Campaign for an English Parliament

Our aim is to put the issue of an English Parliament on the political agenda. It should be a subject about which the main political parties are expected to have a clear view. At the moment, devolution for England is being introduced in a piecemeal way with no popular consultation about its overall shape. When the people of England wake up to what is being imposed on them they will find themselves bound by an assortment of structures that will prove costly and disruptive to change. The expense and disruption involved in altering or abolishing those arrangements that conflict with the needs of an English Parliament, will be used as an argument for keeping things as they are. In order to avoid that difficulty, and to bring democracy to the process of devolution, a constitutional convention should be set up for the purpose of producing a plan and timetable for constitutional change. Those proposals should be put to the people of England for their approval in a referendum. It is fair and reasonable that the same courtesy be extended to the people of England as was shown to those in other parts of the UK.

How will an English Parliament benefit the people of England?

An English Parliament will:-

• strengthen democratic control and make government more accountable to the people of England;
  enable the people of England to express their own priorities and direct spending where it is most needed;
• better enable the people of England to pursue policies which help preserve England’s identity and improve its environment;
• for the first time give England a voice in the European Union;
• provide a partial realisation of the right to self-government which the people of all countries aspire to.

Many of the powers presently exercised by the UK government, such as defence and foreign affairs, will become reserved matters. Those areas of government which are not specifically reserved, will be devolved matters. The main reserved matters are those that relate to:-

• the UK constitution;
• foreign policy;
• defence;
• employment legislation;
• social security policy and administration;
• transport safety and regulation.

A look at the list of reserved matters suggests that everything of importance will remain with the UK government. While that is not far from the truth, there are important policy areas that will be devolved. Under the system now in place, Scottish and Welsh Ministers are able to use devolved powers to formulate policies that suit the demands and interests of the people of Scotland and Wales. They will be able to give priority to local needs within natural political, cultural and historical boundaries. In addition, the Ministers are able to represent the interests of their country to the UK government and the European Union. When we have an English Parliament, English Ministers will be able to do the same for the people of England.

The devolved powers will be greater than is commonly supposed, and include responsibility for important areas of everyday life such as:-

• the National Health Service in England;
• schools and teacher training;
• further and higher education;
• local government finance and taxation;
• land-use planning and building control;
• the environment;
• passenger and road transport;
• economic development and financial assistance to industry;
• civil and criminal courts;
• much of criminal and civil law;
• prisons;
• police and fire services;
• food standards;
• certain areas of agriculture and fisheries;
• the arts;
• sport.

There is scope within each of the devolved policy areas to make government more accountable to the wishes of the people. For example, if control over planning and land development becomes an entirely devolved matter, it will be possible to completely transform the present system and halt the uglification of English towns and the desecration of the countryside. An important factor in making planning decisions responsive to local feelings would be reform of the system by which developers can appeal to the Secretary of State for the Environment and have local authority decisions overturned.

An example of a benefit to be had from control over education is that it would be possible to teach the history of England and the English language to children in English schools. A knowledge of those things would provide a thread of continuity from the past to the present and help pupils appreciate that what we do today affects tomorrow. It would also help free the English from the burden of a British identity and better enable them to explore their own roots and culture.

Will the present plans for devolution make the Westminster Parliament into an English Parliament?

It is sometimes said that there is no need to campaign for an English Parliament because when the Northern Ireland and Welsh Assemblies, and Scottish Parliament are up and running, the Westminster Parliament will in effect become an English Parliament. That is a mistaken view. The Westminster Parliament will continue to be the Parliament of the United Kingdom and it will continue to be charged with pursuing the internal and external interests of the whole UK. It will be under no obligation to pursue specific interests relating to the whole of England and there will be no body through which those interests can be voiced.

One of the changes that devolution will bring, is that new channels of communication will be created to enable the interests of Northern Ireland, Scotland and Wales to be represented directly to the UK government and taken into account when policy is being formed and implemented. Arrangements will also be made to enable those distinct interests to be represented within the European Union. There are no similar plans for enabling the interests of England to be fed into the policy-making machinery. Instead the people of England are to have an assortment of regions which will compete with each other, and with Northern Ireland, Scotland and Wales.

It will benefit the people of England to have their common interests put to the UK government by one body. Such representation will put England on an equal footing with Northern Ireland, Scotland and Wales, and enable all of them to benefit from having the weight and status of the UK representing their interests within the European Union. In politics, size counts, and it is probably because of this that the UK government and the other parts of the UK have an interest in breaking England up into small parts.

If there is no English Parliament, the people of England will be governed by the rump of a UK Parliament which is designed to serve UK interests. The people of Northern Ireland, Scotland and Wales will have their interests focused and represented but the people of England will not be able to speak with one voice. An English Parliament will enable England to deal with other parts of the UK on equal terms.

Why create an English Parliament now?

We are in a period of major constitutional change and now is the right time to set about the task of creating an English Parliament. These things take time, and other parts of the UK have a head start. They already have devolved powers and control over their own affairs. The province of Northern Ireland and the countries of Scotland and Wales have been recognised as natural political units but England has been denied that status and is instead to be dismembered into regions and thus rendered powerless. The CEP is not opposed to regionalism but it is opposed to a system imposed from outside which is designed to further outside interests. It is for the people of England to work out the shape and powers of their own regions, if they choose to have them, and not have them imposed by others.

