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Following the recent general election, the Conservatives could cleverly engineer a situation which would eventually allow them to achieve two things – form a comfortable majority government, and make some massive public spending savings without upsetting their core English vote. How can they do this? By biting the bullet and accepting they will never have a mandate to rule in Scotland.

There are now two democratic deficits in the “United” Kingdom: the perennial one of England being the only home nation that does not have its own parliament, and now the blatant Labour/Tory split between Scotland and England. The Conservatives returned only one MP in Scotland, while Labour won an outright majority with 41 of the available 59 seats.

Bad times are coming to Britain, the chickens of 13 years of continuous Labour misrule, plus the effects of the capitalist generated recession are about to come home to roost in the form of massive cuts, tax hikes and redundancies. One thing is worth remembering however – ALL the main parties, support the capitalist system which dragged us into recession and which allows multinational corporations and banks to dictate to national government.

ERA believes the United Kingdom is dead in all but name anyway – how can you call it political union, when the three smallest nations have their own parliaments or assemblies, while the largest one, England, does not? Westminster is the BRITISH government, and allows Scottish, Welsh and Northern Irish. MP's to vote on matters affecting only England – a classic example is the third runway at Heathrow, deeply unpopular in south east England, but pushed through anyway by Labour dragging their Celtic MP's down to vote for it. 

How could the Tories achieve the aim of an English parliament? By being patient and not entering into coalition with the Lib Dems. The Lib Dem's only other option is to work with Labour, who are already discredited in the eyes of the English public, so to work with them is to be tainted by association.

Once the IMF come in and enforce the inevitable spending cuts and tax increases that have to be implemented – of which England will bear the brunt - who will the electorate blame? The Lab/Lib Dem government! It would not surprise us if another election has to be called within a year – if the coalition breaks down, Britain would be ungovernable, and a new mandate would have to be secured. If the Tories stood on a ticket of cutting England loose from Labour-dominated and state subsidised Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland, they would easily secure enough seats in England to have an absolute majority in the British parliament at Westminster.

An English only government would do away with the Barnett formula, which is an English taxpayer funded, British government subsidy to the celtic nations for everyone who lives there – how do you think the Scots can afford free care homes for their elderly? Free prescriptions? Free university education? The Scots constantly remind us that North Sea oil revenue should go straight to Scotland – but who foots the massive unemployment benefit bill in Scottish, mostly Labour, constituencies, or the massive public sector employment wage bill in Scotland? The English taxpayer. We would be quite happy for Scotland to keep their oil revenue, if it meant they  used it to pay for all the good stuff listed above, that the English can only dream about having. The oil will run out one day, as things stand the subsidy never will.

By formally breaking up the Union, a new English government would only be concerned with England. Scotland, Wales, and Northern Ireland would once again be separate self governing nations, and more importantly, self financing. A “Council of the Isles” could be convened once a month to discuss issues that affect inter-nation issues, other than that England would have little need to concern itself with the internal affairs of our celtic neighbours. 

We could say be patient Mr Cameron – another six or twelve months in opposition, and the prize will be there for the taking and you can deliver fairness to the people of England with the first steps towards a new independent English nation. However in reality, just as the leopard never changes its spots, we suspect Cameron’s Conservative & Unionist Party will not take the final plunge and dissolve this dis-United Kingdom. In any case, independence is just one step towards liberating the people of England. The other is delivering political and economic systems that inspire our nation, and which offer opportunity, aspiration and fairness. Sadly neither Mr. Cameron’s Tories nor any of the other political parties offer such a package. For that you have to turn to the English Radicals.
 


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