolution, Dick Cole, the leader of nationalist party Mebyon Kernow, says Scottish independence would leave England in an even more dominant position.

"We've always felt it was an unbalanced relationship, that we're just tagged on to the bottom of the country," says Mr Cole. "People would want more local say rather than playing second fiddle to London and south-east England politics."

Scotland's increasing assertiveness has raised fears in the north-east that it may be sandwiched between an ever more powerful northern neighbour, luring inward investment with lower business taxes, and a south-east indifferent to the further regions.

Here there is little appetite for English devolution: some people ponder, only half joking, if they would be better off Scottish.

"I hear many people saying, if Scotland is going to get all these advantages can't we leave England and join Scotland?" says James Ramsbotham, chief executive of the north-east's Chamber of Commerce.

Keith Shaw, professor of politics at Northumbria University, calls north-easterners "The Unenglish". "We aren't Scottish; we aren't English." He predicts a resurgence of regionalism rather than enthusiasm for an English parliament.

Perhaps with this in mind the coalition will launch mayoral referendums across 11 English cities in May, including Newcastle, with elections in November for those which vote Yes.

Lord Heseltine, the Tory grandee, says these mayors will put the biggest English cities "on the same par as Alex Salmond in Scotland": others may see the elections as a consolation prize for England's continuing lack of its own parliament.

Comments (3)

Subscribe to this comment's feed

Show/hide comments

Mr Politics and History

At last!!! A proper debate and sensible options. It is better to deal with these issues sooner rather than later because they will not go away with time; more likely, they will just get worse. We need to resolve the West Lothian Question and find a solution for an English Parliament so to attain balance and equality in the union. If we do not act now then we only fan the flames of the extreme nationalism by aiding there cause through division and giving them the ability to rise.

Peter Davis , February 14, 2012

• 
• +0
• 
• 

Mr

This article seems to be Wishy Washy on the logical suggestion that there should be an English Parliament
but at least it does write about the idea. No mention of why we don't have a great out-pouring of demands
for this parliament! The reason is that England and the English have been deliberately ignored or denigrated
by the Media. Giving all people in England the feeling that they must not be pro English.
In other words we have been subjected to a "Brain Washing Campaign" this has work quite well unfortunately!
However with Salmon trying for independence we are forced to wake up from our slumber!
This reminds me of "Man proposes but GOD disposes! The EU scandal also is spoiling the plans of the Media campaign. We wait to see the next move by the EU fanatics.

John Dodds , February 14, 2012

• 
• +0
• 
• 

CORNISH, ENGLISH AND PROUD!!

I am from Birmingham but have lived in Cornwall for many years, at the momment i am back in Birmingham working,
i can tell you 100% that the vast majority in cornwall consider themselves to be english,
if you go to the pubs when england are playing it is full with people supporting england and in the world cup you will see cars and houses adorned with the flag of st george, so if cornwall did have a referendum then 99% of the people would vote to stay english,,and that is fact from a cornish citizain.

TONY. , February 16, 2012

• 
• +1
• 
• 

Write comment

Name

Email

Title

Comment

smaller | bigger

Subscribe via email (registered users only)

I have read and agree to the Terms of Usage.

SUBMIT