Joint Ministerial Council talks on the Brexit process. Who spoke up for the English people asks a letter in the Western Daily Press.

The regular Joint Ministerial Council  talks on the immensely important Brexit process seems to give everyone concerned a voice, except the people of England.  I am mildly surprised that the government of the Republic of Ireland has not been invited. After all, it does have representation on the British-Irish Council - a body which has been in existence for over 16 years and also has no-one to speak exclusively on behalf of England.

Be that as it may, this letter was published in the Western Daily Press on 27th October 2016.

Who spoke up for the English people?

The Prime Minister has just hosted a meeting of the Joint Ministerial Council in London. It was the first of what will be regular talks on the Brexit process.

Representing the Scots was their First Minister Nicola Sturgeon. Welsh Secretary Alun Cairns together with Carwyn Jones, the First Minister of the Welsh Government, were there to stand up for Wales. The Northern Irish had the luxury of both their Assembly Leader Arlene Foster and her deputy Martin McGuinness to represent them.

I wonder who spoke on behalf of the people of England.

S.W.

English Democrats, Somerset

The Admiral Hardy Monument on Black Down Hill near Portesham in the neighbouring county of Dorsetshire.

With the anniversary (21st October) of the Battle of Trafalgar approaching I decided to drive into Dorsetshire to take a look at the Admiral Hardy Monument on Black Down Hill near Portesham. 

The Admiral Hardy Monument on Black Down Hill near Portesham in Dorsetshire.

Vice Admiral Sir Thomas Masterman Hardy, Baronet, GCB, served as Flag Captain to Nelson in 7 ships including HMS ELEPHANT at Copenhagen in 1801 and HMS VICTORY at Trafalgar in 1805. 

Born on 5th April 1769 at Kingston Russell House near Portesham he joined the Royal Navy in 1781 but came ashore the following year to attend Crewkerne Grammar School in Somerset.  He went back to sea in the merchant service for several years before re-joining the Navy in 1790 as a midshipman on board HMS HEBE.

Serving at sea until 21st October 1827, his final command was an experimental squadron.  Eventually joining the Admiralty board as First Sea Lord in 1830, he left office in 1834.  He died on 20th September 1839 at the Royal Naval Hospital in Greenwich. 

J.K. Laughton writes: “Hardy's enduring fame rests on his connection with Nelson, but his subsequent service afloat and at the Admiralty revealed a man of outstanding good sense and judgement . . .”*

The Admiral Hardy Monument stands on the 780 feet high Black Down Hill, three and a half miles from the Dorsetshire Coast.  The monument itself stands 72 feet high and its eight corners are aligned with the points of the compass.  Built in 1844 from locally quarried stone and paid for by public subscription, it was bought by the National Trust in 1938. 

The view from the Admiral Hardy Monument toward Portland.

The views both inland and seaward, on a clear day, are spectacular.  I believe that from the top of the monument it is possible to see as far as the Mendip Hills 40 miles away, but on this occasion I did not feel inclined to climb the 120 steps to the viewing point! 

Cloudscape and seascape as seen from the Admiral Hardy Monument.

  

Sources:

*J. K. Laughton, ‘Hardy, Sir Thomas Masterman, baronet (1769–1839)’, rev. Andrew Lambert, Oxford Dictionary of National Biography, Oxford University Press, 2004; online edn, May 2007 [http://www.oxforddnb.com/view/article/12293, accessed 17 Oct 2016]

Nicholas Tracy, ‘Who’s who in Nelson’s Navy’, Chatham Publishing, 2006.

Batley and Spen by-election. Who can the patriotic English working class voter turn to in Labour heartlands?

“British jobs for British workers” reported the newspaper headlines during the Conservative Party Conference.  However, within days it was revealed that the Conservative Government had ordered steel from France to build Britain’s replacement Trident submarines.  Meanwhile job losses in the helicopter industry in Yeovil could be the prelude to the Italian manufacturer Leonardo – once there was Westland – moving helicopter production to Italy.  Lord Ashdown, Yeovil’s MP between 1983 and 2001, was reported in the Western Daily Press as saying:

“It is at present too early to say whether Brexit has had any part to play in these job losses which seem primarily to be the consequence of the Government’s foolish decision to buy helicopters made abroad rather than at Yeovil.”  

