Blunkett on Englishness

What on Earth does David Blunkett mean?:

"With cultural and political strength in the devolved assemblies in Parliament in Scotland, we really do need to reinforce the Englishness of the English but in a comprehensive and open way as part of Britishness," Mr Blunkett said.

Should Scottishness and Welshness be reinforced in a similarly open way? If not then why not? Why are the English a special case?

If only they could see us now

Had the nazis won the second world war and had they finally invaded and conquered the British Isles there would have been little doubt that lampooning their great leader would have been an offence. Luckily, and with a great deal of effort and sacrifice we, along with out allies, won the conflict. With that in mind it does seem amazing to me that lampooning the leader of the opposition does seem to have become a punishable act.

That was then, this is now

When the government suggests that this or that policy is desirable and the police service are in agreement our ministers insist that the mere fact that our police think the policy is desirable is an extremely good reason for that policy to pass unopposed through the two parliamentary houses. I wonder how well the government will listen to their tarmac pounding champions this time.

On the statue of Mandela and Trafalgar Square

My own opinion on this is that Trafalgar Square should be reserved for British icons. You might ask why but then again you might also ask why bother preserving any notion of British heritage. It's simply a cultural thing and I believe that British culture is something that should be celebrated rather than eroded.

If Mandela goes up then I suggest that there are also other foreign nationals who are also worthy of the position. Nothing else can be sensibly argued and, after all, the desire to place a statue of Mandela in the Square is a desire based on the perceived worth of the individual in isolation from their nationality and contribution to Britain.

Consequently, if it is about perceived worth then the next logical step is to balance that worth against that of any existing statue. Why argue for the Mandela statue but against the removal of an existing one so that its place might be given up to another individual of world recognised worth? You cannot without playing the tradition and history cards, the very same cards you refused to play in the opening hand.

I laugh. The people at work stare at me.

Heh. I love the copyright message at the bottom of JonnyB's private secret diary:

Copyright (c) 2004-2005 by me, JonnyB. That's real copyright, not any 'creative commons' internet hippie type thing.

New Witanagemot member

A big welcome to Grocer Jack who is the latest blogger to join the Witanagemot club.

EDP flash movie

There's a new and interesting flash movie on the front page of the EDP web site. Take a look here and ask yourself how regional devolution in England can solve the problems it highlights.

Then ask yourself if there is a solution what that solution might be.

Phantom libertarianism

Once a moonbat always a moonbat, as the saying goes. In the Guardian (of all places) George Monbiot blasts libertarians and blames their state of mind on driving:

But this is not, or not really, an article about speed, or cameras, or even cars. It is about the rise of the antisocial bastards who believe they should be allowed to do what they want, whenever they want, regardless of the consequences. I believe that while there are many reasons for the growth of individualism in the UK, the extreme libertarianism now beginning to take hold here begins on the road.

And in that paragraph we see Monboit's inability to grasp what libertarianism is about, if it is about anything.

For a libertarian the consequences are everything. That's why libertarians hold responsibility in such high regard.

Take responsibility for your actions, don't rely on the state to take it for you.

Monbiot is also living in some kind of alternative universe if he thinks that any rise in libertarianism is caused by road usage. Firstly, that there is a rise in libertarianism is certainly questionable. I have not seen any evidence of it and, indeed, I would argue that exactly the opposite is the case. Secondly, even if it was on the rise I would put it down to a reaction against over regulation.

If car usage had anything to do with libertarian tendencies how is it that the mass of feeling this must have surely created by now has not been reflected in parliament?

Tories accept the current devolution settlement?

I wonder what David Cameron, the new Tory leader, and his crew mean when they say:

"He will stress that his Westminster team will work closely with Annabel Goldie and he will stress, again, that the Tories accept the devolution settlement."

Well, Cameron has been up to Scotland and has confirmed that:

the Scottish Parliament's power to vary income tax by up to 3p in the pound would continue were he to win power and that Scottish Tories would have the fiscal freedom to cut tax north of the border to below the UK level.

