Veronica Newman of the Campaign for an English Parliament asks if Gordon Brown's latest plan to keep Scotland in the UK has a price worth paying.

Activists from the Campaign for an English Parliament have obviously been busy with pen and paper as another letter appears in the Western Daily Press, this time from Veronica Newman.

Gordon Brown has popped up again with yet another plan to keep Scotland in the same Union as Wales, Northern Ireland and "the Regions".  "The Regions" being, of course, England but we all know Mr Brown finds mentioning the "E" word extremely uncomfortable. 

Be that as it may, Veronica Newman asks if the price of Gordon Brown's plan is worth paying.  Here is her letter published on March 23rd.

Is price of this plan worth us paying?

Gordon Brown has proposed a patriotic third way for Scotland in exchange for it remaining in the UK.

This includes giving Holyrood the authority to sign treaties with other EU countries, control after Brexit of the £800 million they currently contribute to the EU, control over fisheries, agriculture, environmental regulation, employment and energy and the authority to set VAT.

On top of this he wants the Barnett Formula to remain in place and the Bank of England to become the Bank of England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland. One has to ask is the price being demanded one worth paying.

Not only does Gordon Brown want Scotland to have its cake and eat it too he also has the effrontery to propose that EU powers be devolved to the Scottish Parliament, Welsh and Northern Irish assemblies and the regions. By regions it must assumed he means England.

What then will be a patriotic option for England?

Oh yes, that would be an English Parliament.

Veronica Newman
Campaign for an English Parliament Trowbridge, Wiltshire



I entirely agree with the sentiments expressed but, as readers of this blog know, I would prefer independence for both England and Scotland.  Perhaps all the nations making up the UK should have a referendum as suggested in this letter below, published in the Western Daily Press  on March 27th.

I hope England opts for independence
I sympathise with Veronica Newman of the Campaign for an English Parliament when she questions whether Gordon Brown’s recently suggested proposals– or should that be bribes – to keep Scotland in the UK come with a price worth paying ( Western Daily Press March 23). Any such price would, of necessity, be paid by England and English taxpayers.

As far as the future of the UK is concerned, I rather liked the eminently reasonable idea suggested by Piers Morgan when, after a heated discussion about Scottish independence on GMB, he said: “I think if we allow Scotland to have another referendum so soon after the last one then, at the same time, there should be a referendum in England, and Wales, and Northern Ireland.”

Let’s see which nations choose the road to independence – I certainly hope England is one of them.

S.W.
Ilminster, Somerset

Ian Holt of the Campaign for an English Parliament hopes the Scottish people "vote for independence and have done with it."

In this letter to the Western Daily Press, published on March 18th, Ian Holt of the Campaign for an English Parliament reflects the growing feeling of exasperation in England toward never-ending demands from the Scottish National Party.

Time to give Scots their independence 
Nicola Sturgeon wants another Scottish independence referendum. This time I hope they vote for independence and have done with it.

The British state has bent over backwards for Scotland over the last 20 years – at the expense of England.

Theresa May should give England its own parliament and government. If she does not, she may find that we English will start to demand an independence referendum of our own.

Ian Holt

Campaign for an English Parliament, Hucclecote, Gloucester

I sympathise with Mr Holt's view, but I doubt if Scotland could maintain its current level of public spending outside of the UK and would soon be looking south for assistance.  I wrote this letter in response and am pleased to say it was published in the Western Daily Press on March 21st.

Either way the Scots will get our cash
I sympathise with Ian Holt of the Campaign for an English Parliament when he hopes Nicola Sturgeon’s new shot at Scottish independence succeeds ( Western Daily Press March 18).

English taxpayers’ money heading north of the border as a result of the British Government’s allocation of public funds through the Barnett Formula should stop if Scotland becomes a foreign country. However, I suspect a newly independent Scotland would doubtless qualify for shedloads of money from the Department for International Development’s burgeoning £12 billion foreign aid budget.

Whether Scotland votes for independence or not, English taxes might still be filling Scottish coffers!

S.W.
Ilminster, Somerset

Dunster Castle, near Minehead, in West Somerset. A fairy tale spot with spectacular views of the Bristol Channel.

The second Friday of a dull March produced some sunshine so I decided to take my camera to Dunster Castle, near Minehead, for the afternoon.  It is a National Trust property; Colonel Walter Luttrell gave The Castle and most of its contents to the Trust in 1976.

The journey up the A358 to Williton took a little longer than I anticipated: there was a bad accident with police and fire brigade in attendence on the dual carriageway south of Henlade while at Bishops Lydeard roadworks were causing long queues. Nevertheless, the drive north from Taunton through picturesque villages and bucolic countryside to Williton was relaxing and enjoyable.

