Witney by-election. English Democrats' Winston McKenzie to stand.

While crusading for “Remain” during the European Union referendum campaign David Cameron boasted: “Brits don’t quit”.  However, only hours after the announcement of the referendum result in favour of “Leave” he decided to quit as Prime Minister.  Less than two months later, on September 12, he resigned from Parliament as MP for Witney. - “Brits don’t quit” indeed!

Be that as it may, Winston McKenzie is standing as the English Democrats’ candidate in the Witney by-election.  I believe he has, in the past, expressed an interest in increasing the supply of housing by building prefabricated homes – an excellent idea! 

However, the English Democrats’ policy seems, in my opinion, a little unimaginative on the subject of housing.  It is a pity their manifesto does not mention the fact that, according to the CPRE, there is enough brown-field land for one million homes.  Although, to be fair, their manifesto section on “Ecology and the Environment” does say: “The English Democrats promote much tighter restrictions on green-field development and a better use of brown-field sites.”

 I reproduce the English Democrats’ manifesto section on Housing below.  Judge it for yourself.

2.8 Housing.

2.8.1 Housing supply and pricing is being severely distorted by the levels of immigration into England. First time buyers find it difficult to afford a home of their own and need to take on large mortgages and the attendant interest payments, in order to do so. Social housing is currently insufficient to meet demand.

2.8.2 With our pledge to bring mass immigration to a complete end and to expel illegal immigrants, then the pressure on housing will be lessened.

2.8.3 The English Democrats advocate a fairer points system for the allocation of social housing, giving greater priority to local people and those who are married or in work.  Publicly funded affordable housing purchase/rental schemes should only be available to first time buyers who are citizens of this country.

Blue Anchor on the Somerset Coast. "Warm sun and fresh sea-breezes which cannot fail to invigorate."

After a recent visit to Watchet Harbour I decided to follow the Somerset Coast westward along the B3191 to Blue Anchor.  It is a pleasant 3 mile drive, through a scenic, rural and occasionally wooded landscape, which climbs out of Watchet and then down to Blue Anchor.   

In his Somerset (Great Western Railway Company) 1934, Maxwell Fraser writes:

“Blue Anchor, which lies four miles east of Minehead, is an ideal place for a rest-cure. A mere handful of houses; a long sea wall; and miles of magnificent sands; a view of the wooded hill crowned with Conegar Tower, and of the more distant North Hill, which inspired Turner to paint one of his most famous pictures; a combination of warm sun and fresh sea-breezes which cannot fail to invigorate – that is Blue Anchor.  If the quietude palls, there is Minehead and its amusements within walking distance, and Taunton within a short journey, but there are sufficient walks in the neighbourhood, filled with beauty and historical associations, to keep the lover of solitude happily occupied for weeks.”

Even with the seemingly inevitable modern caravan park tightly sandwiched between the sea front road and the West Somerset Railway line, Maxwell Fraser’s description of Blue Anchor, written eighty-two years ago, still rings true today.

The view west along the sea front at Blue Anchor.

There is ample parking on the flat straight road which runs along the sea-front.  As an asthmatic, I find it is a very comfortable place to have a lengthy stroll, following the sea wall, while enjoying the view.  With a good pair of binoculars one can see across Blue Anchor Bay and the Bristol Channel to Barry and the Welsh hills.  It was a clear day so I could even see the turbines of a wind farm on the hills beyond Barry.

To the west, toward Minehead, the view is still as Maxwell Fraser described it in the early nineteen thirties.  To the east Flat Holm and Steep Holm were visible.  Weston-super-Mare, Brean Down and, at the western end of the Mendip Hills, Crook Peak were all easily seen with my binoculars on such a fine day.  I could also just glimpse, beyond Quantock’s Head, the block-like structures at Hinkley Point nuclear power site.

The West Somerset Railway line curves inland below Old Cleeve and its Church of St Andrew.

The sound of a steam engine came from the West Somerset Railway’s station at the end of the sea-front road – the road turns inland, over a level crossing, and on to the village of Carhampton on the A39 – so I hurried through the caravan park to catch sight of it.  I was too late, but took some photos of the line as it curves away inland below the village of Old Cleeve.

By the time I headed back to my car it was late afternoon and the tide was coming in.  Several dozen anglers were setting themselves up along the sea wall and beach, a suitable pastime to maintain the “quietude” of Blue Anchor. 

Anglers make themselves comfortable on the sea front at Blue Anchor as the tide comes in.

 

Electoral Commission considers the words “English Democrats - England Worth Fighting For!” offensive.

I was flabbergasted to learn that the Electoral Commission considers the words “English Democrats - England Worth Fighting For!” offensive and cannot be used by the English Democrats Party as a registered party description on ballot papers.  As it appears the description was allowed to be registered previously, I wonder if someone who believes England is not worth fighting for complained to the Electoral Commission.

Be that as it may, this press release from the English Democrats includes the opinion of Robin Tilbrook, the Chairman of the English Democrats.

“The English Democrats Party has just received a letter from the lavishly Taxpayer funded ‘Electoral Commission’ in which they claim that saying that “England is Worth Fighting For” is offensive!  Here is an extract of what their letter says:-

“The following registered party description is in the opinion of the (Electoral) Commission OFFENSIVE:

“English Democrats – England Worth Fighting For!”

The (Electoral) Commission has removed the above description from the register of political parties for Great Britain.”  Robin Tilbrook, the Chairman of the English Democrats, and a Solicitor, said:-

“It appears that the Electoral Commission has gone rogue again!  I wonder whether the English Democrats did the right thing in not clipping your wings in our previously listed Judicial Review?

