From the Daily Star

A hate preacher sparked outrage last night by urging British Muslims not to wear poppies.



Anjem Choudary said any Muslim who wore the symbol of respect was betraying his religion and backing “British nationalism”.

Choudary, a right-hand man of exiled cleric Omar Bakri Mohammed, 47, was responding to news that poppy sales were down in areas of the country with a high population of Muslims.

The vast majority of Brits wear poppies to remember victims of all wars fought by British citizens, including Muslims.

But Choudary, 41, said: “This is not something we should be supporting. We are not sanctioned to support poppies by the Sharia law.

“We’re talking about the Second World War and this doesn’t have anything to do with Muslims.

Muslims are not allowed to participate in anything that is clearly British nationalism.” The call comes days after Choudary, whose family lives on £25,000-a-year benefits, warned British Muslims that giving sweets to children on Halloween is “the greatest crime any person can commit”.

But other British Muslims feel differently. Dewsbury MP Shahid Malik, the Government’s first-ever Muslim minister, said: “As patron of the Royal British Legion in Dewsbury I’ll be selling poppies in the town centre this Saturday.

“I think it’s really important to remember the freedoms we enjoy come at a price and sometimes the ultimate price.

“During the Second World War 2.5 million Pakistanis, Bangladeshis and Indians formed the largest volunteer army in history and some of my relatives were prisoners of war of the Japanese in Burma.

“The truth is that no matter what your background, we all must remember that people died for this country and the freedoms we hold dear and that is why I’m proud to wear my poppy.”

Meanwhile, there was fury yesterday after it was revealed that Muslim strongholds have become no-go zones for poppy sellers.

A Daily Star inquiry showed a lack of support in certain areas in Leeds, Bradford, Dewsbury and Derby, where many shopkeepers claimed never to have heard of them.

But last night the English Democrats urged Brits to “wear their poppies with pride” and said the issue was a result of multiculturalism.

The group’s chairman, Robin Tillbrook, said: “The poppy signifies exactly what our ancestors did for us fighting for our country during the wars. It represents the sacrifice of millions of lives over the years and it is important for every generation to remember that.

“The problem with multiculturalism is that these people want to live in our country but don’t want to be a part of Britain’s culture and history.

“They should be willing to become Brits and wear our poppies with pride.”

Yesterday the Duke of Edinburgh, 87, honoured fallen servicemen and women by opening the Royal British Legion’s Fields of Remembrance in Westminster Abbey.

And celebrities across the world have been backing the appeal with stars including Brad Pitt, 44, and Angelina Jolie, 33, and classical singer Katherine Jenkins, 28, wearing their poppies with pride.

This year a whopping 38million poppies have been ordered – 2m up on last year and 10m more than 10 years ago.

From the 'you couldn't make it up files' it Seems Alex Salmond is not only claiming Obama is a long lost Scot, he is also claiming the policies of the democratic party and the Scottish nationalists are inseparable.

Mr Salmond said Mr Obama epitomised the "politics of hope and expectation" rather than Labour's politics of "fear and despondency".

I very much doubt that, those words will come back to haunt him.

Despite this attempt to ride in on the back of a US election covered to death by the BBC the Nats lost out to Labour at the Glenrothes bye election. Due in no small part to the huge favours our PM is bestowing on Scotland in favour of England at this most difficult of times.

From the Daily Star

A parade to mark St George’s Day is set to be axed, because council chiefs say it attracts right-wing activists and drunks.


Locals are furious that the annual event, which attracts 15,000 people, is earmarked for the chop.

Many see it as another attack on English culture. Councillors in Sandwell, West Bromwich, say the parade has been spoiled in previous years by extremists and boozy yobs.

The council said: “There is clear evidence of far-right political extremists infiltrating the 2008 parade.”

Instead, councillors want a “static” event to be held at a local park on April 23, 2009.

But the Stone Cross St George’s Association, which organises the annual parade, has vowed to fight the move.

Member Trevor Collins said: “If the parade is banned, I’ll make a formal complaint.”

And Robin Tilbrook, of the English Democrats, said it was an excuse to stop the English celebrating their own culture.

He told the Daily Star: “It’s acceptable to celebrate St David’s Day, St Andrew’s Day and St Patrick’s Day, but not St George’s Day.”

If that isn't enough they add this:

A FLYPAST by the RAF to welcome home troops from Afghanistan and Iraq as they march through Belfast tomorrow has been axed over fears it would offend Sinn Fein supporters.

Can this country get anymore stupid?

Yesterday we saw the First Minister for Scotland, Alex Salmond personally lobby the Board of LloydsTSB to ensure Scottish jobs are secured during the impending merger with HBOS – The enclosed is a statement from the SNP’s website yesterday.

“First Minister Alex Salmond will meet Lloyds TSB chiefs today to lobby for Scottish jobs over the bank's proposed merger with HBOS.

Mr Salmond will use the meeting to press home the "strong case" for maintaining jobs in Scotland in the event of the merger going ahead, a spokesman said today.”

For English Democrats the question is not whether or not Mr Salmond should be lobbying the board of LloydsTSB, the question is who is fighting for the workers here in England? 

Robin Tilbrook, the Chairman of the English Democrats responds:- “The simple answer is none of the British Establishment, not the trade unions, not the Labour Government, not the Conservatives, not the Liberals, in fact the only group that is fighting for our worker’s jobs is the English Democrats. Our Party spokesperson, Ed Abrams, has requested an urgent meeting with the board in order to put the case for keeping the jobs here in England.”

Ed Abrams said “ I am shocked, saddened but, alas, not surprised that the ONLY party fighting for jobs in England is the English Democrats. What a shameful indictment of our democratic process that we have the Scottish First Minister flying down to London to fight to retain Scottish jobs, whilst as per usual, people in England are left to fend for themselves. Just what is it going to take for someone, anyone in government to declare they will fight for jobs in England - even at the expense of jobs in Scotland?”

Ed Abrams continued “For let's be absolutely clear about this, Alex Salmond is trying to guarantee Scottish jobs - and if he succeeds, those jobs will inevitably be at the expense of workers in England. The people in Halifax and the rest of England really do need to take this on board.”