Join the A39 and it is but a short journey through the villages of Washford, Bilbrook and Carhampton before you come across the tor which guards the approach to Minehead.  Upon this high pointed hill stands Dunster Castle.  

Colin Wintle succinctly describes The Castle in his Around Historic Somerset and Avon (Midas Books, 1978), he wrote nearly 40 years ago:

“It stands high over a setting so pictorially lovely as to be almost unbelievably romantic – a fairy tale spot, yet only a few hundred yards from the busy main road (A396) east of Minehead. 

On the site once stood a Saxon fortress.  When the Normans came the Conqueror granted it to the de Mohuns, but the oldest existing masonry is the late thirteenth century gateway.  By 1376 the Castle had changed hands.  Elizabeth Lutterell bought the demesne from the de Mohuns, and it remained in the family until Colonel Lutterell gave it to the National Trust – after exactly six centuries of occupation by his family.”(Sic).

The entrance to the National Trust car park is directly off the A39 and through the parkland.  Parking was easy, no doubt due to the time of year.  There is a steep walk up to the Gatehouse.

Dunster Castle and the view toward the Bristol Channel from the Keep Garden.

I spent the afternoon wandering around the footpaths which wend their way up through woods and terraced borders to the Keep Garden.  There are no longer any ancient structures there, but it is the highest point on the hill and provides some fine views of the Castle.  From Green Court, opposite the Gatehouse, I was able to look down upon the village of Dunster with its Priory Church of St. George, built of red sandstone and possessing a massive four stage tower.  Being such a clear day there were wonderful views from the battlements of the Quantock Hills and out over the Bristol Channel to the coast of Wales.  The huge block-like structure of the nuclear power station at Hinkley Point, 14 miles away as the crow flies, was distinctly visible.

The Priory Church of St. George in the village of Dunster, viewed from Green Court near the Gatehouse.

I spent so much time taking in the views that I did not have time to go inside any of the buildings or explore the parkland.  Dunster Castle, as will the village of Dunster, needs several visits to appreciate fully.

This little chap was patrolling the battlements.

English Trade Union Congress calls for the abolition of the House of Lords.

Apparently the English Trade Union Congress will be in their battle bus outside the Houses of Parliament today campaigning to abolish the House of Lords.
  

Eddie Bone, Campaign Director for the English Trade Union Congress, said:

"The House of Lords no longer speaks for the people of England and it threatens to misuse its position to undermine the triggering of Article 50.  This is a provocation which shows that the self-important and unelected House of Lords should be abolished."

I entirely agree, back in August 2014, long before Brexit and the Article 50 furore, I had the following letter published in the Western Daily Press expressing my views on the House of Lords and the need for an English Parliament.

Organisations or individuals campaigning for an English Parliament are always rebuffed by the British political establishment whose members, including those from Scotland and Wales, argue that there are enough politicians already, that it would be too costly and there is no public demand for one. However, if any of those objections are made regarding the unelected and unreformed House of Lords that very same British establishment steadfastly ignores them.

The Conservatives, Liberal Democrats and Labour are forever happy to find a place in the Lords for yet another group of life peers made up of retired MPs, those who have been voted out of office and various party donors and cronies. Moreover, the next batch of appointments to the burgeoning House of Lords will see its members outnumber those in the House of Commons, Scottish Parliament and Welsh Assembly combined.

The three main parties pay only lip service to any concerns about costs, numbers and lack of public demand or democratic accountability.

Since devolution nearly two thousand politicians, more than one third of them unelected peers, operate at national level in Westminster, Edinburgh, Cardiff and Belfast. This political circle is content to have seen itself expand but hypocritically conspires to prevent England from having its own dedicated parliament able to speak with a collective voice for the interests of the English people.

So, good luck and success to Eddie Bone and his fellow campaigners from the English Trade Union Congress.

Campaign for an English Parliament activists advised by police in Stoke that playing Jerusalem and flying the English flag "might cause offence".

Would singing La Marseillaise in France bring about the attendance of the CRS?  I doubt it.  Would flying the Stars and Stripes from your car in the USA prompt a cautioning word from officers from the Highway Patrol?   I don’t think so.

Be that as it may, when activists from the Campaign for an English Parliament played Jerusalem and flew the Cross of St. George in Stoke during the recent parliamentary by election their vehicle was stopped by police who advised that their actions “might cause offence”.

This sort of thing could only happen in England!

For the full story of this astonishing incident visit the CEP website.  The link follows.
https://thecepreview.wordpress.com/2017/02/18/fury-as-police-warn-stoke-campaigner-england-flag-and-jerusalem-hymn-may-offend-locals/

Axbridge in Somerset. A visit to The Lamb Inn, King John's Hunting Lodge and the Church of St.John the Baptist.