An English Parliament will solve the West Lothian question. It will end what will soon be the injustice of Westminster MPs who represent constituencies in Northern Ireland, Scotland and Wales, debating and voting on issues that affect the people of England, while MPs elected to English constituencies are unable to debate or vote on similar matters affecting the people of Northern Ireland, Scotland and Wales. An English Parliament will bring greater fairness, equality and balance to a devolved United Kingdom.

The people of England have an identity separate from a British identity and they need a parliament and constitutional arrangement which recognises that identity and serves their special interests. It makes sense to assert the right to an English Parliament now, while the UK constitution is in a state of flux rather than wait until an unsatisfactory and unfair constitutional arrangement is imposed without consultation or approval.

An imposed system will create vested interests that will oppose and hinder the creation of a united England. It will be wasteful to set up a system that will need to be unravelled if, as is likely, it proves to be incompatible with the constitutional arrangements needed for an English Parliament.

Is there a demand for an English Parliament?

We believe that there is both a demand and a need for an English Parliament but until the formation of the CEP there has been no way of expressing it. Labour and the Liberal Democrats have in recent years been enthusiastic about devolution for Northern Ireland, Scotland and Wales, while the Conservatives have grudgingly accepted it. But none of those parties has raised the issue of a parliament for England. It is our aim to demonstrate that if a proper opportunity is given, the demand will be expressed.

An English Parliament will create an extra layer of bureaucracy and cost. Who will pay for it?

Democracy has a price but an English Parliament need be no more expensive than a Scottish Parliament or Northern Ireland Assembly. If cost was the measure of everything, there would be no elections; there would certainly be no European Union.

England might be financially and economically better-off with devolution and thus able to offset any cost burden. There could be an advantage to England if there was a fair distribution of UK funds among the countries of the UK. Benefits might also come from moulding institutions and services to meet the needs of the people of England. A direct voice for England in EU policy formation could also improve the availability of grants for the English regions.

Whatever claims and counter claims are made, it has to be admitted that no one really knows with any certainty what the overall costs and savings will be. One thing is certain though, setting up several regional assemblies in England with the same powers as a Scottish Parliament will involve unnecessary duplication and cost. An English Parliament will be a much cheaper option.

A more appropriate question might be, will the UK government and parliament become needless and costly layers of executive and legislative authority? The government is handing down some of its powers to Northern Ireland, Scotland, Wales, and various English regions. At the same time it is handing up strategic powers to the European Union. The UK Parliament will soon have few matters to legislate on and little to debate.

Will the creation of an English Parliament lead to the break-up of the United Kingdom?

The course of events after the creation of an English Parliament cannot be foreseen but an English Parliament is unlikely to cause any more difficulties for the UK than a Scottish Parliament. It is more probable that the lack of an English Parliament will cause instability and friction because the people of England will see that they are being discriminated against. Their resentment might undermine any feelings of loyalty they previously felt for the United Kingdom.

A more probable cause of the break-up of the UK is the independence of Scotland within the European Union. Devolution has been offered in the hope of undermining support for Scottish independence but now the genie is out of the bottle it is getting out of control and not producing the intended results. A train of events has been set in motion that is heading in the direction of Scottish independence. When the Labour government becomes unpopular with the electorate, as all governments do, the Scottish National Party is likely to be seen as the party of opposition in Scotland and attract greater electoral support. Eventually the SNP will obtain majority support in Scotland for independence and a UK government will be able to do little to stop it. Will a UK government really send troops to Scotland, as it did to Ireland, and face another Easter Rebellion?

There is no telling what will happen in Wales but the Welsh Assembly is likely to strengthen Welsh national identity and increase support for independence. The constitutional arrangements in Northern Ireland are such that current demographic trends will ensure that it is eventually absorbed into the Republic of Ireland

How will an English Parliament affect the relationship between England and the EU?

The European Commission is at the centre of a vast lobbying system in which just about every conceivable interest group is represented. At the moment there is no voice for England in any of the various institutions that help shape EU policy, the conduct of EU business, or the awarding of EU grants. An English Executive will be able to influence the making of UK policy on EU matters, and ensure that England’s interests are represented during the early stages of EU policy formation.

An English Parliament will be able to scrutinise EU legislative proposals to ensure that England’s interests are properly reflected.

If the English Executive has the same powers as its Scottish and Welsh counterparts, it will be able to negotiate with the European Commission on matters concerning European Structural Funds, which are important sources of finance for economic, agricultural, social and environmental regeneration.

English Ministers will be involved in the UK Government’s decision making on EU matters and, they and their officials will be fully involved in discussions within the UK Government about the formulation of the UK’s policy position on all issues which touch on devolved matters. They will also have a role to play in relevant Council meetings and other negotiations with other EU members. In appropriate cases, English Government Ministers could speak for the UK in EU Councils.

Influence within the EU begins well before the process of formal negotiations between member states, and operates through many more channels than the formal Community and inter-governmental processes. England will be able to play its part in the less formal discussions with the institutions of the EU and interests within other member states.

Staff of the English Executive will be seconded regularly to UKRep and serve in the Institutions of the EU.

What will be the relationship between an English Parliament and regional and local government?

The English Parliament will have the power to set the framework within which the English regions and local authorities operate. It will also be able to determine their powers and functions.

The English Executive will be able to control and allot capital allocations to English regions and councils, and be responsible for the system of local taxation.

Conclusion

Scotland and Wales are countries, and their parliament and assembly recognises that fact. For reasons unexplained, England is to be denied recognition as a country and the people of England are to be denied the right to express their will through their own parliament.

The people of England have the same right to a parliament as do the people of Scotland, and they should be equally free to determine their own system of local and regional government.

The process of devolution should start with an English Parliament.