Ed continued "Although the effect of job losses could be felt all over England - potentially, the traditional headquarters in Halifax could be devastated. What on earth is the local Halifax Labour MP, Linda Riordan, doing about it? Precious little! She should be screaming from the rafters about this - she's not! Simply going through the motions and as-per-usual hand-wringing will not do, Ms Riordan!”

Robin Tilbrook said "Is anyone from Government or Opposition saying anything about saving  jobs in England as Scotland’s First Minister is for Scottish workers? Absolutely not! If nothing else, this sorry episode highlights the real need for England to have her own First Minister - a person who will fight for the rights of the people of England!

Ed Abrams concluded “I do hope that LloydsTSB will listen to us and I offer a solemn promise to the workers of HBOS here in England, we will not turn our backs on you, we will fight with all our might to keep your jobs open”

 Press release sent out by Media Unit – English Democrats Party – www.englishdemocrats.org.uk

Ed Abrams

The English Democrats Party

www.englishdemocrats.org.uk

Tel - 07877 247335

e-Mail - This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it

Please take a moment to sign our petition to the UK government in support of English banks workers.

Sadly we feel this is necessary because of the UK Governments ambivalence to our bank workers when compared to the lengths it has gone to reassure bank worker in Scotland.

 From the Telegraph

The great national day debate arrives at a consensus - let's call it off

You can pack up the Union Jacks, cancel the street parties and tell the pet shop that you won’t be needing that bulldog after all. The government has quietly dropped plans to have a British Day.

Gordon Brown had called for a day to celebrate British identity in a speech delivered in 2006, when he was still chancellor.

Earlier this year an official report by Lord Goldsmith, the former attorney-general, had proposed that the first patriotic bank holiday should be held to coincide with the 2012 Olympics.

However, Michael Wills, the justice minister (who says he’s responsible for something called “the governance of Britain agenda”), told MPs last week: “There are no plans to introduce a national day at this time.”

That would be an ideal British Day celebration: getting overexcited about something, then deciding we can’t really be bothered after all. If we stop asking about their sex lives, will politicians please stop telling us?

 From the local Government Chronicle

It is hard to think what common factor could have brought together the Association of Chief Police Officers, the Soil Association, the Muslim Council of Britain and the Women's Institute.
These disparate bodies, along with 52 other voluntary, campaign and professional organisations, have joined forces to press councils to use the Sustainable Communities Act 2007, which took a major step towards implementation this week when communities secretary Hazel Blears invited councils to submit bids for new powers.

This unusual law allows councils to make a case to do pretty well anything that can loosely be defined as aiding the sustainability of their areas.

New powers could be acquired, or activities taken over from central government and its multitude of quangos. For example, this gives any council the chance to get a quango off its patch, offer rate rebates to businesses that exceed recycling targets or protect local pubs from demolition.

The act began life as a private members' bill from Conservative MP Nick Hurd, but secured government support to get through Parliament.

Councils can of course make any request to government they choose. Where this act makes a difference is in setting up a process for these bids' formulation, submission, consideration and decision.

Ideas will originate locally and must be agreed between councils and local panels. The act leaves the exact composition of these panels open, and does not specify how many there should be.

Councils could use existing neighbourhood or consultative bodies, set up different panels for different issues or form a new one to deal with all ideas that emerge.

The hope is that such latitude will enable councils to prevent panels being captured by unrepresentative groups.

Agreed ideas will then go to the Local Government Association, which will act as 'selector' — a role defined by the act — filtering and consolidating requests and deciding which will, next July, go the Department for Communities & Local Government.

Ministers will then accept, modify or reject bids, and must explain their reasons for their decisions.

Hence the 57 organisations, marshalled by the pressure group Unlock Democracy, hoping to persuade local authorities to opt into the act's provisions.

Councils could choose not to, and the prospect of every group with a grievance bending their ears might make some councillors wary.

But the act's supporters argue the opportunities it offers to councils are potentially as great as those from the wellbeing power, ending decades in which they have banged their heads against the wall of Whitehall centralisation.

Indeed, when the bill was enacted last year, the then local government minister Phil Woolas went as far as to liken its potential to the private members' bills that ended capital punishment and permitted abortion.

Unlock Democracy, which worked with Mr Hurd on the bill's development, said it would enable councils to get powers to reverse the decline of local services, deal with fuel poverty and protect the environment among much else.

Director Peter Facey said: "There has never been a more important time to reverse the process of democratic disengagement that has been seen over the past few decades."

The act's true value may lie in the ability of councils to pilot powers and activities that the rest of local government would then take up. For example, Norfolk CC wants to gain increased powers over coastal protection, at present held by the Environment Agency (LGC, 9 October).

Suppose it made a success of that, and other councils followed? At what point would the Environment Agency lose its critical mass of expertise and economies of scale and have to abandon that work entirely to councils?

Anna Turley, deputy director of the New Local Government Network (NLGN), predicts the successful proposals will lead to greater devolution, since it would be hard for the government to argue that one council should be given a power and a comparable one should not.

While powers granted under the act will not be legal precedents for similar devolution to other councils, they could be political ones.

"It is likely to trigger arguments that what applies to one council should apply to others," Ms Turley said, citing in particular the possibility of one council taking over powers from a quango, and the quango gradually being supplanted by councils elsewhere.

"This could be a driving force to improve quango performance," she added. "They would know they could have their powers removed unless they performed well and worked with councils."

An NLGN report on the act urges councils to drop their perennial suspicion of government intentions and embrace the act's possibilities. It says: "There are mixed feelings as to how serious Whitehall might be about agreeing to radical proposals.

"These feelings, combined with the understandable degree of 'initiative-itis' that pervades the sector, is serving to dampen local enthusiasm. This should not be allowed to happen."

It notes an idea backed by several local authorities would be hard for the government to reject, and the process of investigating new powers might in itself uncover ways to take radical steps under existing ones.

