I have received the following message from the English Parliament On Line:
For technical reasons (making space for the upcoming redesigned CEP website), and for more delicate matters of political expediency, it has been necessary to relocate the English Parliament online website.
It is now relaunched under the name Rise Like Lions, and features as its inaugural article a piece on Welsh Nationalism by Wales Home Co-Editor, Duncan Higgitt.
The details that you used on the English Parliament online site can be used to login at Rise Like Lions.
Hope to see you there.
Gareth
Duncan's article is worth a gander!
As many Welsh Nationalists are of a left leaning disposition, here is a left wing English Nat blog for your delectation England's Left Forward
Showing posts with label English Parliament. Show all posts
Showing posts with label English Parliament. Show all posts
23/09/2010
22/12/2007
Welsh MP - English History
Gareth Young's blog regularly comments on the injustice of Welsh and Scottish MPs interfering in what are English only matters since the advent of devolution. It is a point with which I have much sympathy. One of the main reason's for the change of fortune in the devolution debate in Wales was the fact that Wales suffered so much during the previous Conservative government, partially because four Secretaries of State for Wales were MPs from English constituencies who had little knowledge of and less sympathy for Wales. I see no difference between Lembit Opik's new responsibilities for the Lib Dem's policies on housing in England and John Redwood's former responsibility for housing in Wales.
One of the issues devolved to Wales is education and the school curriculum, so I wonder what Gareth will make of Wrexham MP Ian Lucas' latest publicity stunt.
Ian Lucas has published an article in the Fabian Society's magazine suggesting that as Welsh History is taught in Welsh schools and Scottish History is taught in Scottish schools, then "regional" history should be part of the curriculum in schools in the English administrative regions.
Apart from the fact that this devolved issue is none of the Welsh constituency MP's business, Mr Lucas' plan has another fatal flaw. The administrative regions of England are not historical regions, so they don't have a shared regional history.
Coming from Newcastle, Lucas said his own schooling included none of Northumberland's rich history, yet his children's schooling in Wrexham is strong on the history of Wales. And he said the different experience of the industrial revolution around England could be reflected in what children are taught.
But Northumberland isn't an English administrative region Mr Lucas!
I have nothing against teaching local history to children, indeed it is something which deserves support, but isn't the most appropriate historic unit on which such history should be taught the ancient county rather than a non-historic region?
Of course Ian Lucas' silly idea has nothing to do with teaching local history in schools it is part of Labour's plan to "save the union" by denying England's right to exist as a nation. He wants to teach regional history for political rather than educational reasons. It is part of Labour's ploy to force regional rather than national devolution onto England, because Labour hates the idea of English nationalism ten times more than it hates Scottish and Welsh nationalism.
One of the issues devolved to Wales is education and the school curriculum, so I wonder what Gareth will make of Wrexham MP Ian Lucas' latest publicity stunt.
Ian Lucas has published an article in the Fabian Society's magazine suggesting that as Welsh History is taught in Welsh schools and Scottish History is taught in Scottish schools, then "regional" history should be part of the curriculum in schools in the English administrative regions.
Apart from the fact that this devolved issue is none of the Welsh constituency MP's business, Mr Lucas' plan has another fatal flaw. The administrative regions of England are not historical regions, so they don't have a shared regional history.
Coming from Newcastle, Lucas said his own schooling included none of Northumberland's rich history, yet his children's schooling in Wrexham is strong on the history of Wales. And he said the different experience of the industrial revolution around England could be reflected in what children are taught.
But Northumberland isn't an English administrative region Mr Lucas!
I have nothing against teaching local history to children, indeed it is something which deserves support, but isn't the most appropriate historic unit on which such history should be taught the ancient county rather than a non-historic region?
Of course Ian Lucas' silly idea has nothing to do with teaching local history in schools it is part of Labour's plan to "save the union" by denying England's right to exist as a nation. He wants to teach regional history for political rather than educational reasons. It is part of Labour's ploy to force regional rather than national devolution onto England, because Labour hates the idea of English nationalism ten times more than it hates Scottish and Welsh nationalism.
01/10/2007
English Votes for English MPs
According to a report in Scotland on Sunday, Gordon Brown and all Scottish MPs will be excluded from voting on England-only laws under radical Conservative plans to be unveiled this week.
Tory leader David Cameron is poised to back a major overhaul of the Westminster system under which all 529 English MPs would meet separately as a "grand committee" to decide on their own legislation. MPs would then be expected to sit out any full vote in the Commons.
It would be up to the Speaker to designate legislation as English-only.
I can understand why the Conservatives are supporting this move. It is clearly wrong that non-English MPs should have undue influence over English affairs that will have no effect on their own constituents.