Well, I guess we now know what he means.

All together now:

The more you refuse to hear my voice
The louder I will sing
You hide behind walls of Jericho
Your lies will come tumbling
Deny my place in time
You squander wealth that's mine
My light will shine so brightly
It will blind you
Cos there's......

EDM 1184

I've just used this service to send a fax to my MP asking him to sign this Early Day Motion.

This is a change in direction for me as I was convinced that I would never write to another MP again. I have found that writing to my MP is much the same as signing an on line petition. Neither activity has actually produced any positive outcome in the past.

Am I coming in out of the cold? No, but I am throwing ice and snow through a slight crack in the door.

Via Gav.

Oi, you can't do that to us

This from Ian. A farmer discharged a shotgun during an attempted robbery at his home. The attitude of the criminals as they fled (how often do they flee these days) seems to have been one of incredulity:

"They sped away and had the cheek to say they were going to phone the police."

The criminals in this case have no fear of the police, they are breaking the law in the first place by being on the farm and trying to nick a quad bike, they try to use their car as a weapon and when someone returns fire they feel that the police & the law will be on their side. In this case they may be proved wrong the police have asked the farmer and are happy that he was acting in self-defense and are now looking for the real criminals, but is does show just how well protected the criminals feel in this country.

Caught in the Crossfire

A long time ago, when the blogosphere was a very different place and good people were still mainly relying upon the usual suspects for their news and commentary, I ran a protozoic online blog called FrontRank. It was about the shooting sports in the UK and all that which mainly meant passing commentary on government legislation and how it affected legitimate shooters and what us shooters could do about it by way of campaigning etc. Yes, yes, I know. It was an exercise in a hiding to nothing.

Well, some months back a couple of bloggers started whispering. What if, they wondered, we were to get together and start up a new blog? A blog about shooting and all that? Of course, having trodden this road before and having been exposed to the sheer will draining properties that speaking for an unpopular minority has I immediately agreed that it was a good idea and that we should proceed without delay onto the flat plains of despair that such an initiative would require us to walk (Ed: Get on with it and stop being so bloody miserable about it).

So a new group blog is born. My fellow travellers are Ian from An English Shooter’s blog and Mark from Gun Culture. It will in all likelihood be a slow burning blog but, frankly, one that needed to exist.

So, feel free to visit and link to Caught in the Crossfire. A blog about the shooting sports in the UK and the sportsmen and women caught in the crossfire between government legislation and a criminal element who are all too happy to ignore that legislation.

Run for the hills!

Blogging is likely to be very light today as I have done myself an injury. This makes me a little sad. However, this makes me laugh so much it hurts:

Neil Herron's campaign over parking charges has come on a long way since revealing Sunderland Council had wrongly handed out £30,000 worth of fines it did not have orders to enforce.

In fact it has come on such a long way that the "metric martyr" is now a figure of dread for any unwary traffic warden of council official patrolling the streets of the city. Mention of his name sends shivers down the back of any trainee attendant, and calls to supervisors are met with a simple groan on the other end of the walkie-talkie. Indeed it seems traffic wardens are taking to their heels and scampering for the hills at the first sign of Mr Herron demanding a ticket. "Its just not on," Mr Herron explained. "They're just running away from me." We couldnt think why.

Bwahaha!! Cough...cough....

Pull up the drawbridge and release the hounds

The Englishman does some excellent work on the subject of council tax inspectors and their mandate to enter your home. He then asks a simple question: so why the lies?

Might as well ask a monkey why it makes monkey noises.

Need a wedding photographer?

If you're looking for a wedding photographer you could (almost possibly) do worse than Derek Pye Wedding and Glamour Photography:

I am Derek Pye multi award winning wedding and glamour photographer. It’s generally accepted that I am the best wedding photographer working in the UK today.

Don't miss out on his Muktar Special service.

Did you nod when you read it?