All manner of pressure groups will seek councils' support under the act, but one of the best organised is, perhaps surprisingly, the Campaign for Real Ale (Camra), a body best know for opposition to the pervasive spread of keg lager.

Camra's concern is with the role of pubs as the hearts, or potential hearts, of their communities. It is opposed to loss-leader drinks promotions by supermarkets, to street drinking and to the loss of pubs through conversion.

Research and information manager Iain Loe said: "We have 95,000 members in 200 branches, so we can organise a lot of support.

"Well-run pubs serve as focal points for communities in which people can drink safely and responsibly, instead of on the streets."

Among the measures councils can expect Camra to promote are a higher small business rate relief limit for pubs, a legal right for every publican to offer beer from at least one local brewer and a planning use class for pubs which would mean permission was needed for their demolition or conversion.

The act could be the tool to secure councils powers of which they have only dreamed.

But it is not all one-way. Parish and town councils could use the act to secure powers held by upper-tier councils.

"If an area's parishes all wanted a power, the principal council would have to come up with very good reasons why it would not put that forward or it could face judicial review," said Unlock Democracy spokesman James Graham. "This is a much sterner test than any consultation, a council could not just say 'we're not doing that, we don't like it'."

No one knows what the act might lead to — a flowering of devolution, a flowering of civil service creativity to prevent changes or obstruction of the DCLG by other departments. As one county leader put it: "The obvious concern is around how ministers approach this. It could be fantastic, or it could be a complete damp squib."

Sir, In today's 'Daily Telegraph' I read: 'It is striking that, while there are plenty of people who oppose the bail-out in principle, it hasn't occurred to anyone, on either side of the border, to distinguish between English and Scottish banks.

We face these testing times as one people.' It is as if I had never addressed these e-mails on the subject of English banks to 'The Daily Telegraph', which now seems to have become a paper  of propaganda for the British state. Perhaps 'The Daily Telegraph' regards Lydbrook School as insignificant compared with Eton College and that the English Parliamentary Party (which fought the last election in the Forest of Dean) is unworthy of consideration.

The English have the remedy in their  own hands.

They ought not to be so stupid as to put English money into Scottish Banks run by Gordon  Brown and Alistair Darling. it would be better for the English to put their money into the Post office (supported by the Bank of Ireland). it is time for a democratic English revolution.

Very best wishes,

Gerald Morgan

(Lydbrook School; Monmouth School; Jesus College Oxford; and  Trinity College Dublin)

According to the Times

 Free Scotland would still have to beg for English cash

Angus Macleod, Scottish Political Editor
These extraordinary financial times have rendered much else in the world mundane and irrelevant. Not least, the concept of Scottish independence. So much so that, suddenly, even the Nationalists are trying to avoid the subject.

Alex Salmond sounded at best half-hearted on radio yesterday when pressed on how an independent Scotland might fare in these cataclysmic economic times.

He was forced to fall back on vague references to independence having sufficient economic levers to deal with such events. Presumably, he meant levers such as having a central bank available to pump sufficient capital into the Scottish banking system to try to ensure continued liquidity.

That would be fine, except that SNP policy is not to have a Scottish central bank, come independence. The Bank of England would continue to be our central bank. And a “Free Scotland” would, therefore, have to go cap in hand to what would then be a foreign country in the hope of getting us out of a hole.


But if Mr Salmond and the SNP are avoiding for the moment the economic nitty gritty of separation from the United Kingdom, that doesn't mean that the Unionist parties in Scotland should be so backward in coming forward.

While one can lay many errors at the doors of Downing Street over its handling of the crisis in recent weeks - and, no doubt, the SNP will - there is one overriding lesson which is inescapable.

Without our membership of the UK and without the funds available from English as well as Scottish taxpayers, the Scottish banking bailout we have just seen would not have been possible.

In other words, thousands of Scots banking and other jobs would have disappeared, the business sector in Scotland would have been cut to the bone and the Scottish economy would have gone into a tailspin.

The notion that has above all fuelled the rise of the independence movement in Scotland is that being a small country on the fringes of Europe was no barrier to joining the economic elite. The UK, we have been told, has run out of steam and by going it alone, we could usher in a golden Scottish economic age.

That notion looks decidedly specious now that the booms in Ireland and Iceland have turned into horrendous busts. Smallness has not given them any advantage. Indeed, one could argue that it has left them more vulnerable to the global waves crashing down on their economic systems. Would an independent Scotland have been a special case? You decide.

But if Iceland and Ireland are not available to the SNP to make the case for independence, there's always Norway. Mr Salmond spoke yesterday about how the Norwegians were able to weather the storm because of their oil fund.

But even the Norwegians have had to take drastic action to shore up their banks in recent weeks - for the second time in two decades. Growth is slowing to a crawl and the country's credit crisis has seen this one-time Nordic leopard calling on the Fed in Washington to buy out $5billion of toxic banking debt.

The SNP government has a point when it says that Britain's oil riches have not been spent in the wisest possible way in the past and that more should have been saved for a rainy day. But that is entirely different from basing a whole economy on a commodity that only a few weeks ago was priced at about $150 a barrel and has now plummeted towards $90 a barrel, with every expectation that it will go even lower as a worldwide recession looms.

In any case, the first purpose of a Scottish oil fund would be to fund the budget deficit that independence would bring.

The Norwegian oil fund has grown only because many billions of kroner have been diverted from revenue spending over the past ten years. That has been possible thanks to some of the highest personal tax rates and fuel prices in the Western world.

Is that really the way Mr Salmond and the SNP want us to go?

Monday, 6th October 2008, is the anniversary of the first full day of the 1936 Jarrow March and sees the launch of another campaign for Justice for England.  The English Lobby, a not for profit corporation, is launching a specialist legal unit to challenge anti-English discrimination by pursuing legal remedies in the courts and tribunals; e.g. Damages claims and Judicial Review etc.. Despite the efforts of the British Political Establishment, there is increasing awareness in England of widespread official discrimination against English people and of any display of Englishness.  Recent examples have been the exclusion of English applicants from an Environment Agency training programme, cancellation of conference facilities for an English organisation by the Royal Armouries, and local government obstruction of celebrations to mark St George’s Day and no provision was made in the 2001 General Census of Britain for English people to record their national, ethnic or racial identity as defined by law.

