It has come to my attention through speaking to one of their parliamentary candidates that the EDP is promoting the demonstration organised on Parliament Square for the 18th November by the Campaign for an English Parliament (CEP) as its own. This is the kind of dishonesty we have come to expect from politicians and an aspect of the EDP’s behaviour that we in the CEP particularly dislike.
When tasked with abrogating to itself the events organised by the CEP, which is not an offshoot of the EDP, since it was established years before the EDP, EDP representatives come out with the stale mantra that we are all fighting on the same side. No, the EDP fights only for its own promotion as this and other similar incidents testify. If the EDP is really fighting alongside the CEP then the EDP would have no difficulty acknowledging what the CEP does instead of pretending otherwise. Other EDP representatives accuse those who criticise it of creating disharmony in the ranks of the English network. May I suggest that it is the behaviour such as described above that creates the disharmony.
In addition may I point out that the event organised in the House of Commons for the 18th November is likewise a CEP event. Members of the EDP who are also CEP members are entitled to come as are other EDP members who may become temporary members of the CEP on payment of £20 or are guests of the CEP. May I remind you that you are there as members or guests of the CEP and not as representatives of a political party.
Scilla Cullen, Chairman, Campaign for an English Parliament
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Well said Scilla Cullen, over the last couple of months “The Wessex League, The Wessex Society and the Wessex Party” have all in the shape of one man have switched to supporting the English Democrats in The Western Daily Press. I personally wouldn’t want anything to do with him and wonder what sort of deal has been done!
Just because we share the same objective, we should not allow the English Democrats to hijack all our ideals.
October 28th, 2009 at 7:20 amScilla, i am a member of the ED’s and i also follow intently the work of the CEP. I have no problem acknowledging your sterling efforts.
October 28th, 2009 at 8:11 amWhilst i understand your frustration at the ED’s attaching them/ourselves to the demo, surely a private communication of your position would be better. Every tiny division between the groups that support an English Parliament will be siezed upon by those that oppose us.
Just my opinion you understand.
Good luck in all you do
Hello Daggs,
Private communications have got us nowhere. The last straw was illustrated in my first sentence.
October 28th, 2009 at 8:54 amScilla
This type of thing is unfortunately happening more often.
The fact is that people trust pressure groups more than they trust politicians these days. No one wants to talk to politicians, really.
Political parties are envious and quick to hijack the good things that pressure groups do.
Remaining outside the political world is the best way to advance an argument.
regards
October 28th, 2009 at 9:27 amTim
It would appear from its list of events that the EDP is indeed advertising a demo on 18th November in Parliament Sq called ‘Justice for England’.
Underneath that on the list is the CEP event in the House of Commons on 18th November, listed as such with Scilla as the contact.
October 29th, 2009 at 2:48 pmI do not imagine that a completely separate application to the Met Police was filled in by anyone in the EDP or that the Met would grant two different organisations permission to demonstrate in the same place at the same time on the same day.
October 29th, 2009 at 3:25 pmIt was a member of the CEP that has, and always has, arranged with the Met for demonstrations in Parliament Square even tho’ such events have been advertised as Justice for England events on the EDP website. J4E has nothing to do with the organisation of the CEP.
October 29th, 2009 at 3:27 pmSo, let’s be clear about this. The CEP has organised a demo on Parliament Sq, but this isn’t advertised on the CEP site (well it is not obvious to me at least)?
The EDP has organised a Justice for England demo, wanting an English Parliament which must have been cleared by the Met because of its location. Perhaps this was done to support the event inside the House, rather than an attempt to steal the limelight, I don’t know.
There have been previous misunderstandings, rather than deliberate misinterpretation or usurping, for example the case with the EADT writing about a CEP event and inadvertently giving the impression it may have been organised by the EDP. In that case the contact information was unambiguously the CEP and any misunderstanding arose because a senior EDP member forwarded the CEP press release to the EADT as requested by a senior member of the CEP. The editor innocently thought it was a joint event. There was no attempt to mislead.
This was explained to CEP and EDP council members.
October 29th, 2009 at 4:02 pmStephen,
Why would the EDP organise a separate demonstration when we had already informed our members of ours and some of them are also members of the EDP, including the person who is named on the EDP site as the EDP ‘organiser’ of the event? doesn’t make sense, does it? and if you believe they did, who contacted the Met and filled in the forms?
October 29th, 2009 at 7:43 pmPerhaps the CEP was being prudent in not widely advertising the Parliament Square demonstration.