For the record the English Democrats do not accept that the Electoral Commission has the legal right to remove existing registered Descriptions.  Also this decision is manifestly absurd and unreasonable and also will be repugnantly offensive to any patriotic English people.

It is a good thing that they and their ilk were not in charge of anything in the early 1940’s or we would now all be marching to very different tunes!”

Watchet Harbour on the Somerset Coast.

I had never visited Watchet Harbour so, as it was a warm, bright and sunny September day, I set off north along the A358 towards the Somerset Coast to take a look.  On leaving Taunton the road twists and turns up and down past prettily named villages and hamlets such as Combe Florey, Seven Ash and Sampford Brett.  The road was quiet and I was able to enjoy a relatively slow drive without getting in anyone’s way.  I stopped several times before reaching Williton to take in the beauty of the Quantock Hills to the east and the foothills of the Brendon Hills to the west – and savour the peace and quiet.  At Williton I joined the A39 for a short distance until, at the Tropiquaria, turning right onto the B3190 to Watchet.

The town has several convenient pay-and-display car parks; I was able to park just 25 yards from the harbour wall.  I spent a couple of hours wandering along the harbour wall with binoculars and camera.  It was a clear day allowing fine views of both the English and the Welsh side of the Bristol Channel.

A view from Watchet Harbour wall looking east through the harbour entrance across St.Audries Bay to the Quantock Hills. 

The tidal harbour is no longer in use, but it has a long and varied history.  The Saxons arrived in the area in the late seventh century.  By the time of Alfred the Great, Watchet had become an important Anglo-Saxon port.  By the seventeenth century ships were trading throughout the Bristol Channel and the Irish Sea as well as with London and the Continent.  Trade through the harbour reached its zenith in the second half of the nineteenth century with exports of iron ore from the Brendon Hill mines and imports of Welsh coal.

The harbour was badly damaged by a severe storm in December 1900.  It was soon repaired and trade continued during the next century until the port closed to commercial traffic in 1999.  In 2001 the harbour was divided to provide an enclosed marina with capacity for 250 yachts.

Watchet Esplanade, from where the marina can be viewed.

On leaving the harbour wall I strolled along the picturesque Market Street, with its museum, as far as Watchet Esplanade which overlooks the marina.  Then, with the parking meter in mind, it was time to go back to the car and head west up the narrow streets of Watchet and make for Blue Anchor along the B3191 – but that’s another blogpost.

For more detail on the history of Watchet Harbour and mining iron ore on the Brendon Hills, these links are of great interest:

 http://www.watchetmuseum.co.uk/maritime/

http://www.westsomersetmineralrailway.org.uk/welcome/a-short-history/mining/

Repairs to the Palace of Westminster will take up to eight years and £4.3billion. Perhaps Honourable Members and their Lordships should have a new, less costly, home?

I was astonished to learn that much-needed repairs to the Palace of Westminster will take up to eight years and cost between £3billion and £4.3billion.  Would it not be just as well to allow this famous landmark to gracefully fall into a state of picturesque ruin on the banks of the River Thames?  Let it become a monument to those long-gone politicians whose decisions created and then lost an empire on which the sun never set.

I cannot see any reason why the cost of a new home for the Houses of Parliament should not be a fraction of refurbishing the present one.

Consider some of London’s stylish new buildings: The Shard, Europe’s fourth tallest building, cost £435million; 30 St Mary Axe, The Gherkin, cost £200million; The Heron Tower cost £185million – all were completed between 2003 and 2012.  Surely our MPs and Peers could be provided with a suitable building of similar prestige and cost.

While awaiting refurbishment of the old or building of the new, Parliament will have to meet somewhere.  I suggest that, thanks to defence cuts, the spacious hangars of barely used RAF airfields in the West Country, such as Lyneham, Hullavington or even Fairford, could be modified to accommodate meetings of the Commons and the Lords together with their associated entourage.

Transport links would not be a problem with the M4 nearby and there would be the added convenience of having a runway on the doorstep.

Moreover, all that fresh West Country air might do Honourable Members and their Lordships a power of good!

Be wary over who owns Hinkley Point C and North Sea oil.

Overseas investment from China and France, and anywhere else for that matter, is obviously very welcome, but should foreign state-owned companies be allowed ownership of England's crucial energy supplies or, indeed, any vital infrastructure assets?

This letter was published in the Western Daily Press on September 6th.

Be wary of who owns Hinkley C.

The proposed Hinkley Point C nuclear power station to be designed, built and financed by the French and Chinese is presently under Government review. 

Presumably the review will examine whether the plant’s new design is indeed buildable, affordable and secure - it may or may not go ahead. 

Meanwhile, it has been revealed that a Chinese state-owned company is now the biggest crude oil operator in the North Sea. 

In its decision-making processes the Government should take careful heed of the implications of allowing such key energy supplies, vital to our economic well-being, to be in the hands of foreign state-owned companies. 

Faced with a similar situation the Australian Government has acted decisively and refused to allow a Chinese company to take over the country’s biggest energy grid because of security concerns.  The Australian Treasurer said selling the grid to foreign investors would be against the national interest.  Theresa May, Philip Hammond and Boris Johnson should seek the advice of their Australian counterparts.

S.W., English Democrats Somerset.

The English Democrats Party manifesto makes interesting reading on these matters:

"3.4. Economic Independence.

3.4.1 Appropriate encouragement and targeted support should be given to ensure that certain strategic resources are produced in England. Complete self-sufficiency is impossible but we should ensure that we are not placed in a position where we are unable to defend our vital interests because we lack control of the necessary strategic resources.
3.4.2 Our economy and currency should be managed, as far as possible, by our own government. States may be less independent than they once were but we should resist those who would leave our economic well-being in the hands of global corporations and institutions. We should retain what independence and control we have and strive to gain more."