There have also been many cases where businesses have discriminated against English people. Tesco even refuses to put the English flag on English products.The English Lobby has established its legal unit to start the fightback!The English Lobby team includes professional lawyers and will be pursuing legal remedies against those who discriminate contrary to law against the English. The courts have recognised the English as a “national origin”, as a “race”, and as an “ethnicity” within the meaning of the Race Relations Acts.

The English Lobby aims to ensure that the rights, privileges and protections afforded by the Race Relations Act and other statutes are applied to English people.Mr Alan England, Head of the Legal Unit of the English Lobby, said: “For too long the protections provided by Race Relations legislation have not been enforced by English people. The English Lobby aims to right that wrong by providing access to free legal advice and assistance for all those aggrieved by anti-English Discrimination.”Mr Robin Tilbrook, Director, said: “We are pleased to have initiated such a brave endeavour, which is a full frontal legal attack on ‘political correctness’! Over the years, we have had senior ministers in this Labour Government, such as Robin Cook, John Prescott and Jack Straw, denying the existence of England as a nation and disparaging pride in being English in a way which would have been unacceptable about any other people.

Now we can look forward to seeing such people being sued!

Contact details:-

Mr Alan England,

The English Lobby,

P.O. Box 1066,

Norwich,

NR146ZJ,

England.

Website:- www.englishlobby.com

ARE YOU ENGLISH OR BRITISH?

Asks Brian Simpson, one of Labour’s “North Western Region” MEPs in a recent edition of the Labour magazine “Egremont Today”

“I don’t know about you, but I am getting a bit fed up with those who keep telling me we need to have an extra public holiday centred around St George’s Day.  Don’t get me wrong, I am all for an extra public holiday, but I am afraid I do not consider myself English.  I consider myself British and I believe the extra public holiday should be on a day that is close to all of us British people, not one of its regional parts. 

So, I find myself in agreement with George Galloway MP, when he says Battle of Britain Day in  September would be the ideal candidate.  It is an important date in our history and September can still offer some reasonable weather on which to have a public holiday.  Unfortunately English nationalism is on the rise and although 56% of the population still favour being in the UK, 34% believes we should separate into 4 different countries, which I believe would be a disaster. 

Fuelled by Margaret Thatcher who did her level best to destroy all three of them. For the Welsh, Scottish and Irish, a national identity exists, but what identity exists in  England?  I feel as a born and bred Lancastrian, that I have more in common with the Scots and Welsh than I do with Southern England. 

For me, the English Parliament would be an object disaster for the North of England, as it would be dominated by London and the South East and we would be treated like second-class citizens.  No, keep the England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland for the sports field; but in the world that really matters, let’s stick to the United Kingdom and end all of this nationalism nonsense. 

I am proud to be British, so let’s have a public holiday on a day relevant to Britain.  What do you think?” 

Brian Simpson’s email is:- This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it

S Askham (Letters, 29th September) raises some very interesting and
valid points, and asks some questions which deserve an answer.

Many of us are aware of this problem and some of us are trying to do
something about it.  It was discussed at the recent annual Conference of
the English Democrats Party - the final speaker gave us some ideas of
what to do about it. The important point to note is that to deny the
existence of the English, to insist that they are 'white British' and
not English, to state that England and the English don't exist, can be
an offence under the Race Relations Act 1974.

There is a widespread move to 'brainwash' everyone into thinking that
'Britain' has replaced England. Even the 'Echo' is not immune - a
feature article last week mentioned fruit grown in Herefordshire as
'British', yet, when I last looked, Herefordshire was an English county.
  Another example is of the recent Beijing Olympic medal-winners, or of
Andy Murray (the Scottish tennis player) as against Tim Henman (the
British tennis player). Still another is when the Prime Minister talks
of the 'nations and regions' of the UK, meaning Scotland, Wales,
Ireland, and what was England now divided into 9 regions.

Only yesterday I was talking to a little lad who goes to our church.  He
was dressed in the 'England' football outfit with a St George's flag
wristband.  I pointed to his wristband and said that it was the same as
on a badge I wear, which shows the shape of England with our flag
superimposed on it.  I asked him if he knew that England did not just
mean football.  Yes, he replied, it means cricket, volleyball and a list
of other sports.  Did he not know that England was not just about sport,
I asked? No, he did not, he said.  That's just what it is all about,
nothing else.

If S Askham cares to contact the local English Democrats he or she can
find out how to take this matter further. Mr Brian Lee is Chairman of
our local Eastern Counties Branch.  There is a slogan 'This flag is for
life, not just for football'.  I too state that I am English rather than
'white British' whenever the question arises, and I would challenge
anyone I saw 'altering it back', as S Askham says happened at the local
hospital.  No one has the right to tell me what I am and what I must be.
  If someone can have the ethnic group 'Irish traveller' - what's ethnic
about travelling? - then I have the right to be English.

S Askham must not apologise for  what you are and what your ancestors
fought for.  If some think it's xenophobic, racist or 'sour little
Englander', that's their problem.  We know who we are and we want it to
be recognised. If others can do it, so can we.

Another day another bad news story for fellow Scot Gordon Brown.

 Salmond has over 60% approval rating for his government in Scotland, while  Brown only scrapes in with a 53% approval rating in Scotland.  Things look bad for Labour as the SNP look as if they will become the dominant party at the the next General Election.

Should that happy event transpire and Salmond is the majority leader in Scotland then we can be sure a vote to leave the United Kingdom will be top of Salmond's agenda.

Where will that leave Britophile Brown?  Let's hope he won't emigrate to England following his unemployment as sure as hell England will be the only place left he can wave his Union flag for the timebeing.

http://www.express.co.uk:80/posts/view/59156/Poll-predicts-32-more-SNP-seats

The Electoral Commission Bureaucrats have been beavering away with their great recommendations for electoral change, however, as you would expect from a Bureaucratic monolith the emphasis for change is being driven by the "paperwork" rather than the need to overhaul the joke that has become our electoral system.

