Gareth

I think that's why Knapman came across so badly, he didn't offer anyone anything. It was a case of 'We don't want these assemblies but we offer no solution to the constitutional mess that Prescott has created."

A better argument would be to suggest that Lord Barnett gets back to work and creates a formula that addresses the social needs of all the people of the UK rather than just the Celtic nations. The policy of an English Parliament would give him something positive for English people to vote for instead of just being against everything. There is no doubt that the people in the North East do feel that they are peripheral. They look across the border and, unsurprisingly, want a bit of the funding largesse that Scotland enjoys.

I think that this article from a 2003 sums up the problem
http://icnewcastle.icnetwork.co.uk/0...l&siteid=50081

If you look at the second page 'How we're losing out' you can see quite easily that UKIP offer nothing to remedy these problems.

The third page, if you can be bothered to read that far, makes even more interesting reading. The view is that if the NE had the funding of Scotland they could upgrade the A1 - as someone who has driven down this many times I can assure you they have a point. Instead of offering an English Parliament, with power over England's transport - and an English transport minister (instead of Darling, a Scot, presiding over an English ministerial post) UKIP just say that we should keep the money we presently give to Europe. Well, we should but not everyone agrees with that and the people of the North East, like people all over England, want to end policy making by Scottish dictate.

The first party to tackle the English question to the satisfaction of the English public will reap a goldmine. I hear the Tories are on the verge, let's face it they are a busted flush in Scotland and Wales anyway.