Should England have its own parliament?

[Jasarite]

I believe it is needed...but we won't get one. A pity.

[Kington Langley]

Personally - a Federal Britain seems a better way than all the devolution. I now await the abuse...

No, you make a fair point, it would make the nationalists happier

But I do shout abuse at pro-Europeans

[Breten (Ancient)]

There's been reports done which suggest an English Parliament could save money. When I find the report I'll post it on here. We could reduce the amount of MPs for a start, and there are an obscene amount of MLAs for the population of Northern Ireland. Also, we could always scrap the Greater London Assembly.

You'd have to build a new parliament building (Scotland's cost around £300 million), which isn't wise, considering the post-recession climate and the current savage austerity measures. You'd have to create an entirely new framework for the English Parliament, complete with another layer of bureaucracy. You'd have to hold another set of elections to elect members. And on top of all this, we'd still have to pay for the UK Parliament, since it would still have reserved powers.

It certainly wouldn't save money.

But we've learnt from celtic devolution, so we could do it on the cheap. We could even use Westminster and scrap the House of Commons, and have a fully elected House of Lords deciding UK reserved matters. Its not about more politicians, its about different ones.

[Breten (Ancient)]

England has always been the dominant nation in the United Kingdom (several people think the UK and England are the same thing) and out of the 650 constituencies in the UK, 533 of these are English so if anything England is already over-represented. Creating a devolved English Parliament would only make it worse.

How are the English over-represented?

[Chumblywumbly]

What are you saying here?

That English MPs are deliberately screwing over their constituents to garner support for their respective parties in Holyrood and Cardiff?

Not the "English MPs" but their parties. Why do you think parties in Wales/Scotland are making a big deal out of protecting them from the cuts...at the expense of the English taxpayer.

Parties in Cardiff and Holyrood are making a big deal out of protecting their respective electorates from the cuts because neither have Tory majorities and are both coming up for election shortly. It's little wonder that the SNP, Plaid Cymru and Scottish/Welsh Labour are haranguing the Tories, devolved or not.

Moreover, I don't see how this is a malicious plan to screw over the English taxpayer by MSPs and AMs.

England has suffered disproportionately from the cuts (although incidentally I agree with the cuts, just wish they were evenly distributed).

Could you provide evidence that England has suffered disproportionately from the cuts compared to Wales and/or Scotland?

We could even use Westminster and scrap the House of Commons, and have a fully elected House of Lords deciding UK reserved matters. Its not about more politicians, its about different ones.

Why would you scrap the HoC?

[DeusII]

Could Scotland or Wales really survive without England or the union? They should dissolve the other two assemblies.

[North Suran]

You'd have to build a new parliament building (Scotland's cost around £300 million), which isn't wise, considering the post-recession climate and the current savage austerity measures. You'd have to create an entirely new framework for the English Parliament, complete with another layer of bureaucracy. You'd have to hold another set of elections to elect members. And on top of all this, we'd still have to pay for the UK Parliament, since it would still have reserved powers.

It certainly wouldn't save money.

But we've learnt from celtic devolution, so we could do it on the cheap.

The Scottish Parliament has 129 MSPs. An English Parliament would have around ten times as many members. There's no way it could be done "on the cheap" - especially since the English Democrats would demand nothing less than the Palace of Versailles or would otherwise complain that those evil Scots had a nicer parliament building than them.

[Chumblywumbly]

Could Scotland or Wales really survive without England or the union? They should dissolve the other two assemblies.

How are the two statements above connected?

[Chumblywumbly]

...the English Democrats would demand nothing less than the Palace of Versailles or would otherwise complain that those evil Scots had a nicer parliament building than them.

It is rather spiffy on the inside.

[Pesda]

Could Scotland or Wales really survive without England or the union?

Maybe with the help of the EU.

[North Suran]

...the English Democrats would demand nothing less than the Palace of Versailles or would otherwise complain that those evil Scots had a nicer parliament building than them.

It is rather spiffy on the inside.

But it's God awful on the outside.