The key findings of the Electoral Commission relate largely to the need for more training of Returning Officers, more money to run elections and a more efficient refinement to the election process, rather than any serious analysis of the "dogs breakfast" that is out election system.

Whilst the pen pushers observe that the UK election system is a relic from the Victorian age, there is very little useful commentary on what is needed to replace it.  Rather it contains a bureaucrats eye view as to how the paperwork that accompanies the current dogs breakfast could be streamlined so the poor government employees don't get over worked or become the butt of the electorate's anger.

What a missed opportunity to overhaul this decaying monolith once and for all.

Yes we all know that the electoral systems in Scotland were fiendishly difficult to understand, which was why so many votes were disallowed, but the bureaucrats designed that one so they are really to blame.

Yes we also know that fraud in completing votes is on the increase, largely because councils fail to check and verify the nationality of those who claim a place on the electoral role and at voting times people are not required to prove who they are when they vote.  If the EC are suggesting that we should have identity cards enforced upon us as a condition of being able to vote, that is totally unacceptable.

In our view the most important calls for change have been omitted.

1) We should have ONLY one method to elect politicians.  At the moment we have a dysfunctional combination of first past the post and Proportional Representation.  Designed like that to keep the pretty disreputable duo running UK politics in a game of hand ball, where only one of them can actually win an election.  The consequence of that is that the hapless UK public have a choice between the clueless and the damned.  No choice, which has been the environment our sclerotic politics has fallen into for some years.

2) Every vote should count, therefore PR must be the way forward.

Sadly for commonsense we are no nearer getting the "democratic" properly working in our so called "democracy" and frankly until we do, we have no right to claim to be a democratic state, particularly when we have a system which allows a political party with just 22% of the popular vote to become the government!  How laughable is that?

 http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/uknews/2628737/Voters-may-have-to-take-photo-ID-to-polling-booth-to-fight-fraud.html

Oh dear, the National Institute for  "Clinical Excellence"  (sic) is now exposed for what it is.  A pretty meanminded, government inspired rationaing organisation that many doctors had feared would be the case.

A number of leading doctors have condemned the organisation for disallowing largely English patients access to the drugs the rest of Europe has.

What a national scandal we have and what little effort the political parties are putting into resolving it!!

Clearly NICE needs to be replaced by an organisation that is upto the job.  The time that organisation takes to come to any conclusion is risible.  Another government quango, slurping coffee and nibbling prawn sandwiches while it endlessly deliberates about approved drugs it wants to deny to the needy in England.

Cost is an issue and yes we have to make hard decisions but there are a myriad of things the government could be doing to make more money available to people who need life saving drugs.

Why can't the public opt to pay additionally for a supplementary contribution to their NHI contribution which secures access to any life saving drugs they may need in their lifetime?  If everyone was asked to pay a small but affordable ring fenced contribution as an insurance policy should they ever need such drugs then the problem would be solved, that concept is clearly beyond the wit of UK mainstream politicians.

How about stopping anyone who is not a UK national from accessing the NHS, by ensuring everyone who travels to the UK has valid health insurance should they need it?  Does that sound too much like good sense?  We couldn't possibly suggest that people pay for the services they use could we????

How about charging all those who turn up at A&E on Friday and Saturday nights drunk and disorderly?  They already charge people for road traffic accidents, surely brawling in the high street is just as culpable and so a penalty to pay for the services to patch these people up is justified?  That should be a money spinner!

What about prevention?  Why is the NHS the National Sickness Service and NOT the National Health Service.  Why doesn't the NHS do more early stage scanning and diagnostic work to prevent people needing life saving drugs, a few extra scans could save millions in life saving drugs, but then again that is too obvious and clearly the NHS prefers the cure rather than prevention approach.

The problems we have with the NHS are not beyond our skills to resolve.  It will take more money certainly, but if people took more responsibility for their health, the NHS focused its resources on prevention and those freeloading on the NHS were identified and eradicated, we would surprise ourselves how much money we actually have to serve the health needs of the English people.

....but then commonsense and UK mainstream political parties are mutually exclusive. 

Few of us thought our performance at Beijing would be anything other than passable prior to the event starting.  For so long have we spent vast sums of money getting nowhere fast.

The performance of the GB Team displays something that has been lacking for many years, sharp professional determination to go for gold and a shrugging off of the underdog mantra that "taking part" is good enough.

The determination to go for Gold and to turn round to all those PC zealots who have preached for a generation that "winning" is a dirty word can now eat their ridiculous dogma.

 The people of this country want to back "winners".  People of integrity, people with spirit and dedication and people who are not afraid to win....when it matters.

Well done to all those athletes who have reaffirmed the nation's faith in amateur athletics and the professionalism and dedication that could leave the UK 3rd in the world in terms of overall medal performance. 

Whatever happens next will be to come, however, we have seen a truly stunning achievement and all those coaches, trainers, psychologists and roadies that have supported our talented men and women deserve our complete admiration. 

 Well done to all the athletes representing the UK - a brilliant team effort.

http://www.guardian.co.uk/sport/2008/aug/19/olympics20083

Gordon Brown faces plot by Labour MPs amid double blow in polls.

Dozens of senior Labour MPs, including several former ministers are set to write to the Cabinet urging them to force a leadership contest that could topple Gordon Brown.

A new spirit of Scottish identity has emerged into which the Scottish National Party tapped....

The character of England's countryside has changed fundamentally over the past decade following an influx of immigrants which have helped rapidly push up house prices and demand for new developments, an official report has revealed.

ENGLAND NEEDS HER OWN VOICE

 ENGLAND NEEDS THE ENGLISH DEMOCRATS

When the good people of Haltemprice and Howden consider who they wish to vote for on Thursday they need to bear a few things in mind.

The issues on which this by-election were based hinged around the belief that "British Civil Liberties" were being undermined.

The English Democrats believe that the issues run much deeper than that and that the plight of the people of England under all three parties, Labour, Liberal Democrat and Conservative is in fact one of the untold and poorly publicised scandals which really needs to be addressed.

