The Con-Dem Government and their nu- Labour predecessors have argued a lot over taxes and spending. However when taxes are increased and cutbacks made, it is often the poorest in society which are hit the hardest.

When considering cutbacks all the major three parties ignore two areas which definitely need cutting back – these being our membership of the European Union and the present United Kingdom. 

Our membership of the EU is well documented – and England puts more in than it gets in return. Membership makes no sense when trade agreements can be written, joint projects conducted and travel across Europe arranged without membership of the EU. The fact remains membership of the EU only benefits large global corporations who feast from the top table whilse the rest of us scavenge for crumbs.

Membership of the United Kingdom is something else which the taxpayers of England subsidise. Every minute taxes raised in England flow across the sea to Northern Ireland and over the borders into Wales and Scotland to fund their government’s. The fact is the other home nations have devolution and the taxpayers of England pay the bill.

When will the English people wake up to the fact that if we liberated ourselves from Scotland, Wales, Northern Ireland AND the EU, not only would we be able to do away with the proposed savage cuts to the English public services, but we would also be free to protect English firms from hostile takeovers (Kraft) and halt the imminent mass immigration from places such as Bulgaria and Rumania (and Turkey if Cameron gets his way). English independence is the logical conclusion of the current EU and devolution mess and the definite solution to the West Lothian question.

 

WHAT LIES BEHIND THE CON-DEM WINDOW DRESSING
We have all been shopping and bought an item where the description is absolutely wonderful and the packaging leads to all sorts of high expectations. Yet when we return home and take the item out of the box we become disappointed, it’s not as wonderful as we first thought and very often some of the pieces are missing.

In a way politics is a little bit like going shopping. Each of the main parties has a shop window which they dress beautifully, their policies neatly packaged and presented and their tidily dressed well spoken salesmen doing their utmost to seem sincere and understanding. But, like the item which you have bought in the shop, when you return home and remove the packaging what you really have is something you neither expected, nor wanted, and because some of the items are missing it simply doesn’t work.

The present Con-Dem coalition is doing a wonderful job of window dressing their shop window. With the ‘Under new management sign’ neatly placed on the door of Number Ten they have set about refurbishing the store and rebranding the same products with different packaging. Shortly following the new management sign came one saying ‘Under refurbishment – sorry for any inconvenience’, as the Con-Dems announced massive cutbacks in their emergency budget. Finally the store opened for real, and the Con-Dems announce a superb deal on immigration and benefits, all neatly packaged and served by their smiling sales personnel.

So let’s have a look at these special offers from the Con-Dem superstore of politics. To begin with let us look at immigration, or to give it its real titles Economic Migration and Asylum.

Realistically the Con-Dem policies will do little to prevent England suffering further intolerable levels of economic migration and will do very little to prevent our country from remaining  the number one destination for asylum seekers. It is very true; the new Con-Dem policies may do something to prevent people from outside the EU from settling in England, but what worries people most is economic migration from other EU states. Will these new policies prevent thousands of Turkish economic migrants from coming to England? NO! What will happen when Albania eventually joins the EU, will it prevent Albanians from coming to England as economic migrants? NO! Will these new policies prevent the pressure such economic migration shall bring to our schools, housing and hospital services? NO!  Therefore when you take the Con-Dem immigration policy out of the packaging it is not only disappointing, some of the items are missing and it doesn’t really work!

Now let us open the benefits package. The Con-Dem proposal is to have a purge on the benefit system and to cut the number of claimants. On face value this may seem a good idea, as many of our coastal resorts have a ‘Costa del Dole’ image and there are many people which our benefit system has made into ‘the professional unemployed’ or those who seek to work the system rather than ever finding real work again. However these people are a small minority, and as we have stated are a product of the present system. But on viewing the Con-Dem proposals, our real fears are that it will be the genuine and most vulnerable claimants that will suffer most from the purge on benefits.

Unforunately the worst thing about the whole Con-Dem package of policies is that it will create further unemployment, thus forcing more people on to benefits. Investment in our schools and industry will be reduced. There will be little encouragement for English industries, and therefore fewer opportunities will be created. The Con-Dem ideal is a capitalist one for foreign companies to buy out and asset strip English companies or to keep them going using cheaper economic migrant labour. Therefore we are back to square one.

So if we unwrap the Con-Dem immigration and benefits proposals we can see we have something none of us really want, something which has some necessary components missing and something that will definitely not work. As a result of these policies over the coming years we will still  see high levels of economic migration from other EU countries, an influx of cheap overseas labour, further strains on our housing, schools, hospitals and social services, and more people being driven into benefits with some even turning to crime as a last resort.

