Dribbling and giggling right up to the end

David Trimble’s former political advisor, Dr King has much to say on the subject of proper political representation for the nation of England:

It is time MPs from this part of the world who are not nationalists started to campaign for an English Parliament before the Union they cherish crumbles before their eyes.

It will come as no surprise to anyone that I agree. I cherish the Union and that is why things simply cannot be allowed to continue as they are because Britain cannot remain Great when its largest country does not have the same level of political representation as the others. Proper representation by politicians for England and proper accountability of politicians to England should, after all this time, not even be a question on the mind of a single individual. The fact that it is now on the minds of a growing number of people is the totally foreseeable result of what devolution has brought us.

Here's a thing. The way the Union used to be was somehow flawed. That is the undeniable belief and admission of this New Labour government. It would not have brought in unfractured devolution for Scotland and Wales if it did not believe this to be the case. Certainly before this fix the Union was asymmetrical but the fact that hardly a peep could be heard about it in your average English castle was a testament to the tuning of the balance. Now, looking back at the fix, what honest politician [sic] can sit back and say "there, that's better"? None can. Even Prescott's loony tunes attempt to break England up into regions was a part way admission that, in all likelihood, the English would notice which end of the stick they were on.

Well, it was noticed. It was also noticed that the English Regions were just smaller versions of the same stick with the English end still as unpalatable as before.

New Labour decided there was a problem with the Union. They took the largest hammer they could find and bashed away at it like a dribbling, giggling baby might bash at a shape puzzle and, eventually, they managed to get their cylinder to fit in the square hole. The toddler's happy but there's something decidedly amok with both the cylinder and the square and the circular hole is left wondering what on earth is wrong with it.

As Gareth said:

'English devolution' was, for a long time, Labour Party parlance for the balkanisation of England - 'England sacrificed at the altar of Unionism' as Michael Knowles so strikingly put it - but here Dr King talks of English devolution as true devolution from Westminster, as was offered to the other nations of the UK. It's quite shameful that these things are articulated better by an Ulster politician, rather than an English one, and that they should be brought to our attention by an Irish blogger, but there we are.....such is life.

And it's a disgrace that English politicians can go to work in the morning without adorning themselves with bling and without covering their faces by wearing a hood or a baseball cap like the vandals that they are.

Posted by John at March 8, 2005 09:04 AM | TrackBack