Yes, our civil rights have been abused.  But let us not forget that many of these encroachments have been by the same political parties who are belatedly protesting that things have "gone too far".

An Englishman's home is no longer his castle, with a stream of busy body civil servants given access to our private domain for failing to pay a tv licence, have a rate review, VAT or tax issues, and a range of other reasons now confirmed as being "legitimate" for the State to gain access to our homes.

Additionally, rights to imprisonment without trial of 26 days had already been approved by the parties now arguing 42 days is too much!  Surely these politicians should have put their foot down earlier?

The signing of the Maastricht Treaty, by a Conservative Government was a pivotal "sell out" of the people of England, a Treaty which the politicians "promised" would not affect our sovereignty, was in fact the Treaty that made us no longer in charge of our own destiny.

The denial of the people of England a devolutionary settlement worthy of 50 million people has also been withheld by parties of all three colours, none of whom will acknowledge the unfairness and outrageous abuse of democratic principles but who (collectively) conspire against 85% of the UK population to deny us a right to a Parliament of our own, a first minister we have elected and the right to vote on Scottish and Welsh matters, in the same way the Welsh and Scots vote on purely English matters - England in 2008 is a "democracy free" zone and much shame should be heaped on all three parties for abusing our country in this way.

All three parties are content to allow the appalling anomaly of a first minister of England assume his role without any democratic endorsement by the people of England and yet at the same time prosecute a war in Iraq using bringing "democracy" to a society that doesn't have it as justification!  Yet, without any hint of embarrassment, denying the people of England the right to decide who their First Minister should be and to add insult to injury have accepted a person who has been elected by the people of another country!

Our Constitution such as it is, has been abused, undermined and left in tatters, as a government with less than 22% of the popular vote drives through policies the people of England object to, tuition fees and trust hospitals being cases in point, being made law by MPs elected by other countries (Wales, Scotland and Ireland) and yet no one has the courage or presence of mind to draw attention to these outrages.  

The English Democrats will be standing in Haltemprice and Howden on Thursday because we know the people of that constituency understand the real issues and also understand that the English Democrats are absolutely right to ensure that the full extent of the treachery of the main three parties needs to be exposed for what it is.

This by-election isn't about 42 days, it isn't even solely about civil liberties, it is about the wholesale betrayal of the main parties in this country to treat the English people with respect, to allow our people the democratic rights the rest of the UK have which are "specifically" denied to the English and it about exposing the farse that is our political system and the sub-standard people who are governing in our name.

Whether it is corruption, fiddling expenses, railroading legislation by bribing MPs, denying the people a right to vote on the Lisbon Treaty, or denying the people of England a democracy worthy of the name, all these things need to be exposed and the English Democrats will be doing this on Thursday, because England deserves better, England deserves a party that will give our nation back our self respect.

Vote English Democrats on Thursday and make a stand for working people fed up with SPIN politics.

Anyone who has ever had their life saved by the NHS will know and instinctively understand what a national treasure we have in this service.  Millions owe the NHS a debt of gratitude.  We salute the NHS for 60 sparkling years of selfless dedication to the people of this country and hope that, for all our sakes, there will always be an NHS that we can depend on.

The problem is however, that the politicians are constantly putting the boot into the system, many changing demands, many changing systems, too much centralisation, with plans that could herald too much decentralisation and in the end, a chaotic, fragmented, health service run along profit making lines in England but quite different beasts operating in Wales and Scotland.

We all want an NHS that works, but we are not so daft as not to realise that in a world of heightening demands and expectations paying for it will (very soon) become an unaffordable pipedream.

The English Democrats recognise that urgent decisions about the future of the NHS have to be taken and taken now.  Our concerns are that too many people who have never contributed to the NHS are using the service to which they have no entitlement, this means that the people who have contributed all their lives are being pushed to the back of the queue.  This was a concern Betty Boothroyd, the former Speaker of Parliament pointed out a few years ago an intolerable abuse of the system which much be stopped.

In the September Conference of the English Democrats we will be putting to the vote of the membership, the policy that all non nationals from none -EU countries can only travel to the UK if they are in posession of valid healthcare insurance for the period of their stay in the United Kingdom.  We believe that making this simple change to legislation, and ensuring people present their insurance certification upon arrival , will potentially save the NHS millions from people who travel to the United Kingdom to obtain free health care.  The fact is the NHS is not a health service for the world, it has to be paid for like everything else and for far too long, people have been availing themselves of a service to which they ar not entitled.  This must come to an end.  The NHS have admitted they are failing to police this aspect of abuse and the English Democrats believe that now the nettle must be grasped and that theft from the NHS must cease.

Greater emphasis on prevention rather than cure has to make more sense financially into the longer term, and new policies based around preventative screening for deseases will be the next area that policy makers need to address.

Health MOT's and ensuring people take more responsibility for their own health is now a priority.

Public or private?  Well, whatever produces better quality and better value.  PFI has not been a wild success and it is a moot point whether private is always best, however, a hybrid perhaps "a not for profit" provider with the disciplines of the market but the dedication of the public service might be a better option in the long run. 

Let's have a big round of applause for the NHS and for all those thousands of dedicated workers who have done so much good over the last 60 years!

http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/293b4798-4c40-11dd-96bb-000077b07658.html?nclick_check=1

Why not, afterall big bosses of failed multinationals get rewarded for poor performance, why shouldn't the civil servants have their monumental cock ups similarly recognised.....and rewarded?

http://www.guardian.co.uk/politics/2008/jul/07/whitehall

The pretty alarming story of a teacher in Cheshire, "forcing" children to partake in an Islamic act of worship as part of an RE lesson, is yet a further example of how the unrestrained lunacy of politically correct zealots is damaging our Christian society.  One could never imagine the teachers of Saudi Arabia so readily asking their children to pray in front of a crucifix.  Only in labour's barmy Britain is that likely to occur.

