2013-05-25T00:50:23-04:00 Eddie Bone http://www.huffingtonpost.co.uk/author/index.php?author=eddie-bone Copyright 2008, HuffingtonPost.com, Inc. HuffingtonPost Blogger Feed for Eddie Bone Good old fashioned elbow grease. tag:www.huffingtonpost.com,2013:/theblog//3.2646304 2013-02-08T10:54:44-05:00 2013-04-10T05:12:01-04:00

Eddie Bone http://www.huffingtonpost.com/eddie-bone/
Leanne Wood has talked about Wales being an Independent Country within the next decade or at least outside the British Union established in 1707. At last it would appear that the probable effects of a Yes vote in the Scottish Independence referendum are starting to sink in. Yet Leanne Wood is still not quite there as she continues to make fundamental mistakes which need to
be corrected. If Scotland does vote Yes to independence the UK will be automatically dissolved.

The Campaign for English Parliament (CEP) has for some time been expressing concern on behalf of the Welsh as we do not want to see the Welsh trapped in some 'botched state' as the British government finally panics, opens its eyes and acknowledges the UK might be no more. The CEP, realising this dilemma, has been calling for a clear dividing constitutional wall where an English Parliament sits next to a Welsh Parliament. Both thus ensuring the future democratic co-existence of each Nation. However for a federal system to work all the nations of the UK must recognise each other. Thus it was with great disappointment that I realised that Leanne had made another fundamental error as she automatically assumed that British dominance is English dominance. It is not, they are different. David Cameron doesn't speak on behalf of the English, he is the British Prime Minster.

I for one ( I am an Englishman) have no desire to see a parochial Anglo-centric future for the Welsh or indeed Scotland. So like my Welsh and Scottish cousins I am also filled with "horror". But my horror, as an Englishman, is based on a far more precarious position because the English do not even have a First Minister or an English government to protect English concerns. Leanne rightly talks about all the four nations of the UK having 'blindly obvious' differences when viewing their interactions with the EU '. However I have to assume she means the people living within the countries because when she talks of national interests she seems to forget that England as a nation is not recognised by the EU. She goes further and talks about each country needing to play its part on an equal basis in the negotiating team but how can English interests be represented equally or indeed at all when they are not recognised?

During the article Leanne describes herself as a democrat but I challenge her to define what she means by 'a political union of equals ' when one country in that union, a country with 1000 years as a unified state is England, now does not have the basic requirements to make it equal? In the name of being a democrat and nationalist will she call for an English Parliament for her English cousins?

Ms Wood mentions the size of our respective national populations and attempts to make the point that 3 million people should be listened to, for an Englishman that believes in parliamentary democracy with accountability it isn't hard to see the injustice of a forced policy by a British government. The English understand your concerns, I need only mention, prescription charges, tuition fees and foundation hospitals to show we understand what suppression means. However is it right that 5 million Scots can decide the future existence of the UK and dictate the future of 55 million English and 3 million Welsh without them both having their own referendums to see if they want to remain in a union with Scotland?

Blaming a 'political class in England' isn't helpful in finding a solution to the constitutional problems of the UK. The Welsh deserve a better response than that. The political class that Leanne talks about obviously includes Welsh MPs because its a British political class and it's based in Westminster and its called the UK parliament. Although this political class votes on British matters, to my 'horror' Welsh MPs also vote on "English Only" matters as well. They know full well that their vote has no democratic accountability yet they continue. I cannot help but wonder if Leanne is also filled with 'horror' at that? What is obvious is that the Welsh do have a different relationship with the EU because Leanne rightly points out the Welsh financially benefit from the EU whilst keeping their national identity. On the other hand England has been broken up into 9 "Regions" and is without a political voice. If Leanne wants a fair deal over the EU in / out referendum maybe she should support a fair deal for England first by openly supporting the calls for an English government. Yet she remains surprisingly quiet regarding this.]]> tag:www.huffingtonpost.com,2013:/theblog//3.2543043 2013-01-24T12:19:09-05:00 2013-03-26T05:12:01-04:00

