British Democracy Forum - View Single Post - English Parliament: Simon Heffer and Iain Dale comment (please click here to watch)

Britannist · 30-04-2008, 09:45 AM

Key extracts from the discussion at Playpolitical between Mr. Simon Heffer and Mr. Iain Dale on the link given in the last posting to this thread:

Mr. Simon Heffer, Daily Telegraph columnist said "I think the Conservatives have to accept that the Union with England and Scotland is over. Since the election of Blair in 1997; the referendum in the Autumn of that year on setting up a Scottish Parliament; the Scottish Parliament being set up in 1999 and the Scottish 'National' Party victory in the third Scottish election Scotland has been on a path to independence. Maybe not immediately but in the next ten years."

When informed by Mr. Iain Dale that Conservative MP Sir Malcolm Rifkind had suggested that a Grand Committee be set up to handle English domestic affairs and that such a body could (according to Mr. Dale) be a de-facto English Parliament Mr. Heffer said "A Grand Committee reduces England to the status of a glorified region. England should have her own Parliament - nations don't have Grand Committees."

Mr. Heffer said that the Union of the UK was supported in England by only a vocal minority and by Gordon Brown (a Scottish constituency MP) "who needs to keep it going to be UK Prime Minister."

30-04-2008, 09:45 AM	#2 (permalink)
Britannist Uber Member Join Date: Jun 2005 Location: London Posts: 22,896	Extracts Key extracts from the discussion at Playpolitical between Mr. Simon Heffer and Mr. Iain Dale on the link given in the last posting to this thread: Mr. Simon Heffer, Daily Telegraph columnist said "I think the Conservatives have to accept that the Union with England and Scotland is over. Since the election of Blair in 1997; the referendum in the Autumn of that year on setting up a Scottish Parliament; the Scottish Parliament being set up in 1999 and the Scottish 'National' Party victory in the third Scottish election Scotland has been on a path to independence. Maybe not immediately but in the next ten years." When informed by Mr. Iain Dale that Conservative MP Sir Malcolm Rifkind had suggested that a Grand Committee be set up to handle English domestic affairs and that such a body could (according to Mr. Dale) be a de-facto English Parliament Mr. Heffer said "A Grand Committee reduces England to the status of a glorified region. England should have her own Parliament - nations don't have Grand Committees." Mr. Heffer said that the Union of the UK was supported in England by only a vocal minority and by Gordon Brown (a Scottish constituency MP) "who needs to keep it going to be UK Prime Minister."