[Breten (Ancient)]

http://www.thecep.org.uk/in-depth/engla ... dvantaged/

[North Suran]

http://www.thecep.org.uk/in-depth/england-disadvantaged/

You're going to need a more reliable source than "The Campaign for an English Parliament".

[The Scandinavian Reich]

I was born in England (I have joint British/Swedish nationality), and since I am nearing the age to vote, I'd love to see a little more pressure put on the Government to grant an English parliament. Personally, I think the Union is useless and I'd love to see England as an independent nation!

[Chumblywumbly]

But it's God awful on the outside.

Hell's, yeah.

Completely misplaced design in the middle of the Old Town.

[North Suran]

But it's God awful on the outside.

Hell's, yeah.

Completely misplaced design in the middle of the Old Town.

The most irritating thing is that Scotland already had a parliament building, which housed the Three Estates in the Kingdom of Scotland. But out of what I can only assume to be nationalist dick-waving, we had to spend millions on some Iberian monstrosity.

[Chumblywumbly]

The most irritating thing is that Scotland already had a parliament building, which housed the Three Estates in the Kingdom of Scotland. But out of what I can only assume to be nationalist dick-waving, we had to spend millions on some Iberian monstrosity.

IIRC, it had more to do with Donald Dewar.

[Pesda]

http://www.thecep.org.uk/in-depth/england-disadvantaged/

Have you ever thought that England needs less spending than Scot, NI and Wal? England has the stongest economy, and therefore needs less spending in this area. Also as mentioned above, this isn't exactly unbiased.

[North Suran]

The most irritating thing is that Scotland already had a parliament building, which housed the Three Estates in the Kingdom of Scotland. But out of what I can only assume to be nationalist dick-waving, we had to spend millions on some Iberian monstrosity.

IIRC, it had more to do with Donald Dewar.

"Father of the Nation", indeed.

[Breten (Ancient)]

http://www.thecep.org.uk/in-depth/england-disadvantaged/

Have you ever thought that England needs less spending than Scot, NI and Wal? England has the stongest economy, and therefore needs less spending in this area. Also as mentioned above, this isn't exactly unbiased.

So its fair that English students have to pay £9k a year and Scottish ones don't?

[Georgism]

So its fair that English students have to pay £9k a year and Scottish ones don't?

Does it come out of the existing Scottish budget?

[North Suran]

Have you ever thought that England needs less spending than Scot, NI and Wal? England has the stongest economy, and therefore needs less spending in this area. Also as mentioned above, this isn't exactly unbiased.

So its fair that English students have to pay £9k a year and Scottish ones don't?

That's because the SNP - which presently runs Scotland - is opposed to tuition fees while the Conservative Party - which presently controls a majority of the English constituencies - isn't. If the Scottish Parliament was controlled by the Tories, you can bet your ass that they would reintroduce tuition fees. This is a matter of ideology, not vindictiveness.

[North Suran]

So its fair that English students have to pay £9k a year and Scottish ones don't?

Does it come out of the existing Scottish budget?

Education is devolved in Scotland, so I imagine so.

[Angleter]

I think devolved issues for Sco/Wal/NI should be voted on by English MPs only. Of course, instead of building fancy new Parliaments and Assemblies, we could just have devolved powers to the party of MPs from each nation- but apparently no. That wouldn't have cost enough.

However, I do worry about devolution in general. It seems now, with the Welsh Assembly (Lab/Plaid, with Con/LD in opposition) deciding to pay for all the extra tuition fees for Welsh students- which is a totally useless and unproductive move that will only serve to increase the Assembly's expenditure, that devolved governments are generally oriented at taking a jab at the Westminster government (when the devolved authority and Westminster have different governments), regardless of whether they make fiscal sense. The idea of what are, despite the rise of the SNP in Scotland in the last decade- one which has seen nothing but attacks on Labour in Westminster, Labourland Autonomous Regions being created is to my mind corroborated by the fact that Labour tried to give North-East England an Assembly.

[Georgism]

Does it come out of the existing Scottish budget?

Education is devolved in Scotland, so I imagine so.

Then yes, it's fair.