Eddie Bone http://www.huffingtonpost.com/eddie-bone/
Scenario number 1:-

The SNP loses the Scottish independence referendum in 2014 and a form of Devo-Max is introduced across the UK. Scotland and Wales keep their national identities whilst England is broken up into nine regional pieces. Two years after this in 2017 the EU "in/out" referendum is undertaken and the results show overwhelming support for EU membership from the Scottish and Welsh populations but complete rejection from the English regions, who due to the size of their combined population dictates a withdrawal from the EU. The SNP would shout very loudly that the democratic rights of the Scottish were being ignored and trampled upon. The Scottish government along with the Welsh government would have a legitimate right to claim that the British government was forcing its will onto both the Scottish and Welsh people. Due to that claim the SNP could instigate a second independence referendum, whilst Plaid Cymru could instigate their first independence referendum for Wales. However, this time all the pro EU political parties would be supporting independence for both countries. The dissolution of the UK would occur and potentially the social union could become a hostile relationship between the nations of the UK due to their different relationships with the EU.

Scenario number 2:-

The SNP wins the Scottish independence referendum in 2014 and refuses to call for an in /out EU referendum. The EU countries annoyed by the British government's attempted tactical negotiations with them use the potentially fatal internal problems faced by the countries within Britain to clearly state that all former negotiations with the EU were by a British government that no longer legally exists. They seize the opportunity and state that Scotland, England and Wales now need to negotiate completely different terms with them. Scotland and Wales embrace the EU without calling for an "in/out" referendum but a British government that now only controls England which is heavily influenced by a new anti EU Englishness pushes ahead with an in /out referendum and England leaves the EU.

David Cameron's pronouncement of an EU "in/out" referendum has created a number of scenario's that the UK might face, some have far reaching consequences if we want to maintain a stable social union between our different national groups. You only need to look at our islands history to see our troubled past - stable working relationships can quickly change. Only arrogance and ignorance would tell you that history won't repeat itself.

Of course, David Cameron's dilemma can be avoided. If he supported a structured national federal system with a coherent foreign policy that fairly represented all the nations of the UK then he would be able to argue that he had a mandate for the UK. However, to do that he would need to create an English executive and he would need to do so very quickly.]]> tag:www.huffingtonpost.com,2012:/theblog//3.1942077 2012-10-05T08:28:19-04:00 2012-12-05T05:12:01-05:00

Eddie Bone http://www.huffingtonpost.com/eddie-bone/
Undoubtedly the style of Ed Miliband's speech on 2 October 2012 at the Labour Party conference was like a breath of fresh air amongst the dark smog of British politics. However it was disappointing that the content lacked the oxygen that England so urgently needs if Britain is to witness the resuscitation of English democracy.

By calling for 'One Nation', Ed Miliband unfortunately showed a constitutional naivety whilst failing to ensure that English concerns were addressed. The democratic process has failed England and Ed Miliband's speech at times resembled the actions of an ostrich sticking its head firmly in the ground before the approaching devolutionary lion.

To clarify why an Englishman would feel so downhearted by his speech we need to examine his words. The first point is that Ed Miliband's lack of constitutional understanding was clear when he stated:-
"There's no more important area of our common life than the United Kingdom itself. One of our four countries, Scotland, will be deciding in the next four years whether to stay or to go.
"I want to be quite clear about this - Scotland could leave the UK. But I believe we would be far worse off as a result. Not just in pounds and pence, but in the soul of our nation'.

His assumption on this point is incorrect and he made a terrible mistake as Scotland cannot leave the UK because it is an integral part of the UK along with the other countries. If Scotland becomes independent, the 1707 Act of Union is made redundant and the UK is finished. His 'One Nation' vision would collapse.