You have to wonder how it has come to this:

In such politically correct times this is an extremely brave decision by an officer of Wear Valley District Council to give the English flag such prominence.

What other country on Earth can have that said about it and its relationship with its national flag?

It takes more than a few football hooligans if you ask me.

As for asking myself the same quesiton as the title of this post, no. No I didn't nod.

Well, colour me ridiculously overdone

A young woman recites 97 names of the UK's Iraq war dead by the Cenotaph memorial, gets arrested and charged and is later found guilty of breaking a new law stopping unauthorised protests within half a mile of Parliament. No great surprise there because, after all, the did break the law albeit one that I think is particularly bad.

Then along came a Lord who, for some inexplicable reason, decided to misrepresent our concerns:

"The idea that we take a measure, which is a public order measure, designed to protect our Parliament building, as depriving us of freedom of speech is ridiculously overdone.

Yes, that's right my Lord, everyone who thinks this law is bad thinks that it takes away all of our rights to free speech. The legislation, and everyone is clear on this, prevents people expressing themselves in a manner acceptable in most places across the country within a certain area around of the Houses of Parliament and they (we) complain and protest about it. There is no doubt that it is a free speech issue but it is not one depriving us of freedom of speech in its totality and no one is suggesting that it is. They protest the issue within a context my Lord, which you have chosen to ignore.

After such a brazen misrepresentation of those opposed to the legislation he continues his decline:

"There isn't a country in the world that doesn't take particular measures to protect its Parliament."

As if people were suggesting something different. It would be extremely interesting to draw up a list of parliaments which are protected by a similar piece of legislation however as that is the context, though that in itself would not necessarily change the objection fundamentally.

I can't help but feel that the BBC report misrepresents the Lord in some way. Certainly from their report he comes across as someone lacking in the kind of skills we might expect to be richly represented within a lord chancellor.

He certainly seems to be playing someone elses tune, but can that really be true?

Hydrocardigans?

John Prescott didn't reall say hydrocardigans did he? This must be some kind of joke, perhaps on Prescott's part?

Invading English legions ... somehow

I think you'll find that any continuing occupation is the doing of the British government rather than the English:

However, the decision not to opt for greater integration is very pleasing; like wise with the single welsh police force (as opposed to a cross border force) we are beginning to more clearly define our borders with England, and create an element of separation between ourselves and our occupiers.

After all, how can the English mobilise any kind of occupying force without all the state machinery necessary to run it.

Of course, way back when, such an accusation may well have been true but it is certainly not the case these days and hasn't been for some significant time.

It's an interesting time we find ourselves in. I find it fascinating that accusations of English 'occupation' and 'Empire' and what have you can come from a people who have their own national political representation, particularly when such representation is not afforded to the very people accused of using it to the determent of our democratic superiors.

Beer, beer, everywhere and not a drop to drink

The fact that anyone can even consider this to be workable is a very sad reflection indeed of the progress that nanyism seems to have made in Britain:

A LEADING surgeon has called on the Scottish executive to tackle alcohol abuse by limiting pub customers to three drinks.

A book for the grumpy

Ooo, ooo, someone buy me this.

Explosion.....!

We've just been woken up by what sounded and felt like a massive explosion. Houseshaking.

Flickering lights in the sky in the distance.

Sky TV news reporting an explosion near or in Hemel Hempstead, perhaps at a fuel depot of some sorts.

Sky news online report.

There's a massive black cloud drifting this way, perhaps about a mile away.

From the back garden.

It's interesting to listen to the various reports of the noise the explosion made across the South of the country. A number of people reported hearing a low rumbling before it happened which is contrary to what we heard. For us it was a defined event. A single sharp and very loud bang, followed by the kind of rolling sound that thunder can make.

Regarding that cloud of smoke, it seems to be moving away rather than towards us now.

Apparently they are evacuating residents from Leverstock Green, half a mile to a mile away from here. Possibly something to do with the cloud.

We hear reports that a number of shops in the high street, 4 or so miles from the event, have had windows blown out.