The last few weeks of winter have been particularly cold and bleak, not the sort of weather for venturing out to seek a picturesque view.  So when driving back down the A38 on a very chilly day after an unavoidable trip to Bristol I noticed the sign for Axbridge at Shute Shelve Hill and was reminded of a pleasant summer visit there a few years ago.  My wife and I, with some friends, had a very enjoyable lunch sitting outside at the Lamb Inn, a coaching inn dating from 1480, on a corner of Axbridge’s charming medieval square.

The Lamb Inn, Axbridge in Somerset.  A coaching inn dating from 1480. 

In days of old the town was a convenient and favourite base for royal hunting parties ranging over the Royal Forest of Mendip.  Indeed, the Anglo-Saxon King Edmund, brother of Athelstan, nearly met his death riding over Cheddar Gorge while stag-hunting.

Colin Wintle in his Around Historic Somerset and Avon, (Midas Books, 1978) writes this of Axbridge: “Medieval kings, with their passion for hunting, gave Axbridge considerable status, but of all the Norman and subsequent Plantagenet monarchs who came there for sport King John is most remembered.  There in a central position facing the main square is a building traditionally known as King John’s Hunting Lodge – and the site of a similar retreat once occupied by his Saxon predecessors.  The building is an early Tudor merchant’s house.  Now a National Trust property, it contains a museum of local history and archaeology.  The oldest existing building in Axbridge is its noble fifteenth century church with a fine tower, standing on an eminence overlooking the parish.”

King John's Hunting Lodge in Axbridge.

Nestling between the foothills of the Mendips and the Somerset Levels, Axbridge grew from a fortified Saxon burgh and was an important wool producer in the Middle Ages.  It held markets and fairs, had its own mint, and even its own river port in its early days.  Its narrow streets leading to the square were once a challenge to both horse drawn and motorised vehicles, but today there is far less through traffic now that the A371 effectively bypasses the town and speeds tourists from the A38 directly to ever popular Cheddar and its Gorge. 

Signposts direct you to a handy car park not far from the square so one has plenty of time to have meal, visit King John’s Hunting Lodge with its museum and climb the imposing steps leading to the Church of St. John the Baptist.

The Church of St. John the Baptist in Axbridge, Somerset. 

The Defence Logistics Treaty strengthens defence ties between the UK and Japan. Just as well - the Japanese Fleet is twice the size of the Royal Navy.

The UK has just signed with Japan a defence agreement by the name of the Defence Logistics Treaty also known as the Acquisition and Cross Servicing Agreement.  Defence Secretary Sir Michael Fallon’s welcome for the treaty included the words: “Japan is an important British ally and this treaty will enable closer joint work on operations and exercises, including sharing equipment, supplies and services. As Global Britain steps up, we will continue to stand alongside our Japanese friends to meet shared interests and challenges.”

Such talk of Japan being a friend and ally has a remarkably similar tone to the words used by Sir Oswald Mosely when, almost 50 years ago, he wrote of Britain’s relationship with Japan in the 1930s.  He stated: “. . . that Japan was not only an old friend but a traditional and remaining ally.”

In the late nineteenth century the Japanese Navy took the Royal Navy as its role model.  Japanese warships were built in British shipyards and naval missions from Britain advised the Japanese on the development of a modern fleet.  In the early twentieth century Vickers built the Kongo, the first of a class of 37,000 ton battlecruisers for the Japanese Navy, in its Barrow-in-Furness shipyard.  Three more of the class were subsequently built in Japan.  The Kongo was to see service in both world wars.

In World War One Japanese naval power enabled British warships to be withdrawn from the Far East and Pacific for service in the North Sea, Atlantic and Mediterranean.  Such cooperation came to an end before World War Two when Japanese colonial ambitions brought confrontation with the USA, Russia and Britain.

Today Japan has one of the largest navies in the world with 4 large helicopter carriers, 17 submarines, 36 destroyers and 6 destroyer escorts.  By contrast the Royal Navy has, excluding the Trident fleet, just 7 submarines of which none are presently on active operations and 19 frigates and destroyers.  Last July there was much adverse comment and speculation when all the Royal Navy’s modern Type 45 destroyers were reported as being in port at the same time.   Furthermore, they face long periods out of action having major modifications to their engines due to them failing when operating in hot climates.

In such circumstances it would seem that a wide ranging defence agreement with Japan could be of great benefit to the UK.  At sea the Japanese obviously have much more to offer us than we can offer them.  Hopefully the Defence Logistics Treaty will lead to greater military collaboration between our two island peoples – especially at sea!