In the island of Britain today there are three governments representing three constitutional and political bodies. There is the Scottish Parliament, there is the Welsh Assembly, there is the United Kingdom Parliament. They represent Scotland, Wales and the United Kingdom Constitutionally and politically just those three exist. Constitutionally and politically England does not exist. That situation, and its implications, constitutes the English Question.
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Frank Field: The Strange Death of Labour England?: Revisiting Bagehot’s English Constitution
To mark the death of former Labour MP Frank Field on St George's Day 2024, we are republishing his Chancellor's Lecture to the University of Hertfordshire. At Westminster, Frank was a tireless campaigner for an English parliament and something of a lone voice on the Labour benches when it came to speaking for England's sense … Continue reading Frank Field: The Strange Death of Labour England?: Revisiting Bagehot’s English Constitution
The Leaders Speeches
Rishi Sunak's leader's speech at the 2023 Conservative Conference in Manchester lasted over an hour, but in all that time he only mentioned England once. Family matters, and as proud Conservatives we should never be afraid to say that. And there's another family that matters to us all, our family of nations: England, Scotland, Wales and … Continue reading The Leaders Speeches
Anglocentric Britishness
As previously noted on this website, the Union Flag is front and centre on Labour's campaign literature in England, while in Scotland and Wales the national flags of those nations are prioritised. David Lammy wrote a piece for The Sun outlining why Labour is proud to fly the Union Flag. While Lammy's reasons for Labour's flying of … Continue reading Anglocentric Britishness
On this Day in History: Gerrard Winstanley
On 1st April, 1649, Gerrard Winstanley, a prominent figure in the English Civil War period and a leader of the Diggers movement, took significant action to challenge the prevailing land ownership system in England. The Diggers, also known as True Levellers, were a group of agrarian communists who advocated for the common ownership of land … Continue reading On this Day in History: Gerrard Winstanley
Embrace the St George’s Flag
Last week, on the platform previously known as Twitter, a young, black English woman posed an interesting question.She asked, what is the difference between Rachel Chinouriri's use of England's Cross of St George in 'The Hills' and Beyoncé's use of America's Stars and Stripes on her new album 'Cowboy Carter'. Unfortunately, before much of a debate could … Continue reading Embrace the St George’s Flag
Is the Conservative Party an English nationalist party in all but name?
We keep on hearing that the Conservative Party is now an English nationalist Party in all but name (for example, see Tory grandees such as Clarke, Major or Pattern). But is it really? As Aughey noted back in 2010, the putative English nationalist calls for an English parliament, voiced by some Tories immediately post-devolution to … Continue reading Is the Conservative Party an English nationalist party in all but name?
We Have an England-only Parliament. It’s Westminster.
Nationalists of a Scottish persuasion regularly post this meme on social media. To their mind, it demonstrates that Westminster IS the English parliament (working in English interests, against Scottish interests) and that Boris Johnson is an English nationalist. But Boris Johnson was referring to the English Votes on English Laws mechanism that operated in the … Continue reading We Have an England-only Parliament. It’s Westminster.
English Commonwealth 