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azzuri · 'Our Scotland' Fossil Joined: 12 Sep 2005 Posts: 3776

www.the-sun.co.uk

The Sun April 21st 2006

Let's Have Home Rule For The English

Fergus Shanahan

There's a great line in Braveheart where the slippery King Edward say:” The trouble with Scotland is that it's full of Scots."

I have nothing personal against Scots. Some of my best friends are Scots.

But I am fed up with the way Scotland is allowed to run England. And as St. George's Day approaches this Sunday, and England rallies proudly around its flag for the World Cup, this is the moment for the English to ask ourselves what we want to do about it.

Scotland is a great country. It has always punched above its weight.
William Wallace, James Watt, Rabbie Burns, Robbie Coltrane, The Bay City Rollers.

But what can you say about a nation that has Donald Where's Yer Trousers as its national anthem?

Scotland wants to go its own way. So does Wales.

The Scots have their Parliament. The Welsh have their Assembly. Even the Northern Irish are allowed self-government if they can stop squabbling long enough. So why not the English?

Battle

It's the English who pick up most of Scotland's bills: £10billioin a year of English taxes go in Scot pockets.

On average, £1,300 more per person is spent on education, health and social services in Scotland, Wales and Ulster than in England.

The Scottish Parliament refuses to charge students tuition fees. Yet Scots Labour MPs helped Blair win the Commons top-up fees battle when English MPs were against it.

English MPs voted against foundation hospitals but Blair won with the backing of Scots MPs, even though the Scots Labour Party and the Scots Parliament opposed them.

It is not the political issues so much as the principle. Why should Scottish MPs unelected by the English people be able to run England when English MPs cannot run Scotland?

And as Blair's authority ebbs away he will become ever more dependant on Scottish support to pass laws affecting England.

The unfairness is overwhelming.

All Scottish MPs at Westminster can vote on every issue that affects England. But Westminster has hardly any say over Scotland. Scottish MPs can be ministers in London, handing out orders to the English which have no effect on their own constituents. And the Labour Government is stuffed with Scots, from Gordon Brown and Alistair Darling to John Reid and their stooge "Gorbals" Mick Martin, Speaker of the Commons.

Gordon Broon subjects English pensioners to means-testing but his Dunferline constituents escape it.

Unlike the English OAPs, elderly Scots are not forced to sell their family homes to pay for care.

Since the Scots voted for devolution in 1997 they have taken over running nearly all their affairs. But they are quite happy for England to continue to pick up the bills. I say it's time for Scotland to go the whole hog. Let's treble the height of Hadrian's Wall to form a proper boarder, and let Scotland and England be independent nations. The Scots can raise their own taxes to pay their way in the world.

There's still a bit of oil left in the North Sea to keep them going. And when that runs out, they can flog some more kilts to the Americans or use their empty oil tankers to ship some water down to the parched farms of Kent and Essex.

As for the Welsh, let them have a crack at self-government too. If they run short of fuel, all they have to do is sit Neil Kinnock in front of a wind turbine and he'll generate enough electricity to light the valleys for a thousand years.

Why shouldn't England be allowed to get excited about itself as an independent nation?

When the Scots and the Welsh and the Northern Irish fly their flag, it is seen as good old-fashioned love of country.

But raise the English flag of St. George in your garden and there is an uneasy sense that people may think you are some rabid nutter.
Nationalism, which means quite simply the love of your own nation, has been allowed to become a tainted word.

Come the World Cup, the English flag will be flying high.

Let's keep it that way when the footie's over.

It's time England had a new Parliament - for the English.

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Wolf of Badenoch

Blackleaf

macnumpty · Posted: Fri Apr 21, 2006 6:40 pm Post subject:

English nationalism in and of itself could be a good thing, but not if it's based on reactionary tripe like Shanahan's ramblings. If the premise of English Nationalism is 'aren't the Scots evil?' then we're all in trouble. If it can find a more positive outlook along the lines of an agreement that England and Scotland are different nations with different needs, problems and possible solutions, then the dissolution of the Union can be as amicable as possible.

Wolf of Badenoch

Aventinian

Wolf of Badenoch

Lothian Sky · I Love 'Our Scotland' Joined: 04 Feb 2006 Posts: 347

Maybe if his two faced "newspaper" hadn't ditched its support for independence a few years ago, he'd have his wish.

Blackleaf

Wolf of Badenoch

Blackleaf · Posted: Sun Apr 23, 2006 11:16 am Post subject:

It was also thanks to Scots that we have a Labour Government.

The English are tradiationally right-wing Conservative voters, and most people in England voted Tory at the last election.

But it was thanks to the Celtic nations that we in England have a Labour Government. Labour is only the second party in England now.
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Black Sabbath - 1970

frank rizzo · Nationalist Joined: 04 Apr 2006 Posts: 149

Have to laugh at some of the English now moaning. We had 20 years of an anti Scottish Government, that most of us detested.

Now the shoe is on the other foot, suddenly they're not as 'British' as they once thought.

There's a simple solution but as we all know, England need us for our resources.
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Proud to be Scottish, ashamed to be British.

azzuri · 'Our Scotland' Fossil Joined: 12 Sep 2005 Posts: 3776

Wolf of Badenoch · Posted: Sun Apr 23, 2006 1:48 pm Post subject:

Blackleaf i`ll ne`er understaun why ye hing aboot oan a Scottish site,whits the point? i need ye tae tell me Blackleaf cos i cannae work oot why ye wid want tae.Its obviously no for intelligent debate aboot onything regarding independence or politics onyways an it cannae be purely tae wind onybody up cos if it is yer no very guid at it.
Maybe yer the english equivalent ae the standard bearer that is Mr Dow.....hes irrelevant tae.
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The Wolf Is At The Door

Aventinian · Posted: Sun Apr 23, 2006 3:31 pm Post subject:

SLG · Posted: Sun Apr 23, 2006 4:45 pm Post subject:

Aventinian · Posted: Sun Apr 23, 2006 10:12 pm Post subject:

Do you seriously think it'd ever be allowed?

A friend of mine tried declaring his house independent once. Unfortunately the council tax bill still arrived and the PM never did write back to him...
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SLG · Posted: Mon Apr 24, 2006 10:51 am Post subject:

Aventinian · Posted: Mon Apr 24, 2006 8:05 pm Post subject:

Well it couldn't happen without the consent of Westminster.

Would you allow such a thing in your enlightened Scottish nationalist country?
_________________
The resident pantomime villain.
'Socialists cry "Power to the people", and raise the clenched fist as they say it. We all know what they really mean—power over people, power to the State.'

SLG · Posted: Mon Apr 24, 2006 8:19 pm Post subject:

Absolutely. I would grant your household Independence. However I would introduce strict border controls between your house and the rest of the country Twisted Evil