October 29th, 2009 at 9:47 pmIt has after all been organised for CEP members therefore there has been no need to advertise it outside of the organisation.
I dunno. I do know that a demo has to be notified to the Met police beforehand, especially in Parliament Sq. Have you asked the organiser, as he is a CEP member?
October 30th, 2009 at 1:49 amI know the CEP organiser very well-I have known him for years-he is not a member of the EDP. He applied to the Met for pwermission months ago. He is not the person advertised on the EDP site.
October 30th, 2009 at 12:20 pmWhy is this an issue?
It seems like your cutting your nose of to spite your face here. From what I know, many EDP members are also CEP members. In fact I only heard about the CEP myself after becoming a member of the EDP and speaking to people who are members of both. I’ve only ever heard them say good things about the CEP and regardless on what is written on websites I was informed by EDP members that the event was very much a CEP one.
I was planning on joining CEP myself because of the solid recommendations; but after reading your open letter I have to say, you’re coming across as more than a little elitist.
I was also meant to be attending the event on the 18th with a group of other EDP/CEP members to give our support… although I think some reconsideration is now required.
I’m sure I’m missing something here, and I can’t pretend to know the history of the EDP/CEP relationship but surely the objective of this event is the greater issue.
October 30th, 2009 at 10:24 pmDear Toby,
As I explained to a friend of yours the event has been organised entirely by the CEP after a member’s MP kindly offered to sponsor it in the House of Commons. This could only happen because the CEP is not a political party and has no links to any political party and is therefore not seen as a rival by sitting MPs.
As I have explained elsewhere the number of seats are limited and, naturally, subscribing members of the CEP are given preference-there is nothing ‘elitist’ about it.
Your knowledge that the CEP is an entirely separate and independent organisation is not universal, as I have come to find out.
November 6th, 2009 at 11:41 amIf Stephen Gash can’t find any information on our site why not look it up on the English Democrats site where they are now having a demostration an half hour before us! Under their list of English Democrat events leading up to Christmas they are listing OUR Conferance!
November 6th, 2009 at 11:41 amTo correct Stuart Eels’ misinformation. The “Wessex Party” does not exist, except as a contraction of the “Wessex Regionalist Party”. The Wessex Regionalists are, or were (there is some doubt about their current level of activity) as their name suggests, a regionalist party dedicated to a “Europe of the Regions”. The party was founded in the 1970s by Lord Bath who is now a member of the Liberal Democratic Party. The Wessex Regionalists differ from other regionalists in that they promote an eight county region which straddles the government’s South West and South East regions and recognise Cornwall as a nation. They oppose the aims of the English Democrats, and there is absolutely no tie up between the two parties.
The Wessex Society, of which I am a member, is a cultural society and is strictly non-political in its aims. I have written to the main regional paper on occasion about matters of concern to the Wessex Society in my capacity as assistant secretary, but have never mentioned the English Democrats or the CEP in those letters.
I am also a member of The Young Wessex League, and write to the press on behalf of the Young Wessex League. The League seeks recognition for the historic territory of Zeaxeland-Wessex, which corresponds to the Earldom of Wessex as it was in 1066, essentially, the government’s South West and South East regions added together, i.e., the south of England outside of London (constituted as the “Province of London”, including most of Surrey and Essex). The League does indeed support the English Democrats’ aims and strategy, taking the political realist position. It recognises that UKIP, the BNP, and the Conservative parties with their UK wide interests will never deliver devolution to England and Zeaxeland-Wessex.
November 6th, 2009 at 12:25 pm“Zeaxe; owre land and volc”
The last comment by Scilla is very important. The CEP is a pressure group and the MP who sponsored it on behalf of the CEP would not want to be associated with another political party. Therefore I agree with her point.
I am a member of the English Democrats and there is another party which is named “English Democratic Party”, there appears to be a difference, so when you say EDP which one is it?
November 6th, 2009 at 1:46 pmAs a member of the Wessex Society which is like the CEP non Political Society/group
The members are made up of People of all Political views including several English Democrats, but we stick to History & Culture
The Wessex Regionalists are political party but only believe in being a Region of the EU
English Democrats want a English Parliament within the UK !
So dont get carried away with the wrong idea, of some agreement
November 6th, 2009 at 8:19 pmI can assure you of NO AGREEMENT…… plenty of Disagreement
English Democrats do not believe in the WR & EU in any shape or form.
Yes please support the cause for an English Parliament on this occasion without using it as an opportunity to advertise your political party. It’s only polite.
Thanks!
November 7th, 2009 at 10:27 pm