The Berwick Advertiser has the following article on the CEP’s very damp rally in Berwick-on-Tweed on Saturday:
English Parliament campaigners look to Berwick for support
CAMPAIGNERS calling for the establishment of an English Parliament were in Berwick at the weekend to begin a month of activities across the country.
About a dozen members of the Campaign for an English Parliament (CEP) came to the town from all parts the country to distribute leaflets and increase awareness of their efforts.
Michael Knowles, a member of the CEP national council and head of its media unit, said: “The theme for all our activities this month is the same.“We are arguing that if we are one union – which we just about are – then, within reason, everyone should enjoy the same benefits.
“However, the disparity between England and Scotland has become quite grotesque. We want England to have the same benefits as Wales and Scotland because it is England which is paying for most of it.
“We are here because a lot of people in Berwick know there is a campaign which is working to get the people of the town the same benefits that the Scottish Parliament has achieved for Scotland.
The Campaign for an English Parliament was launched a decade ago after legislation to devolve power to Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland was put before parliament.
Mr Knowles said the CEP boasts about 5,000 members from across England.
More on this shortly.
Spotted in Berwick Advertiser
This entry was posted on Monday, September 8th, 2008 at 9:00 am by wonkotsane, is filed under Berwick, Press and tagged with Berwick, Press.You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.
“However, the disparity between England and Scotland has become quite grotesque. We want England to have the same benefits as Wales and Scotland because it is England which is paying for most of it”.
Quote from Mr Knowall in Berwick Advertiser. How is this true when all the revenue from North Sea Oil & Gas goes into UK coffers and not to Scotland?
September 10th, 2008 at 3:30 amBerwick has been abandoned by England for years; even their football team has to play in the Scottish leagues because English FA doesn’t want them.
Most Scots, that I have talked to, want an English Pariament too, as long as they keep their Oil, Gas and Fishing Rights. Sounds reasonable to me.
Your point about the football team is the easiest to answer so I’ll address that first. Berwick Rangers have the choice of which league they want to play in, subject to the relevant FA accepting them. Cardiff Swansea and Wrexscum (sorry, couldn’t help myself) all play in the English leagues. I’m a Shrewsbury Town supporter and the biggest cup wins in their history are winning the Welsh Cup 6 times. In fact, 15 out of the 39 teams that have won the Welsh Cup are English.
Your point about fishing rights is also quite a simple one – the Scots don’t have any more control over their fishing rights as any other EU member state. Quotas are set by the EU, as are the elvels of subsidies and the rules requiring excess stocks to be thrown back into the sea on pain of a huge fine are also EU rules.
Finally, North Sea Oil. Before The 1964 Continental Shelf Act, the maritime border between England and Scotland was an extension of the land border in accordance with international law. The land border points north east and north west at the coast putting a lot of what is now claimed as Scottish territorial waters into England’s jurisdiction. The British government, without consulting the people of England, handed over vast oil and gas reserves and fishing waters by moving the maritime border so that it extends from the coast on a parallel. Should Scotland seek independence or fiscal devolution, we would certainly be pushing for the 1964 Continental Shelf Act to be amended or repealed so that England is not deprived of those resources that it is entitled to.
That aside, according to the last set of available figures from the Treasury, the subsidy paid to Scotland by the English taxpayer was £11.3bn and the revenue from North Sea oil and gas was £7bn which leaves a £4.3bn gap. This assumes all revenues from North Sea oil and gas are attributable to Scotland which, even if the maritime border remains as is, is not the case as some of the North Sea still falls within English jurisdiction.
On a final note, England hasn’t abandoned Berwick. Scotland is run by the Scottish government, England is run by the British government. It is the British that have abandoned Berwick (if, indeed, it has been abandoned) not England. You must learn the distinction between English and British, they are not the same.
September 10th, 2008 at 5:53 amWell said Sir ! Bendover needs to replace his kilt with Troouusersss !
September 10th, 2008 at 7:35 amlets face it north sea gas-oil is kept out of brit news,english people dont know much about it because it isnt in the news and you arnt kept informed but in scotland it is always in the news money is gushing to westminster (nobody else in europe has got it)ok norway)and westmin gov keep screwing us ? where does the money go thats the question we need answered.
ps good result for engerlund the other night as the fans sang”rule britania and god save the queen all night ,just maybe england want to stay british
September 12th, 2008 at 2:01 pmWell said, Wonko! The facts about the North Sea Oil need drumming home.
September 13th, 2008 at 1:00 amI don’t give a monkeys about the final tally. Give Scotland what belongs to her. Which is most of it. Come on, be fair guys.
Also, can I assume we will not be arguing about who’s oil it is when the Western Scottish fields are ‘discovered’ by Brown and co?
http://www.oilofscotland.org
September 18th, 2008 at 1:06 pmGive Berwick Upon Tweed back to Scotland. We only want all the land of What is Berwick Upon Tweed that is North of the River Tweed, not Spittal, Tweedmouth or the Borough Of Berwick Upon Tweed. We demand the right of this town the proper county town of Berwickshire to be returned under Scottish control under the jurisdiction of The Scottish Parliament to be under Scots law. England has no right to be interferring with the daily business and order of the once proud Scottish Town. The proper border is The River Tweed.