However there are some major problems with trying to deal with the English Devolution deficit in the way that the Tories propose.
Firstly, of course the current Speaker is a Scot. I can't see many English people being pleased if the decision to designate any issue as an UK or an English one was to be in the hands of a single Scot! (Although I understand that Speaker Martin is standing down at the next election).
More importantly is the position of Wales. Unlike Scotland, Wales doesn’t have legislative devolution - we only have executive devolution. All the Assembly can do is implement and modify laws passed for the whole of England and Wales.
Those things that have, quite understandably, upset English people such as the Assembly voting to abolish prescription charges in Wales at the same time as Welsh Labour MPs were voting to increase prescription charges in England don’t happen by the Assembly passing a Welsh Law. They happen when the Assembly decides to modify the implementation of an England and Wales Law. If the English law didn't exist, the Welsh modification couldn't happen.
So under the Conservative proposal how do the England and Wales Acts that include clauses that allow the Assembly to go its own way get passed? Clearly such laws would not be England only laws so the idea that Welsh MP's should be excluded from voting on them is unacceptable. But if Welsh MPs do take part in passing them we would still have a situation where Welsh MPs would be voting on laws that will be implemented in different ways in both countries, which will not resolve the devolution deficit in England.
Laws passed in Westminster have to be passed by both the Commons and the Lords. Defining what an English MP is is easy, but what is an English Lord? Is Rowan Williams, the Welsh born Primate of all England, an English or a Welsh member of the House of Lords? Or will Scottish Lords still be able to vote on English or England and Wales only laws?
Will English MPs be prohibited from passing reserved power Wales only laws? If not it will be clearly unfair if English MPs can vote on Welsh Laws but English laws can't voted on by Welsh MPs. On the other hand if only Welsh MPs can only vote on Welsh Laws then Wales will end up with two devolved bodies the Assembly and the Welsh Grand Committee, where as the English will only have one again unfair.
The Conservatives are to be congratulated on realising that the devolution deficit in England is a real problem that urgently needs to be address, it’s a shame that they have decided to go for a dog's breakfast of an answer. Surely the sensible answer to the problem would be for England to have its own devolved parliament or assembly.
Tory leader David Cameron is poised to back a major overhaul of the Westminster system under which all 529 English MPs would meet separately as a "grand committee" to decide on their own legislation. MPs would then be expected to sit out any full vote in the Commons.
It would be up to the Speaker to designate legislation as English-only.
I can understand why the Conservatives are supporting this move. It is clearly wrong that non-English MPs should have undue influence over English affairs that will have no effect on their own constituents.
However there are some major problems with trying to deal with the English Devolution deficit in the way that the Tories propose.
Firstly, of course the current Speaker is a Scot. I can't see many English people being pleased if the decision to designate any issue as an UK or an English one was to be in the hands of a single Scot! (Although I understand that Speaker Martin is standing down at the next election).
More importantly is the position of Wales. Unlike Scotland, Wales doesn’t have legislative devolution - we only have executive devolution. All the Assembly can do is implement and modify laws passed for the whole of England and Wales.
Those things that have, quite understandably, upset English people such as the Assembly voting to abolish prescription charges in Wales at the same time as Welsh Labour MPs were voting to increase prescription charges in England don’t happen by the Assembly passing a Welsh Law. They happen when the Assembly decides to modify the implementation of an England and Wales Law. If the English law didn't exist, the Welsh modification couldn't happen.
So under the Conservative proposal how do the England and Wales Acts that include clauses that allow the Assembly to go its own way get passed? Clearly such laws would not be England only laws so the idea that Welsh MP's should be excluded from voting on them is unacceptable. But if Welsh MPs do take part in passing them we would still have a situation where Welsh MPs would be voting on laws that will be implemented in different ways in both countries, which will not resolve the devolution deficit in England.
Laws passed in Westminster have to be passed by both the Commons and the Lords. Defining what an English MP is is easy, but what is an English Lord? Is Rowan Williams, the Welsh born Primate of all England, an English or a Welsh member of the House of Lords? Or will Scottish Lords still be able to vote on English or England and Wales only laws?
Will English MPs be prohibited from passing reserved power Wales only laws? If not it will be clearly unfair if English MPs can vote on Welsh Laws but English laws can't voted on by Welsh MPs. On the other hand if only Welsh MPs can only vote on Welsh Laws then Wales will end up with two devolved bodies the Assembly and the Welsh Grand Committee, where as the English will only have one again unfair.
The Conservatives are to be congratulated on realising that the devolution deficit in England is a real problem that urgently needs to be address, it’s a shame that they have decided to go for a dog's breakfast of an answer. Surely the sensible answer to the problem would be for England to have its own devolved parliament or assembly.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)