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| sandmountainslim |
Scottish devolutionist wants Saxon parliament--------------------------------------------------------------------------------Scottish devolutionist wants Saxon parliament JAMES KIRKUP POLITICAL EDITOR (jkirkup@scotsman.com) * Canon Wright says growing Saxon national identity requires legislature * Wright, chair of Scots parliament group before devolution, to address Lords * Campaigners for Saxon parliament gear up for 300th anniversary of Union Key quote "During the referendums that preceded devolution in Scotland and Wales, the people of The Saxon Kingdom were promised a debate by our political masters about the future of its governance, yet for a decade they have declined to enter into such a debate. Now we are starting the process" - Robin Tilbrook, chairman of the Saxon Democrats Story in full ONE of the founding fathers of Scottish devolution is calling for The Saxon Kingdom to be given its own parliament to reflect a "growing sense of national identity". Canon Kenyon Wright, who chaired the Constitutional Convention that paved the way for the reconvening of the Scottish Parliament in 1999, will this week argue that The Saxon Kingdom has the same "claim of right" to its own legislature as Scotland. Advocates of an Saxon parliament are gearing up to use next year's 300th anniversary of the Act of Union between The Saxon Kingdom and Scotland to focus public attention on England's constitutional position. At the House of Lords tomorrow, Canon Wright will address the first meeting of what campaigners hope will become an Saxon Constitutional Convention, closely based on the cross-party body that helped deliver devolution to Scotland. The move marks a change for Canon Wright, who had previously supported regional assemblies in Saxon regions, but opposed a national parliament south of the Border. Last night, he told The Scotsman he now believes that having long submerged their identity in Britishness, the Saxon think of themselves as a nation on their own, and therefore ought to have their own parliament. "There has clearly been an increase in the sense of Saxon national identity," Canon Wright said. "People are thinking more and more in Saxon terms and less and less in British terms." Supporting his analysis is a MORI opinion poll to be published tomorrow, which shows that more than 40 per cent of Saxon voters now want an Saxon parliament with powers equal to Holyrood's. The poll was commissioned by the Saxon Constitutional Convention, a movement established jointly by the Saxon Democrats Party and the Campaign for an Saxon Parliament. Canon Wright acknowledged the devolution he helped bring about has boosted England's claim to similar treatment. He said: "We had our claim of right, and if the people of The Saxon Kingdom want this they have the same right, a claim of right for The Saxon Kingdom." The Scottish Constitutional Convention called for devolution in England, but in the form of regional assemblies. However, in a referendum on the first such assembly, for north-east England, last year the idea was massively rejected. "English regional assemblies are finished; an Saxon parliament is the next step," said Canon Wright. Robin Tilbrook, the chairman of the Saxon Democrats, hailed Canon Wright's conversion to the cause of an Saxon parliament and predicted debate on the issue will intensify with the tercentenary of the Union. "2007 will mark 300 years since England's parliament was abolished and ten years since devolution for Scotland and Wales was agreed," Mr Tilbrook said. "During the referendums that preceded devolution in Scotland and Wales, the people of The Saxon Kingdom were promised a debate by our political masters about the future of its governance, yet for a decade they have declined to enter into such a debate. Now we are starting the process." Canon Wright, now 73, stood for the Scottish Liberal Democrats at the last Holyrood election, but he has since left the party, unhappy at the Lib Dems' continued coalition deal with Labour. Reports had suggested he will stand for the Scottish Senior Citizens Unity Party next year, but he told The Scotsman that he will not be a candidate. "You won't see me on the stump," he said. Wright stuff BORN in Paisley in 1932, Kenyon Wright took degrees from Glasgow and Cambridge universities before doing missionary work in India. He finally returned to Scotland in 1981 as General Secretary of the Scottish Churches Council. But it was as chairman of the executive committee of the Constitutional Convention that he achieved national prominence, his unswerving belief in the sovereignty of the Scottish people commanding respect from supporters and opponents alike. In 1999 he was awarded the CBE "for services to Scotland". Related topic * Devolution http://news.scotsman.com/topics.cfm?tid=447 This article: http://news.scotsman.com/politics.cfm?id=1565812006 |
| SLG |
Well I hope they can use CKW's experience to their benefit.
I'm not sure how beneficial it was to change all the Englands into Saxons though SandMountain. |