June 10th, 2009 at 1:06 pmHello BillyfromScotland.
If the Tweed is the border then surely by your argument Yetholm and Kelso which are south of the Tweed should be in England! I think the border should be left alone. Berwick is and always will be an Anglo-Scottish town.
June 10th, 2009 at 1:28 pmWhy can’t the Scottish just campaign for their referendum instead of this immature land grabbing. There is no desire for any part of Northumberland to join Scotland.
June 11th, 2009 at 7:23 pmNo Francis, it is not upto me or you who decides to change the Border Line, it is upto the people of Berwick to decide, and should be given a proper referendum to decide if they want to live in Scotland or continue to be English. One man like myself would like to see them back in Scotland by rights, but we live in a democracy so that one man can dictate what really happens. Actually I visited last Monday Kirk Yetholm and Kelso( Kelso is north of the River) and the accent is Scottish and so is Kirk Yetholm as I had dinner in the Border Hotel (very reccomended) so both places are well and truly Scottish.I was of course on my way home from a superb caravan holiday at Berwick Holiday Centre.
The thing is Francis, do your geography, the River Tweed starts right inside of Scotland quite close to where the River Clyde starts and therefore it is classed as a fully Scottish River and you need a Scottish permit to even fish it at Berwick Upon Tweed. Another thing is after visiting Paxton House in Paxton Village,approx 4 miles outside of Berwick Town, comes under Scotland and classed as a part of Berwick upon Tweed and shares the same postcode.
The fact that Berwick was invaded and taken by the English through war, with the orginal inhabitants murdered in cold blood means it is stolen property and Scotland has a right to claim it back. The true fact of matter is Berwick Upon Tweed is a part of Scotland being ruled by its bigger English dominant neighbour who has no right being there. The fact that both nations are practically at peace and in a union, I see no reason at all for Berwick upon Tweed to be returned to Scotland. Whenever I visit Berwick I know that I feel that I am not in England but still in Scotland. Yes the accent there is mixed because people come top Berwick from all over and its hard to know if you are a Berwicker born & bred or a vistor. I am sure the accent in Berwick upon Tweed(North of the Tweed) is the same exactly the same as Paxton or anywhere else in the Scottish Borders. Obviously, someone who has moved from Newcastle to live in Berwick is not a true Berwicker when it comes to accent. If you speak with a Scottish accent then you must be a Scot or if you speak with an English accent then you must be English. Simple as that. Infact I don’t think changing Berwick to being Scottish would be much of a problem. Infact Kelso and Kirk Yetholm were agreed to be Scottish under The Middle Marches when there was a Borderline needed to be drawn between the two nations.
June 14th, 2009 at 1:01 pmBerwick Upon Tweed … isn’t quite English and it is as well ..
from Undiscovered Scotland..
Under the Treaty of Perpetual Peace between Henry VII of England and James IV of Scotland in 1502 (just 11 years before the Scottish army and nobility was destroyed by the English at the Battle of Flodden) Berwick was given a special status as being “of” the Kingdom of England but not “in” it. As a result the town thereafter needed special mention in royal proclamations.
This had one odd effect. When Queen Victoria signed the declaration of war on Russia in 1853, she did so in the name of “Victoria, Queen of Great Britain, Ireland, Berwick-upon-Tweed and the British Dominions beyond the sea.” But Berwick was not mentioned in the Treaty of Paris that concluded the Crimean War in 1856, leaving the town technically still at war with Russia.
A peace treaty was only finally signed by a Russian diplomat and the the Mayor of Berwick in 1966. As the mayor said at the time: “You can tell the Russian people that they can now sleep peacefully in their beds”.
So Berwick upon Tweed is sort of not in England .. the good news is that North Berwick has no identity crisis, it definitely Scottish .
Leave Berwick UT alone its a lovely place and all the more interesting for its peculiar situation, get off the A1 ( turn right ) and go an visit it, its got a terrible and fascinating history.
June 14th, 2009 at 6:33 pmI was there on the first weekend in June from 5th-8th. But it makes a mockery of having it in England. It should be in its mother country of Scotland , that where its heart lies. It could be handed over peacefully with no bloodshed. You are so right about its history McFeagle.
June 16th, 2009 at 12:55 pmDave, we not wanting the whole of Northumbria as part of Scotland just the town of Berwick Upon Tweed on the north of the Tweed and its bounds which is roughly about 3 miles or so. We are not interested in the whole Borough of Berwick Upon Tweed. Even if that happened, the inhabitants would be free to visit England and beyond. Berwick would be better off with us in Scotland. It is about righting a wrong here. We are its orginal owners and we want it to come back to it’s mother’s country. SIMPLE.
June 16th, 2009 at 11:47 pmThanks for your perspective on this Billy, you’ve obviously done some history homework. It is genourous of you to wish to share the benefits you enjoy under the Barnett Formula with your fellow Berwick Englishmen; however, personally I feel that we would all benefit from a higher level of public funding throughout England. Does your generousity reach as far as the Midlands? We could do with some extra funding too!
June 17th, 2009 at 5:14 pm