The Campaign for an English Parliament recommends John Denham's article "Gordon Brown's English problem".

The article, “Gordon Brown’s English Problem” by John Denham, former Labour Minister and now director of the Centre for English Identity and Politics at Winchester University, has been recommended on the CEP website.  I recall that Labour's Lord Prescott once said something along the lines of: “There is no such thing as the English”.  Now, according to John Denham’s article, when discussing constitutional change within the UK Gordon Brown can hardly bring himself to mention England or the English at all and seems to prefer the term “rest of the UK” instead.

I reproduce below, from the Fabian Society website, the section of the article I found the most telling.

The problem is that Gordon also seems to have decided what the outcome of the constitutional assembly should look like. And that does not include any acknowledgement of the existence of England as a nation or as a political identity. By extension, it excludes all of that large majority of English residents who describe their national identity as English, or English and British. It is odd that a man who has fought all his political life for the right of the people of Scotland to determine their own future should be so resistant to allowing the English to do the same.

In an analysis of the Scottish devolution published before the Scottish referendum, Gordon showed the same myopia. Amid numerous references to Scotland, he had 104 to a non-existent ‘rest of the UK (rUK)’ and just four to England or the English. The fact that the English were exclusively referred to either as taxpayers or as pensioners betrays a narrow view of English interest. This marginalisation of England has long been the view of celtic Labour: England should not want a political voice and, in any case, cannot be allowed to have one. This is no longer tenable.

https://thecepreview.wordpress.com/2016/11/21/gordon-browns-english-problem/

http://www.fabians.org.uk/gordon-browns-english-problem/

Norton Manor Camp at Norton Fitzwarren in Somerset to close along with 90 other Ministry of Defence sites.

Norton Manor Camp in Norton Fitzwarren on the outskirts of Taunton in Somerset, home to 40 Commando Royal Marines, is to close along with 55 other military sites across the country.  The Secretary of State for Defence, Sir Michael Fallon, announced the closures which are in addition to 35 other closures previously announced.

Chivenor airfield and barracks in North Devonshire will also close along with more sites in Devonshire, Wiltshire and Somerset.

The loss of airfields seems a particular example of government short-sightedness as their runways make them extremely versatile and are not easily replaced.  Along with Chivenor, Hullavington in Wiltshire, Dishforth in Yorkshire and both Mildenhall and Alconbury in East Anglia are to go.

I also read in the Daily Telegraph that the Royal Navy will soon be without a shipborne ant-ship missile as the Harpoon missile will not be replaced when it is retired from service in 2018.  The Royal Navy's frigates and destroyers will then be relying on the 4.5 inch gun - 1960s style. 

Considering that the Navy's two new aircraft-carriers will have no operational aircraft for years one has to wonder what the present surface fleet is actually capable of if it has to undertake any war-like operations on its own.

This letter in the Western daily Press on November 17th is on a similar theme.

Mixed messages from the ministry.

The Defence Secretary has said that we are seeing a much more aggressive Russia and the real answer to Putin is that we should stay strong and be strong.

Hearing those words one might think that the Government was about to implement a policy of re-armament and expansion of the military. Not so, apparently, 56 more defence sites will be closed in addition to the 35 the Ministry of Defence announced previously.

Considering our Government’s actions rather than its words can Putin’s Russia really be a threat to this country?

Meanwhile, Britain has inaugurated a new naval base in Bahrain which, according to the Bahraini Ambassador to London, will be the busiest centre of operations for the Royal Navy after Portsmouth. This increase in port facilities to support any future military adventures in the Middle East is nothing but a vainglorious attempt to maintain the illusion that Britain still has “Great Power” status and a fleet to match.

S.W.

Ilminster, Somerset

The harbour village of Charlestown in Cornwall. An autumn holiday visit.

My wife and I recently had an autumn break in Cornwall.  We stayed at a cottage tucked away in a tranquil woodland valley between Fowey and Par and, thanks to a series of warm sunny days, were able to visit several of the coastal towns in the area.  One such visit was to the harbour village of Charlestown, a place I had never visited but was familiar to my wife who enjoyed family holidays in the area in the 1960s.

The area is well known for its china clay industry and in his The Companion Guide to Devon and Cornwall, (William Collins, 1976), Darrell Bates writes: “A large part of the industry’s products are exported by sea from Fowey, Par and the toy-like, privately owned quay at Charlestown.  The main road from here south to Mevagissey passes through London Apprentice where there used to be an inn of that name,  so called because of the number of men from London who came to these parts to work in the mines.”  

Our drive through Par and St. Austell did not take much time at all, the road obviously sees much more traffic in the spring and summer months.  Although it was a warm bright Sunday the pay and display car park, only a short stroll from the quayside, was half empty.

As it was approaching November the brig Phoenix, moored alongside Charlestown’s quay, was appropriately bedecked with poppies. She had been chosen as the venue for this year’s Cornwall launch of the British Legion Poppy Appeal.

The brig Phoenix, bedecked with poppies, alongside the quay at Charlestown in Cornwall.  

" . . . we do not use gunpowder or cannon balls!"

We enjoyed a very relaxed early afternoon walk around the harbour and down on to the beach before stopping at a small café near the harbour wall where we both had a very tasty cheese and onion pasty.  The pleasant young lady serving us said those pasties were the last available as the café was closing for the season that very afternoon!

Autumn colours at Long Ponds near Ilminster in South Somerset.

Last month, as the trees began to change colour, I went for a stroll to Long Ponds which is a small lake beside the footpath between the villages of Whitelackington and Kingstone, near Ilminster, in South Somerset.  The lake is in a valley and surrounded by woodland so it makes a very picturesque scene when the sun is at the right angle to highlight the autumnal colours of the trees.

It is best to find somewhere to park in Ilminster and walk east out of the town beside the old London Road until you find the sign saying Whitelackington.  The footpath to Kingstone is through a gate on your right. 

Just inside the gate is a World War Two pill-box which was part of Ilminster's defences.  Ilminster was an anti-tank fortress on the Taunton Stop-Line and many of the town's defences can still be seen - by those who know where to look.

Walk down the track for about a quarter of a mile and you will come to Long Ponds.  Be aware of the signs saying "Strictly Private Fishing" and keep dogs on leads as there is a lot of wildlife around!

Long Ponds between the villages of Whitelackington and Kingstone, near Ilminster, in South Somerset.

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.