Second; he continued to state that the economic system is broken but failed to state that the economic and political system for England is the most skewed in the UK. Daring to express that England needs its own government to deal with its unique economic situation appeared to be treated with absolute contempt during the speech. Instead Ed Miliband presented as being in fear of upsetting Scotland, i.e. he will hold onto Scotland at all cost! To an Englishman it does not matter if Scotland decides to become independent, what matters, is English self-determination and that there is also equality amongst the countries of the UK. Only then will the gist of his 'One nation' idea work.

Third; Ed's statements of:-
"So we must be a One Nation party, to become a One Nation government to build a One Nation Britain'.
Can be easily challenged and any politically aware person would accept that the Labour party is far removed from this concept. For a start there are separate Scottish and Welsh Labour parties but not one for England and there are separate TUC's for Scotland and Wales but not one for England.

He made statements such as "I don't believe that solidarity stops at the border. I care as much about a young person unemployed in Motherwell, as I do about a young person unemployed here in Manchester. We have common bonds'.

He even consolidated this view and mentioned reducing 'Tuition fees from £9000.00 to £6000.00 per annum' but he forgot to mention that this so-called solidarity and common bonds has meant that Scottish students receive free tuition whilst English students pay. He talked about the city riots in Britain but they also only affected England.

He talked about a fairer deal for the people of Britain but he failed to mention how unfair the Barnett formula has become for the people living in England. It is not as if he would be unaware of this unfairness. It was acknowledged at the Labour conference not by Ed Miliband but by the Scottish Labour leader Johann Lamont when she stated:-

"It is likely that the Barnett formula, far from starving Scotland to death as is often asserted, is actually fattening us to the point of dangerous obesity. Bizarre as the thought may be, could the UK actually be killing us with kindness?" Not the words of Norman Tebbit. Not the words of George Osborne. But Mike Russell, the man Alex Salmond has put in charge of our schools."

Point four of an Englishman's complaint was that his speech at times was just simply puzzling. He mentioned 'You can't be a One Nation Prime Minister if all you do is seek to divide the country. Divide the country between north and south. Public and private' ..... 'We must be the party of south just as much as the party of the north'.

Yet only weeks and days earlier Labour Think Tanks such as the 'Hannah Mitchell Foundation', 'My Left Foot' and the 'IPPR North' were calling for a northern parliament or highlighting the North / South divide. The question has to be asked has Ed Miliband lost control of his policy makers?

And the last point, Ed Miliband talked passionately about the importance of the NHS and its fabric in his one nation vision.
'The magic of the National Health Service, for me, is that you don't leave your credit card at the door... Not values of markets, money and exchange but values of compassion, care and co-operation. That is the magic of the NHS; that is why the British people love the NHS'
Yet never has there been a clearer example of inequality in health provision amongst the UK countries than since the creation of the NHS. He appeared to forget that it is only the English who have to pay for their prescriptions, who don't receive subsidised elderly care, who don't receive certain medications free at source. For the people of England this means they do indeed leave their credit cards at the door.
Yet for all of the above Ed Miliband is right to be enthused when he stated
'In every generation, there comes a moment when we need to change the way we do things. This is one of those moments'.

The English agree with him on this as that moment is about to come. But for an Englishman 'it's important to re-establishing an English Parliament before we start talking about 'One Nation'. Maybe that will be the 'English nation'.]]> tag:www.huffingtonpost.com,2012:/theblog//3.1900341 2012-09-20T11:28:59-04:00 2012-11-20T05:12:01-05:00

Eddie Bone http://www.huffingtonpost.com/eddie-bone/
During these negotiations the British government will claim to speak for all the nations of the UK yet individually it speaks for none. Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland all have First Ministers to speak on their behalf. It is England alone that is left vulnerable and without a voice and during these negotiations the people of England will not be properly represented.

Currently these negotiations will be held between Scottish representatives of the British government (Brit-Scots) and Scottish representatives of Scotland (Nat-Scots). This is of grave concern as all negotiations need to be truly representative of those involved. If negotiations are not transparent and fair then the aftershock of the referendum could be devastating. How you identify yourself will become imperative. The nationality of Michael Moore, Alistair Darling, Nicola Sturgeon and Alex Salmond is obvious, Brit or Nat they are all clearly Scottish. Now all political leaders involved need to declare their nationality as well. Just being 'British' is not enough for these negotiations as Britishness is a political construct.