So much for the Conservatives supporting British manufacturing industries!  Could the patriotic English working class remain loyal to Labour?  Not if you consider the following. 

In an article of the 9^th October 2016 on politicalbetting.com, Jeff Wild considered the chances of Sir Keir Starmer being the next Labour leader, he also wrote: 

 “Emboldened by his recent convincing re-election, Corbyn – who yesterday was speaking at an event organised by the Socialist Workers Party, much to the chagrin of some of his media supporters – has put together the front bench team he believes will take the battle to the Tories and defeat them. So, alongside the IRA-apologist shadow Chancellor and the white van man-trashing shadow foreign secretary – who both kept their briefs – in came a Mao-apologist as shadow home secretary and an anti-Trident campaigner in the shadow defence role; the latter replacing Clive Lewis, who had the temerity to suggest supporting party policy at the Labour conference.”


In such circumstance who can patriotic working class Englishmen, and women, vote for?  Dan Hodges, in this article in the Daily Mail on 9^th October 2016, suggests they might indeed be heading, via Ukip, to the Conservatives:  

 “With the heirs to Nigel Farage beating each other into submission, and Corbyn announcing Labour will become the defenders of unlimited migration, the theory Ukip represent a threat to Labour heartlands has become outdated.  Ukip are now just a political gateway drug, the vehicle by which former Labour voters make the transition to the Tory fold.  In the new centre ground there is no room for Labour heartland seats.”

I doubt that patriotic English working class voters who are disenchanted with Labour will ever bring themselves to vote Conservative.  Nor will they turn to Ukip if it is led by Steven Woolfe, someone who has, reportedly, considered defecting to the Conservatives.  A Ukip led by Paul Nuttall and espousing an English Parliament might appeal to some, but is that likely to come about?  So perhaps Therese Hirst and the English Democrats can make their presence felt in Batley and Spen by seizing the chance to occupy the ground vacated by Labour as it marches off to the far-left.

Walton Hill in the Polden Hills. An unrivalled view over the Somerset Levels.

Walton Hill is on the ridge of the Polden Hills just south of Street in Somerset.  The National Trust owns and manages the hill, but be aware that the former windmill, just along the ridge to west, is a private residence.  Walton Hill overlooks, and takes its name from, the nearby village of Walton which dates back to Saxon times and is mentioned in the Domesday Book as belonging to The Church.

The view north from Walton Hill over the village of Walton to the Mendip Hills.  Crook Peak is on the horizon above and just to the right of the spire of Holy Trinity Church.

I approached in a westerly direction from the crossroads where the B3151 passes over the Poldens at the top of Collard Hill.  Just over a mile from the crossroads is a convenient parking area only a short and gently sloping walk from the 269 feet high summit of Walton Hill. 

There is an orientation monument at the summit which illustrates the landmarks visible in the wonderful panoramic view.  They include: Lollover Hill and Dundon Hill nearby to the south; the village of High Ham and Stembridge Tower Mill to the south west; the Wellington Monument is visible on a clear day, using binoculars, 23 miles away on the Blackdown Hills; to the west is King’s Sedgemoor with Bridgwater and the Quantock Hills beyond; to the north west are Brent Knoll, Brean Down and the Bristol Channel; the Mendip Hills to the north lie parallel to the Polden Hills with the plain of East Sedgemoor between the two ranges.

The view along the southern slopes of the Polden Hills towards Bridgwater and the Quantock Hills beyond.

The view from Walton Hill across The Levels to the Blackdown Hills. 

Although the Poldens never rise above 300 feet they give an unrivalled view over the Somerset Levels.  For those fit enough to explore it, the 6 mile long footpath of the Polden Way runs from Walton Hill south east to Hurcot Hill near Somerton.