The Telegraph newspaper details in some depth the niaive and frankly offensive behaviour of a religious education teacher, employed by the state but whose behaviour is clearly damaging to young and impressionable minds.  England is not and never will be an Islamic country, and the disgraceful behaviour of a teacher pushing the boundaries of acceptability must be challenged.

Religious Education should be just that, a theoretical review of all the world religions, not the practical experience of them.  Publicly funded education is not here as a recruiting sergent for any religion and such behaviour must be outlawed. 

Read it and weep

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2247388/Schoolboys-disciplined-for-'refusing-to-pray-to-Allah'.html#continue

Perhaps one of the saddest truisms is that the BBC, so fond of producing programmes which reinvent people, homes and concepts has struggled (without much success) to give itself a significant makeover.

Today in a pretty "straight to the heart" report from the Centre for Policy Studies an insiders view of how the BBC must change is now confronting the corporation.

The BBC receives £4 Billion pounds per year to churn out pretty mediocre pap, managed by a self confessed Liberal left elite who have lost the confidence of the majority of its viewers.

The costs of running the BBC over two years could probably pay for 3 Mega Aircraft Carriers, let alone the two announced earlier in the week, that will be securing 10,000 jobs way into the future!  The expense of it is mind boggling.

The BBC has become a luxury the viewers should no longer be expected to fund to the extent it is sucking up money.  The whole country is hide bound by this inward looking corporation, a throw back to the old civil servant days, stuffed full of paper shufflers and fence sitters, ever eager to push out the latest bit of government propaganda - of whatever colour.

The following article from the Telegraph says what many of us have concluded and for the BBC the clock is most certainly ticking.  The Centre for Policy Studies and the Telegraph have kicked off a badly needed debate and one the BBC (whether it likes it or not) will have to take on board, because change is coming and swift and merciless it will have to be.

 Credit: Telegraph

HOW TO SAVE THE BBC FROM ITSELF................

Jeff Randall argues that a combination of corporate imperialism and institutional self-regard stops the broadcaster seeing where its future lies

Few British institutions are capable of generating more storm and stress than the BBC. Find me someone who has no view at all on the corporation and I'll show you a caveman.

Auntie's salad days are long gone, yet she remains an aphrodisiac of debate. From alleged bias and method of funding, to presenters' pay-packets and quality of output, the BBC is a reliable energiser of lacklustre dinner-parties.

The blogosphere is clogged with comment about the BBC, much of it from extremes. It doesn't matter whether postings are on the Guardian's website or The Daily Telegraph's, there is a juxtaposition of love and hateBooks, television programmes, radio documentaries, discussion pamphlets and, of course, newspaper columns are devoted to salving, scrapping, denouncing and defending the BBC.

The annoncement that the MOD are to finally get the go ahead for two new air craft carriers was much expected by Scottish workers who stand to secure 10,000 jobs at three Scottish shipyards.

Apparently some work is coming to Portsmouth, although it is unclear exactly what benefits this monster MOD contract will contribute to the English economy, Scotland's financial gain is more clear cut they get three quarters of the work and England gets a quarter!

With so much anger over the unfairness of the Barnett Formula, the awarding of this contract to three of Scotland's shipyards may be seen as an alternative route to direct more funds to Scotland without it being classified as part of the Barnett Formula, although most of those in England will see it for what it is, a cynical bribe to try and keep Scots voting Labour as the rest of the country turn their backs on them.

Wouldn't it be great if England had such patriotic politicians looking after English employment interests for a change, Brown is clearly sticking to his personal commitment of ensuring the interests of the people of Scotland come first, you can't knock him for his naked nationalism, just a pity the English politicians at Westminster don't share a similar commitment for the people of England.

  http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk/7486683.stm

Already covered in the newspapers, but kept rather quiet by the "would be" Eurosceptic Tories.

The truth is of course the Tories have clearly got excellent relations with the EU or the swap was just a marvellous coincidence.

What do you think it is most likely to be?????????

Read on and be shocked, out of principle the English Democrats would have refused such a swap with such a disreputable organisation, but then again.....as the Tories have shown us MONEY TALKS and the EU have plenty of it!

 http://www.telegraph.co.uk/opinion/main.jhtml?xml=/opinion/2008/06/01/do0101.xml

Will Thabo Mbeki ever find the courage to tell Robert Mugabe where to get off?.......