To illustrate we need to examine what happens when other states divide. The creation of Pakistan in 1947 is a good example. How ridiculous would it have been if negotiations only occurred between Pakistanis and Pakistanis with India being excluded from the discussions? Another more recent and sobering example is Tito's Yugoslavia. We need to learn from the past and understand that only fair representation will stop the threat to maintaining a peaceful UK.

Those living in England now have a choice; embrace Englishness or allow a British government to control them by the very successful method of 'divide and rule'. Splitting groups and stifling sensible debate is one way the British establishment will succeed. Another is excessively favouring one group; in the case of the UK this is seen by the English as overly favouring Scotland whilst creating division in England. British representative Lord Mountbatten provided an outstanding example of British imperialist technique of creating division. It is now accepted that he overly favoured India during negotiations with Pakistan and they ended tragically in bloodshed. The effect of that division is still noticeable today.

England should probably thank the SNP. Their referendum may help release it from the chains of an unfair settlement introduced in 1998. The SNP have given the people of England an opportunity to embrace a rebirth of English identity. This identity needs to be inclusive which although richly influenced by all the cultures living in England will be held together by the cement of Englishness. This is not to say that British multiculturalism has failed but it is now necessary for it to evolve and embrace a new approach.

This new approach is essential due to the potential cessation of the UK. Multiculturalism needs to flower into an English multi-ethnic and multi-racial society that unites all the skills held within our communities. Having the courage to move forward provides a fantastic opportunity. The creation of an English Parliament will facilitate a rebalancing of all ethnic identities within the political process, ensuring ethnically diverse views and representations are included. It would allow everyone to stand together, different but harmonious.

Instead of being entrapped by an outdated imperialist British identity dipped in the blood of colonialism, all ethnic identities could become involved in the creation of an English Parliament, laying a claim to protect democracy and the subsequent standards of living in England. An English Parliament and a cohesive, harmonious English voice that appreciates we have different political and social views are needed to unify England.

Many settlers in England took on a British identity without issue and embracing Englishness will be no different. For Englishness to fully supplant Britishness, everyone in England needs to feel a kindred spirit towards being English. This has been achieved in the US and people of diverse cultural backgrounds embrace being American. For example: Indian English, Polish English, Australian English, West Indian English and so forth, as the American model shows.

This does not mean that people settling in England should give up their national origins. If they want to, they should embrace their past and traditions and forge them into English society through democratic process. Scottish devolution has shown the English what communities can achieve if they argue the case of protecting national interests - together we will be strong. Scotland has developed a new sense of self, England can do the same. Devolution has given all living in England a new chance, a new beginning just as Scotland is experiencing. Let's start working together! Let's protect England and our future.]]> tag:www.huffingtonpost.com,2012:/theblog//3.1842498 2012-08-30T19:00:00-04:00 2012-10-30T05:12:01-04:00

Eddie Bone http://www.huffingtonpost.com/eddie-bone/ Independent published the following article:- "We're rewriting the nations future. Here's how it looks..."

In response, the Campaign for an English Parliament has its own take on the possible future of the UK...

Imagine it is autumn 2024! It's 10 years after the SNP won their independence referendum. It's also 10 years after the Glasgow Commonwealth games which was widely credited as the time when public opinion swung in favour of Scottish independence.

King William V of England is making his first state visit to Scotland and is scheduled to unveil a statue of Gordon Brown, Donald Dewar and Alex Salmond locked in warm embrace, under the title 'The Scottish claim of rights'. A newly formed Republic of Scotland wants to highlight the problems being experienced by the break-up of the United Kingdom.