As English Radicals we view things from a common sense angle rather than one driven by a capitalist or socialist ideology. We need to deal with ALL forms of economic migration from both inside and outside the EU. We see the EU superstate as something which is far too expensive in the form of our financial contribution and the social costs we have to pay as part of uncontrollable economic migration membership incurs.  We see the current costly benefit system as completely inadequate. It needs replacing with one which offers support for those that are vulnerable or genuinely unemployed but provides a real incentive to return to work. Therefore we believe the present benefit system needs scrapping and replacing with a National Income Scheme, which would provide funding to house, clothe and feed people and allow them to keep this funding when they found employment, thus providing a real incentive for returning to work. Lastly we need investment in the people of England to create businesses and thus create jobs.

ERA provides an alternative range of policies for creating a new, radical and independent England. When you remove the packaging from English Radical policies you will find something that is not disappointing, that has all the components in place and that definitely works. Therefore isn’t it time to take the faulty goods of the main parties back to their plush superstores and start to shop somewhere else. ERA is open all hours for business.


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On the Andrew Marr show on February 21st the Greek Prime Minister was interviewed about his country’s dire economic crisis. Towards the end of the interview Mr Marr asked the Greek PM if it is a good idea for the people of Britain to take their holidays in Greece, with its economic woes. The Greek PM of course replied ‘Yes’,  stating that Greece is ‘A friend in need’  and the people of Britain will receive a very warm welcome from the people of Greece.

The English Radical Alliance would like to inform the Greek Prime Minister, the EU, the media and Mr Marr, that England is also ‘A friend in need’.  The people of County Durham are ‘people in need’ following the loss of a big part of their local economy, with the closure of the Corus steel plant, a manufacturing plant with a reputation for producing quality steel that was known throughout the world.

The English Radical Alliance (ERA) would like to inform the Greek PM, the rest of the EU and in fact the rest of the world, should they wish to come to England for their holidays that they would receive a very warm welcome.  We are a people always willing to extend the hand of friendship and generosity.

England is a land of contrasts from the beaches of its coastal counties to the staggeringly beautiful mountains of Cumberland and Westmorland whose landscapes have inspired authors, poets and artists alike. From the moors of Devon and Cornwall to the Yorkshire Dales and the historic towns and cities of every English county, that has provided the world with some of its greatest historic events and people in history. From the Norfolk Broads, the Fens and the Somerset levels, where the wildlife and flora attract visitors from all over the world, to the Lake District’s breathtaking scenery that has inspired walkers and artists alike.  The architecture of England may not be as ancient as that of Greece, yet they are just as, if not more beautiful, with awe inspiring cathedrals, abbeys, castles, palaces, country houses, public buildings, and bridges, all built with the skills of artisans and beauty of design that can match anything found anywhere in the world.    

England needs investment, it needs tourism and it needs friends to support our economy and our tourist industry. Our guest houses, small hotels and self catering establishments have all faced hard times in the recent recession. When we speak in terms of industry, it is very easy to think simply in terms of manufacturing and ignore the significant contribution of our tourist industry. It is an industry that has been almost totally ignored by the main parties, and it is one where most of the minor parties never mention.

We in the English Radical Alliance understand the contribution tourism makes towards the English economy. We also understand many of our main tourist areas are also areas of high unemployment, low wages and high house prices, and this needs addressing. Capitalism has failed these areas. Socialism would simply offer greater centralisation and costly bureaucracy. Our decentralised Distributist policies would provide opportunities to local people and the autonomy to bring about necessary change.

The English Radical Alliance recognises England is a ‘Friend in need’ – but we also realise England has far too many enemies within, and most of these are in or likely to be in government!

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As of the First of December 2009 (mark it well) the Lisbon Treaty came into force throughout Europe. Here are a few things the British government decided you didn’t need to worry about when they signed it.

YOU HAVE JUST LOST THE RIGHT NOT TO BE IMPRISONED WITHOUT JUST CAUSE. 

YOU HAVE LOST THE RIGHT TO TRIAL BY A JURY OF YOUR PEERS.

IF ACCUSED OF A CRIME, YOU ARE NOW GUILTY UNTIL PROVEN INNOCENT.

Britain has also lost its “Veto”, and may no longer negotiate independently with other nations, that role has now passed to Europe, thanks to the treaty we were denied a vote on. The one Labour promised us a referendum on at the last election. Just in case you felt like trusting them again.

It is surely now only a matter of time before we are compelled to adopt the Euro.

Is this version of Europe really what our Grandparents fought and many died for?

The people of this country have been sold down the river by politicians from every major party, whose agenda has been to trap us in just such a way as they have now. They love the EU, it’s a gravy train for them after national politics. There’s a long list of failed British politicians with their snouts in the European trough, paid for by us.  

We of the ENGLISH RADICAL ALLIANCE are campaigning for an independent England, out of Britain and the EU, but also for protective policies to help our declining industrial base, and keeping our service personnel out of foreign wars

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