Simon Hughes
Simon Hughes MP, Liberal Democrat Shadow Leader of the Commons and Party President, kindly stepped in at the last minute for Frank Field MP who was unable to attend due to ill health.
Simon looked back at polls from the end of last year which showed the English were unhappy with the status quo and that overwhelmingly, English people don’t want Scottish MPs to continue legislating for England.
He discussed regionalisation and expressed the opinion that it is for English MPs to decide on the future governance of England. He outlined the democratic reforms he anticipated for the parliament following the next general election inciting angry disruption from the audience.
7 Responses to “Simon Hughes”
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[...] Blogging from the Conference – Simon Hughes [...]
April 26th, 2008 at 1:40 pmMr Hughes did advance the situation by a significant amount.
Yes, his perspective was indubitably that of the existing British political class and was chary about the prospect of conceding power to any represenative body of the English. His aproach was essentially that of the now familiar subcommittee theme already expounded by Clarke and Rifkind ie that the English should be satisfied with a sub committee of the British parliament to represent them. ( which is ludicrous of course, considering that Scotland already have a whole parliament) .
He did however publicly accept that
1 England is a nation
2 that England should have an exeutive
3 that England should have a first minister
4 ? that England should have a civil service . He did not mention an English budget
That all this derive from a subcommittee of another parliament he did not explain .
A sort of progress though.
April 27th, 2008 at 12:35 amNo it it is not for English MPs to decide the future governance of England it is for the English electorate to decide. This is what democracy is about.
April 27th, 2008 at 10:33 amPhew, nobody noticed I put a picture of Canon Kenyon Wright in place of Simon Hughes! To the best of my knowledge (although he is a Liberal Democrat) Simon Hughes doesn’t make a habit of dressing up in a vicar’s outfit.
Picture updated.
April 27th, 2008 at 1:56 pmAll very interesting, I’m sure. What I’d like to know is what he thought when his former leader Charles Kennedy gloated at the Scottish LibDem conference that the LBs support for regional dismemberment “call[ed] into question the existence of England itself.”
Much as I applaud Hughes’ partial conversion, remember that the LibDems will be first to jump off if the bandwagon changes direction.
May 2nd, 2008 at 7:34 pmIt will be interesting to do a survey of all members of parliament who represent english constituences. Get their general view on this issue.
October 2nd, 2009 at 12:34 pmEnglish people will deside the English M.Ps and then the English M.Ps will do as the English people of England tell them to do, if not out they go until they do, do as they are told, they are our servents and servents don’t talk back, this is what they are payed to do…SERVE the electorate who are the English people YOU and ME.
March 6th, 2010 at 8:43 pm