Having been up since the very start and following the MSM reports it seems to us that Sky News were well ahead of any of the other broadcasters on this. First to report it on TV, first pictures, first video and live reports from the scene. A few minutes behind The England Project but not far.

Some of this might have something to do with the number of engineers that they have across the country that install equipment in residential homes etc. Some of the early reports came directly from these engineers phoning in to the sky offices.

No reports on any early reportage from TV licensing crews across the country.

Apparently the depot stores a number of different kinds of fuels, aviation, kerosine and unleaded petrol. The depot is the largest such depot in the country (Ed: incorrect, apparently the 5th largest - 'Hertfordshire Police') so this may well have some knock on effect to energy supplies. If the slack cannot be taken up by other depots and refineries it could be an interesting test of the government's emergency fuel storage and supply plans that they said they put into effect after the petrol demonstrations that blockaded various refineries and depots across the country some time back.

Tim Newman reports on his educated guess as to what the cause might be (via comments at Tim Worstall's blog).

Calling out Conservative bloggers

Ask a question, get a stock answer. That certainly seems to be the way of things when the questions are complex, the correct answers politically 'difficult' and the stock answers easy on the tongue. Take the deeply disturbing omission of the nation of England from the devolution project in Britain. What about England?. It's one of the hard ones and currently has two stock answers. Regional devolution, which says nothing of England as a nation and can never deliver the level of devolution given to other British nations, and English Votes on English Matters (EVoEM) which delivers just as poorly and is just as unequal in the devolution stakes. EVoEM is designed to answer a very different question to that of devolution; it simply provides an accessible answer to the question of devolved nations voting on matters in a UK parliament building on proposed English only legislation. It provides no voice for England, no executive, no body to work in the interests of the people of England to ensure that they are equally represented in the Union.

Silky smooth, it rolls off the tongue. It's the Tory opposition body armour. It's the soundbite on the radio. It's the footnote at the bottom of the ubiquitous your MP has asked me to respond letter.

And it's not good enough. I know this, my fellow Witanagemot Club bloggers know this and those members of the public who have become aware of the discrimination that devolution has handed down to them know this.

Gareth, over at the Campaign for an English Parliament has thrown down the gauntlet to the conservative bloggers who use this easy EVoEM chaff in response to the hard question:

A quick Google for them revealed them to be nothing more than a cursory mention of Davis and Cameron's attitude towards Scots voting on English legislation. This simply won't do. I'd like to see some proper discussion amongst Conservative bloggers about how 'English Votes on English Laws/Matters' (EVoEM) would actually work in practice. It seems to be a subject that Conservative bloggers, just like the Conservative Party, go out of their way to avoid discussing in any detail.

...

So, if any of you Conservative bloggers (Once More, Conservative Home, The Cameron Leadership - or any of the individual Tory bloggers) are reading this, then consider it a gauntlet thrown down. Please explain to us at The Campaign for an English Parliament how your EVoEM proposals would work. Let's discuss this now, it's in your interests before the matter becomes a serious embarrassment for the Conservative Party and the UK as a whole.

They're ok, but I wouldn't print them out

I agree with John Beardsworth here:

I've never been overwhelmed by the National Portrait Gallery's annual Photographic Portrait Prize but this year's shortlist truly limbo dances under my ankle high expectations.

Take a look at the winners and tell me that you've not seen better....on your own camera screen.

In other news I recently gave a print away as a gift to a good friend of mine. It was of her and her little boy in a very tender embrace. It made her cry. She didn't say why. I could have asked but I didn't want to take the risk.

Pffft, ten a penny

Get a load of this. Apparently I have one member of parliament, one county councillor, three district councillors and seven members of the European parliament.

The 6:46 from Westminster will not be stopping at this station

It looks like the Welsh are to receive a greater level of autonomy within the Union. Good for them I suppose, although the UK government will still have to rubber stamp various bits of legislation.