During the visit Alex Salmond, the Scottish prime minster representing a coalition between the Scottish Labour Party and the Scottish nationalists complains about the new border controls as the countries of the former UK now have different agreements with Europe. England (having re-incorporated Wales) left the EU in 2020, whilst Scotland voted to become part of the new European fiscal union. Tension is noticeable along the border, as new detention camps for illegal immigrants have been set up in Gretna and Carlisle. England insists that international borders apply even though the revamped Scottish Labour Party insists it is having a detrimental effect on the economy of Scotland. Having re-established its own Territorial waters, England started in 2018 to rebuild its fishing fleet and is demanding that Scotland complies with international law over its fishing rights and that Scottish fishing vessels do not enter the waters around the newly established English oil and gas fields.

After the Scottish referendum the majority SNP government initiates radical social change and introduces gay marriage, the right to die, lowers the legal driving age, introduces minimum alcohol prices and legalises cannabis which leads to the SNP Splitting.

In England the split in the Conservative movement has healed with a merger with the successful but now defunct UK Independence Party. Conservative policy making has shifted to the right, however the newly formed Conservative Unionist party continues to campaign to re-establish the UK.

The Labour Party's has also healed the rift with the socialist left and traditional grassroots support mergers with the rump of the Liberal Democrats after the great slaughter of 2015. The internationally focused Labour party in 2021 remains the 2nd largest party in England but is losing ground to a rival English nationalist party as the English demand a voice to counter the SNP's aggressive economic policies that are harming growth in Northern England. The Scottish Parliament attempts to create unrest in England by promoting a Northern Parliament because it sees economic advantage in splitting England into two regions. Earl Cameron of Chipping Norton publishes his biography in 2023 and explains how he regrets not realising his premiership was the last opportunity for saving the UK. He states that he "hates being known as the last UK Prime Minister" and he denies missing the opportunity of creating a workable federal UK.

Having quickly ended the extra subsides provided by the Barnett formula in 2015, the English instantly experience a souring of relationships, British political parties split along nation lines and the Tartan Tories are formed. Scotland refuses to shoulder the British debt as it wants to continue with maintaining free at source principles towards healthcare. The majority Conservative government is formed with a clear majority in England in 2015 and pushes through radical private health and welfare reform in England.

These different political and social ideologies create competing banking systems in each country and contrasting rates of corporate tax are quickly introduced after the referendum. Scottish and English people in 2024 have completely different educational, social and political experiences. the English become resentful seeing free health and education in Scotland and young people in English cities riot in 2018, 2019 and 2021 which feeds English nationalist demands.

Due to the unrest, the Conservatives are able to introduce harsh penalties, which include the death penalty in England, as the Scottish courts of refusing to extradite people to England. The different police forces argue at the border

In 2019, The English abolish the Welsh Assembly stating that is impossible to control the borders between the two countries. The English want to focus on stopping the smuggling of alcohol and medication across the Scottish borders and demand stiff penalties for those involved. The Welsh are powerless to stop a dominant English parliament as no constitutional settlement has been agreed. In 2022 wind farms and new reservoirs are built across Wales in answer to the energy crisis being experienced in England. The SNP before it split in 2017 return the some of England's nuclear weapons which are now based in Wales.

In 2016 The British Army, Royal Navy and Royal Air Force are disbanded and new English forces created but a mercenary Scottish division is retained to replace the now defunct Ghurkhas. The SNP immediately leave NATO and Argentina uses the opportunity to seize the Falklands. Due to the turmoil, England is powerless to act.

In 2023 the republican movement within Australia wins a decisive referendum and now the talk amongst the other Commonwealth nations is of winding the Commonwealth up. In Ireland the Garda struggles to control the unrest in the north as militant protestants have taken up arms to contest Sinn Fien's United Ireland referendum which was instigated after Martin McGuinness used the centenary of the Easter uprising to galvanise popular support.

The Butterfly effect occurred because the British government failed to offer a rational Devo Max opinion and a fair federal system in 2014. It failed politically to recognise a fair deal for all the nations of Britain was needed. This failure ensured the success of the Scottish independence Referendum.]]>