Dear Member and interested person
We have launched a new website for the Campaign for an English Parliament because we believe the time has come to really push the case for England again.
For many years there has been discussion about how England should be governed. We are now seeing renewed proposals for greater regional devolution, including arguments from Andy Burnham and others for transferring more powers to regions and combined authorities.
We believe there is a fundamental problem with this approach. England should not simply be divided into administrative regions while Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland continue to be recognised as nations within the United Kingdom.
Our starting point is straightforward.
England is a nation and should be recognised politically and constitutionally as a nation.
An English Parliament would give England its own democratic institution, just as the other nations of the United Kingdom have their own devolved institutions.
It could also provide the foundation for a more balanced federal United Kingdom, with each nation having its own parliament or assembly and Westminster dealing with matters that genuinely need to be decided at UK level.
One of the arguments frequently made against an English Parliament is that England is simply too large. We do not believe that is a reason to divide England politically.
Establishing an English Parliament would not mean concentrating every decision in one place. Once England had its own national parliament, substantial powers could be devolved further to counties, cities and local communities.
The important distinction is that devolution should take place within England, rather than replacing England.
What About English Independence?
For some people, the establishment of an English Parliament is the constitutional change they want. They believe England should have its own parliament while remaining part of a reformed and more equal United Kingdom.
Others believe the debate should go further and that England should ultimately become an independent nation.
These are important questions and they should not simply be dismissed or avoided. The immediate purpose of the Campaign for an English Parliament is to secure democratic and constitutional recognition for England and to give the people of England the ability to govern their own domestic affairs.
An English Parliament would also give England something it currently lacks: a national democratic institution through which the people of England could debate and determine their own constitutional future.
Whether that future ultimately lies within a federal United Kingdom or, at some point, as an independent England should be a matter for the people of England to decide.
What matters first is that England is recognised as a nation and that its people have the democratic institutions through which those decisions can be made.
There Are Many Ways to Help England
The campaign is about more than one constitutional argument. There are now many different areas in which people want to become involved in helping England as a nation.
Some people are passionate about establishing an English Parliament. Others are particularly interested in England's constitution, democracy and political representation. Some want to concentrate on English culture, history and identity. Others want to look at economic questions, taxation, public assets, local democracy, devolution or the longer-term question of English independence.
We do not expect everyone who supports England to have exactly the same interests or to want to contribute in exactly the same way.
What matters is that people who care about England have somewhere constructive to put their time, knowledge and enthusiasm.
That is why we would encourage you to visit the new Campaign for an English Parliament website and look at the different areas of the campaign.
Please choose the area that particularly interests you and where you feel you would most like to become involved.
England needs people who are prepared not simply to talk about its future, but to become involved in shaping it.
There is room in this campaign for people with different skills, different interests and different ideas about England's longer-term future. What brings us together is the belief that England matters, that England should be recognised as a nation and that the people of England should have a meaningful say in how their country is governed.
We have made a new start with this website. Now we want people across England to become part of it.
Chairman
Stephen Davis
Campaign for an English Parliament
Key Takeaways
- Launch of New Website: The Campaign for an English Parliament has launched a new digital platform to revitalize national democratic advocacy for England.
- National Recognition over Regional Devolution: Advocates argue England must be recognized as a nation rather than split into administrative regions.
- Democratic Self-Determination: An English Parliament provides a dedicated institution to manage domestic affairs or debate a federal UK versus independence.
- Diverse Campaign Engagement: Supporters can contribute across culture, history, economy, democracy, local representation, and constitutional reform.