 PRESS RELEASE - Haltemprice & Howden By-election - English Democrats'  candidate     

Re:  Haltemprice & Howden  By-election  The English  Democrats are pleased to announce that Joanne Robinson has  been nominated for  the forthcoming by-election in Haltemprice and  Howden,  under the slogan "Putting England First!".  Joanne was  born on 2nd February 1957 in Hull. She has been married since  1977 to the  same man!  She has 6 ‘O’ Levels.  She has a HNC in  Canine  Behaviour and Training at Bishop Burton in 2004.  After a variety of jobs,  including as a Civil  Servant, Joanne went into book-keeping specialising in petrol  stations and was a  sole proprietor from 1992 to 1998 at the Forth Service  Station on Spring  Bank.  Since then Joanne has worked  as a legal cashier,  service station manager and for the last 3 years part-time  Office Manager for an  Event Management Company.    Politically  Joanne had been a Conservative voter but she became active in  the Referendum  Party. Joanne was the UKIP Parliamentary candidate in the  General Election in  2001, when she got 945 votes. In 2003 Joanne was a UKIP  local candidate but she  became increasingly disappointed by UKIP’s leadership  failure to capitalize on  their momentum.  Joanne now thinks  that UKIP is “dead  but not yet buried”, and that it is also  insufficiently concerned about England,  so she joined the English  Democrats.  Joanne stood for the  English  Democrats in 2007 in Tranby Ward in the local elections within this  constituency  and got 544 votes (18.82%) easily beating Labour and close to the   Conservatives.    Also this year,  although there were no local elections within the  constituency, the English  Democrats stood in 4 adjoining wards, in Hull, and  beat the Conservative candidates 3  out of 4 times.     Joanne  says: “The English Democrats are offering a fresh start and reject  the cliché  ridden and spin politics of the past.  We offer the politics of a  common national identity and common  values.  Our politics are riddled  with  spin and political correctness, a vote for the English Democrats is a vote  for  honest and plain speaking”.   Joanne  says: “There should be an immediate referendum on the EU Lisbon  Treaty.  It is wholly wrong for Labour to try to  impose this Treaty on us,  contrary to their own specific manifesto commitment  that there should be a  referendum.  The people of the Republic of Ireland have said NO – WE WANT  OUR  SAY”.   Joanne  says: “There should be free residential car for the elderly, as is  available in  Scotland.  It is wrong that pensioners’ homes in  England are  being seized to pay for  this”.    Joanne  says: “We also demand access to all NHS drugs – not a “postcode  lottery”, which  means that English patients cannot receive some expensive  drugs which are freely  available in Scotland.”    Joanne  says: “There should be an end to the unjustified subsidies to other  parts of the  UK – We want a fair system for  all.”   Joanne  says: “England can no longer sustain  uncontrolled mass immigration.   It  should be stopped. It places an unacceptable strain on all our services.   All previous governments have allowed  this situation to get out of control”.  Joanne  says: “The Government should seek to protect society and not the   criminals”.   Joanne  says:  “There should be an English Parliament, with an English Prime  Minister and  Government with at least the same powers as the Scottish ones”.  Joanne also says: “The voters of Haltemprice and Howden  have the chance to  send a clear message to the government and the rest of the  stale political  Establishment that the people of England are no longer prepared to be treated as   second class citizens within the UK.  Let us put England’s  interests first”   Robin Tilbrook, Chairman of the English Democrats, said:  “I am delighted to  welcome Joanne’s nomination.  It is a clear sign of the speed with  which the  English Democrats are growing.  Even Labour’s Derek Wyatt MP a few days ago  said, at Westminster, (on the  18th June) “..I am convinced that standing still  is not an  option.  The present arrangements  are producing growing resentment  all over the United Kingdom, particularly in England..”.    Robin Tilbrook also said  that: “A vote for Joanne and the English Democrats  is a positive vote for the  people of Haltemprice and Howden.  It is a vote  for ENGLAND and for an English Parliament, First  Minister and Government for  England”.  

For further information, or a photograph of Joanne,  contact:

Robin Tilbrook Chairman English Democrats Quires Green, Willingale, Ongar, Essex, CM5  0QP Tel: 01277 896000 Fax: 01277 896050 Mobile: 07778  553395 www.englishdemocrats.org.uk         

The English Democrats were out in force at Henley today, reminding the locals that they live in England, despite the fact that the local Council preferred that WE didn't!

Was there ever a place that needed an English Democrats MP more?? 

Henley has for too long been the preserve of Barking Boris and the Butcher's Apron ensemble.  So full of bile for dear Old England that even the local council despises the flag of St George.

After the team were told to "remove" English bunting, for it might scare the horses, normality resumed as the Red White and Blue clogged up the high street.  Ironically the local church was sporting England's national flag, a point overlooked by the over zealous members of the Town Hall self hatred brigade.

Oh the joy of living in a democracy, who says free speech is dead????

When a place like Henley objects to the flying of the nation's flag you know that the rot is well and truly setting in.  Let's hope that Derek Allpass a resolute English Democrat Patriot will defend the rights of the English to be English in England and that one day the Britophiles who despise England with a terrifying degree of loathing will be cast from our midsts.  Amen to that!

Here is a video of the day's campaigning, what great shots and to quote Darren Riley on seeing the sight of the Cross of St George fluttering in the beeze  in Henley....."Don't it look great!"

Well done to all those who took Saturday out of their own free time to defend England and her right to equality -respect and thanks to the whole team.

ENJOY!!  

Today is Waterloo Day.  Do we know enough about it?  Should we care?

English Democrats would argue we should care, because if we don't know or understand the mistakes of the past we are doomed to repeat them in the future.

A war is not a particular point for celebration, but it is probably a useful opportunity for reflection and perhaps if we spent a bit more time reflecting on warfare and its devastating effects, we might be less inclined to get involved in other military adventures.

Here is information about the battle of Waterloo, enjoy!

The Battle of Waterloo, fought near the town of Waterloo (pronounced [watəʀˈloː]) in Belgium on Sunday 18 June 1815,^[5] was the decisive battle of the Waterloo Campaign, and Napoleon Bonaparte's last. Waterloo marked the end of the period known as the Hundred Days, which began in March 1815 after Napoleon's return from Elba, where he had been exiled after his defeats at the Battle of Leipzig in 1813 and the campaigns of 1814 in France. The defeat put a final end to Napoleon's rule as Emperor of the French.

After Napoleon returned to power in 1815, many states which had previously resisted his rule formed the Seventh Coalition and began to mobilise armies to oppose him. The first two assembled close to the French north eastern border. They consisted of a Prussian army under the command of Gebhard von Blücher, and an Anglo-allied army under the command of the Duke of Wellington. Napoleon chose to attack in the hope of destroying them before they, with other members of the Seventh Coalition, could join in a coordinated invasion of France. The campaign consisted of four major battles: Quatre Bras (16 June), Ligny (16 June), Waterloo (18 June), and Wavre (18 June – 19 June). According to the Duke of Wellington, the battle was "The nearest-run thing you ever saw in your life.^[6]

It rained heavily overnight on 17 June, so Napoleon delayed giving battle until noon on 18 June to allow the ground to dry. Wellington's army, positioned across the Brussels road on the Mont St Jean escarpment, withstood repeated attacks by the French, until in the evening when they counter-attacked and drove the French from the field. Simultaneously the Prussians arrived in force and broke through Napoleon's right flank. Finally, the French army left the battlefield in disorder, allowing Coalition forces to enter France and restore Louis XVIII to the French throne. Napoleon abdicated to the British and was exiled to Saint Helena, where he died in 1821.

The battlefield is in present-day Belgium, about eight miles (12 km) SSE of Brussels, and about a mile (2 km) from the town of Waterloo. The site of the battlefield is today dominated by a large mound of earth, the Lion's Hillock. As this mound used earth from the field itself, the original topography has not been preserved.