The train of devolution seems to be progressing at some considerable speed leaving a whole bunch of unfortunates standing on the platform.

By appointment only

Do you know what I think says all you need to know about this government and the fools who backed them? Having to make an appointment before you can exercise any right you might think you have to free speech.

Next time an MP or a government slack of any description tries to talk to you or canvas your opinion or tries to express a point or policy directly to you why not ask them to make an appointment first? Tell them why.

George Orwell estate to sue Government over breach of copyright

Things seem to be getting rather serious for this government.

Quote of the day

Call me an old dyed in the wool Thatcherite, but what poor old Albion needs is a lot less bleeding heart compassion nonsense & a great deal more individual freedom. Surveying the entire spectrum of British politics, there isn’t a single political party that is committed to rolling back state interference in peoples every day lives & mores the shame for that. - Mr. Free Market.

Best blog funding model ever

There’s a very interesting funding model for blogging out there that I’ve just stumbled upon and it’s perfect. It allows bloggers who are lucky enough to get into the model to have all their costs paid for. It also affords the blogger the luxury of free advertising by one of the biggest media outlets this country has ever seen.

The funding model is so perfect and so aggressive that not only is cash not a problem but payments are actually enforced by a very large team of ‘enforcers’ who drive around in vans to ensure that as many people pay as possible.

It’s great.

New witan member

A big Witanagemot welcome to Jules over at Attempting Escape.

Tag line anyone?

Slow blogging alert

Blogging here is a bit slow at present as I am working on a new project which will be announced in the following days or, perhaps, weeks. It's all very exciting...

A Nation of Flag-Hags - the friday Project lays out its stall

The Friday Project sets out its stall on the subject of England and that whole Terry White issue. Go take a look. It’s not pretty.

There is much to object to, for instance the author asserts that the Cross of St. George is a wretched flag. He also asserts that it is not too offensive to say that wherever we see hooligan behaviour the flag of St. George is displayed (referring to White's assertion that football scenarios as simply an example of this truism but not a necessary qualifying characteristic).

Has the author completely missed the last few of years? Where has he been during the rise of English consciousness and the whole ‘taking back of the flag’ deal?

for better or for worse, rightly or wrongly, associations are made between the flag and racism.

Keep up there at the back. I mean, how many people can take these ludicrous assertions seriously anymore? Where was the outpouring of utter distaste across the country when the flag was in such high profile during the footy and the rugby. All those cars, shops etc. While the Friday Project might cling to an insulting imagery the rest of us have moved on recognising the past for that is was; the misappropriation of England’s national flag by a minority of hooligans. Who in their right mind gazed upon the coverage of the rugby victory celebrations in Trafalgar Square and thought, man, what a bunch of racists or even I bet there are one or two racists on that lion?

The Friday Project, when presented with the hypothesis that The Labour Party are trying to wipe England off the UK map respond with the statement that it is not the most reasonable of assertions but I fear that they have misunderstood the meaning of the statement. Devolution has ended up asserting the nationhood of Wales and particularly of Scotland. We hear this assertion on the lips of a number of politicians when they refer to Scotland as being a nation in its own right and then refer to England as simply a collection of regions. New Labour’s very own Gordon Brown believes very much in the balkanisation of England revealed somewhat by his repeated use of the phraseology ”The nations and regions of Britain”. It is this wiping out of England as a nation in its own right on a par with Scotland that the initial statement is alluding to. Whereas this might sound unreasonable to the Friday Project it is most definitely not. Indeed, it is the crux of the whole unequal devolution process and is one of the biggest questions on the lips of a growing number of MPs and voters across Britain.

It’s of some interest that I note that the Labour Party were extremely quick to disassociate themselves from Mr. Whites statements knowing that they would be deeply unpopular and insulting to a great number of people. They recognised the fact that White’s statements were anything but reasonable.

