Our fabulous new Minister for Constitutional Affairs, Harriet Harman, doesn't believe in democracy or equality for England and doesn't see any problem with the current unjust and unfair political system in the UK. Despite Labout losing the popular vote in England by some 60,000 votes they still gained a parliamentary majority of 67 seats and have formed a government. They clearly have no moral mandate to rule the country but they will continue to do so for another 5 years, perpetuating the unfair and discriminatory system that favours the ruling party and leaves England as the only country in the EU with no direct political representation.
To try and educate our glorious new Minister for English Discrimination and Undemocratic Reform, I've sent her an email. I don't know how long it'll take her to get round to reading it because if the posts at Campaign for an English Parliament and Cross of St George are anything to go by, she's getting quite a few of these types of email.
Hi,
I watched you on Question Time the other night, it was certainly entertaining. I don't think we've had a minister in charge of a department that is so far removed from reality for quite a long time.
As Minister for Constitutional Affairs (an interesting title when you consider that we don't have a constitution), I would expect you to have more than a vague idea of the voting system in the UK and the problems associated with it (anomalies). Briefly, the problems with the current system are the fact that despite getting less actual votes, a party can still win an election and the fact that England has no direct political representation.
Elaborating on the first point, Labour won the general election with a majority of seats despite actually getting less real votes in England. In short, despite less people wanting Labour, the "Banana Republic" voting system we have in this country means that Labour are perfectly entitled to govern the country under Minority Rule. The people of England didn't want Labour, didn't vote for them, but have had them imposed on us for another 4-5 years but an out-of-date, undemocratic and corrupt electoral system. This brings me nicely onto the second point.
Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland both have devolved governments (albeit a suspended one in Northern Ireland but that's their own fault). England doesn't have a devolved government. England hasn't even been offered the chance to say if they want a devolved government. Instead, the government have pursued a policy of dividing the country up into political regions that mean nothing to the people who live in them and continue to pursue this policy despite it being rejected overwhelmingly in the referendum for the North East Assembly. Discrimination and disparity is rife in the United Kingdom and the government doesn't appear to be willing to do anything about it.
The Barnett Formula diverts millions of pounds worth of tax payers money away from England and disproportionately distributes it to the other three home nations at the expense of services and public spending for the majority of the population. Please explain to me, without using any of Labour's beloved buzz words or catchphrases, why it is fair for somebody in Scotland to receive an average of £1,300 per year extra central government spending than me without having to pay more taxes than I do.
The disparity between England and the rest of the UK is diabolical and is a system people associate with third world countries, dictatorships and despotism's. A constituency in Scotland can elect a member of parliament who can then go and head up a government department with a mandate only applicable to England (such as Transport). This MP will be unable to serve his own constituency because it is a devolved matter but he can lord it over the entire English nation safe in the knowledge that not one of them has any say in whether he gets elected again or not.
The entire political system in this country absolutely beggars belief and wouldn't look out of place in apartheid South Africa or Saddam Hussein's Iraq which were both governed by Minority Rule with state-sponsored discrimination of the majority of the country's population.
So, my questions Ms Harman are a follows:
- What will YOU as Minister for Constitutional Affairs be doing to stop this government from discriminating against myself and my fellow countrymen?
- When will your department ask the English people whether they want their own devolved government, not for the nine made-up regions that your government invented, but for their country as a single nation?
- Why is it fair, right or proper for 1/6th of the population of the UK to have their own devolved government whilst the other 5/6ths don't even get asked?
- Why is it right for Labour to lose the popular vote in England by some 60,000 votes but still have a legal (although not moral) mandate to govern the country?
- Finally and most importantly, when will the English people cease to be second class citizens in the UK and get their own devolved parliament to look after the interests of England without the undemocratic and unwanted interference of politicians from another country?
Discrimination against an ethnic group is a breach of their fundamental human rights Ms Harman, I hope your conscience (if you have one) brings you to do something about it before the whole thing brings about the destruction of the union.
I look forward to your prompt reply,
Stuart Parr