When Gisela Stuart brought up the issue of the emerging English consciousness, which has a great deal to do with asymmetrical devolution and the notion of civic nationalism so well highlighted by Gareth’s extremely good English Civic Nationalism essay the Friday Project declares God, she's a bore. That’s fair enough I suppose and they would not be the first people to be bored by a politician. However, that does not mean that the issues raised are not important or, might I add, of great depth and interest to the rest of us.

I don’t really want to prescribe a particular characteristic to the whole editorial team of the Friday Project. It would be unfair and unreasonable and inaccurate. Why then, might I ask, does the author describe England as a A Nation of Flag-Hags?

Via Gareth.

Longrider comments as does L'Ombre de l'Olivier.

The bells are ringing

It seems that Terry White of the New Labour Communications Unit has 'resigned'. This, I think, is the first resignation of someone within the New Labour party for anti-English sentiments and it is the marvel that is the Internet that we need to thank for the speed with which this matter has been 'resolved'.

Divide and conquer is so much harder when one person, the recipient of a disgraceful anti-English email, can get his message out to thousands of people in such a short time.

Tonight I shall be drinking to the effectiveness of the web of associates that the Internet has provided me with.

Wassail my friends! Drink up, for tonight our little band of common men and women celebrate our first real victory.

Tomorrow we march on parliament.

Offer subject to Terry White having actually resigned.
Also depends on how drunk I am in the morning of course.

And so the invasion to the north begins

The pickings for Neil Herron and his crew of merry men look to be getting richer quite soon:

The North East’s bid to secure new civil service jobs resulting from a major Whitehall review has taken a significant step forward.

A new website www.movingnortheast.co.uk has just gone live, setting out the North East’s economic package to attract Government departments and agencies relocating from London and the south east as part of the Lyons Review recommendations.

Now that, ladies and gentlemen, is what I call a target rich environment.

Press Plagiarist of the Year Award

Guido's most excellent Press Plagiarist of the Year Award has been announced! Go visit him to see who won....or lost depending upon which side of the pair of scissors you are sitting.

Singing for England

The EU Serf is Singing for England over at Once More.

Witan Blog Roundup No. 5

The 5th Witanagemot roundup is up, this time hosted over at L'Ombre de l'Olivier.

Here dad, do you know the piano is on my foot?

“Right then, can you read music?”

“No.”

“Ok, then I think we’ll begin with that.”

“Actually, can we just go through some chords for a couple of songs and perhaps you can write down some tab to some intros for me? Layla, I quite like that one.”

That was pretty much the opening dialog from my first and last guitar lesson and pretty much sums up my attitude to learning the instrument.

I picked up the guitar about ten years ago, read a beginners book and bought one of those guitar case sized chord books. My intention, my sole intention, was to master the instrument to the point where I could bang out a tune or two while drunk to entertain any of the drink soaked friends that we happened to have around for dinner at the time.

I progressed rapidly and then stopped progressing right about the time that the England Project family were blessed with a little Englander.

I loved the instrument and still do and there is no doubt in my mind that one of these days I will pick it up again to learn new stuff rather than just repeat the brief repertoire that I know now.

It seems to me that my relationship with the guitar is a healthy one. I knew that if I went down the route of, you know, actually learning the thing ‘properly’ it would never figure in my life and my friends would miss out on the best performances of “Wish you were here” they were ever likely to hear. In my kitchen.

This unfortunate situation is exactly the kind I was trying to avoid. Playing should be fun and the intention of learning an instrument should be to have fun with what you know.

My advice to doctorvee is to learn a song that he can play drunk and that others will want to sing when they are also drunk. That is the first step on the path to a cure.

(No, not “Night Swimming” by REM).

Remember, anyone might be a blogger

Wow, some online retailers are totally crazy:

"I will make sure you will never be able to place an order on the internet again." "I'm an attorney, I will sue you." "I will call the CEO of your company and play him the tape of this phone call." "I'm going to call your local police and have two officers come over and arrest you." "You'd better get this through your thick skull." "You have no idea who you are dealing with."

Unfortunately for the retailer the consumer he abused is a blogger.