Scotland gets more money per head & did so long before devolution largely because the Barnett formula is calculated on population numbers as they used to be. Scotland’s population has been dropping & is now stable while England’s is rising fast. Solve the immigration problem & you have solved much of this. Scotland’s benefit from the Exchequer is less than it seems if you take North sea oil into account though we probably still benefit. On the other hand we do lose the ability to set a lower corporation tax rate to stimulate economic growth (this is SNP policy & worked in Ireland).

The democratic defecit is also something that England suffered vis a vis Northern Ireland for half a century without complaint. I think a Parliament with a UK PM half the week & a different English one would be workable. England should decide if you want a purely English Parliament or not (I would favour a regional system but I, correctly, can express an opinion but don’t get a vote).

It would be cynical to think the Tories want the 2 majorities in Westminster system because it would be unworkable if Labour got in & equally so to believe they oppose a separate Parliament because the pressure for a democratic electoral system would be overwhelming. However sometimes cynicism is justified.

Oh for cying out loud John wake up. What has gone on for the past ten years? Has scottish/welsh/irish/socialist NEW LABOUR’S conduct towards English folk been right or wrong? There is only one answer! You know what it is! So, act upon it! You have many standing with you.

“I thought it very funny to read Labour’s protestations that the Conservatives were damaging the Union by demanding some justice for England.”

You don’t believe that do you? How long have you been in politics? New labour will say and do anything to keep the Englishman/Englishwoman from having equality. It is their obsession John.
New labour have damaged the union. No! They have destroyed the union. It’s all red herrings John.

“Surely the people who started to split the Union were those Labour MPs who thought lop sided devolution would work? They are now being hoist by their own petard.”

Precisely John! They thought the English would roll over! We haven’t! We NEVER will! They are the archaetypal bullies. As long as they’re on top, they’re fine; as soon as the worm turns it’s all hot air and ranting from them. They just can’t take it when the boots on the other foot!

We also get a procession of Scots and Welsh politicians explaining why the English don’t want any justice or their own parliament.

The English are reasonable people, generous people, patient people, but we are not fools. We have waited for 10 years since New Labour started its botched constitutional experiments, if they can’t finish the job they should resign.

PS You said “From a small beginning in 1707, ” - well at that point Scotland was one of the poorest countries in Europe with a massive public debt - which England took on.

OH, I see.
It is now politically expedient for us to ignore the sensibilities of our ethnic minorities and stop being ashamed of the ‘racist, white, vicious and vile’ British Empire and celebrate it’s very existance.
About time thank you Sir, you have my vote.

Alex Salmond should invoke these provisions, for no other reason but to listen to Scottish Labour MP’s with Scottish constituencies squeal like stuck pigs, as their Westminster pay packets take on the extra squeeze.
.

Is England not entitled to more than “some justice”? Will the Conservatives finally come out to bat for England’s equality?

Reply: Yes of course England expects… I said Labour was claiming we are damaging the Union, which is a bit rich as they began the trouble with their botched devolution.

The rich areas subsidise the poor areas as a consequence.

Everyone knows they get an equal allocation of cash and so it is fair.

The question is they how well does local government spend the money.

They can’t get more by increasing taxation.

The only way they can do more, is by being better at spending the cash.

The democracy is there too. Vote for the party or people who get the most value for money out of the pot.

My take on the Scotish issue is that England would be best off without Scotland, and vice versa. Scotland would very quickly have to adjust. Thtat can only be for the good.

Labour benefit enormously from the size and distribution of parliamentary constituencies. Should the EVOEM debate not also address the ‘unfair’ absolute number of MPs from Scotland, Wales and NI?

Is it also fair that Labour have so many MPs from relatively smaller constituencies while the Conservatives have relatively fewer MPs from large ones? Labour got less votes than the Conservatives in England but have over 100 more English MPs.

The recent boundary changes go some small way to redress this imbalance but I would advocate that the Electoral Commission should be forced to reararnge the constituency map every 5 years to ensure that ALL constituencies are no more than a defined (and small) percentage above or below the average size - and if demographic movements change things then the Electoral Commission would have to reallocate wards to rebalance. This would automatically redress both the regional and national inequalities.

Reply: The only kind of proportional representation I believe in is equal sized constituencies.

Fully agree. I also think the issue of fairness should be extended.

‘English votes on English matters’ (EVOEM) will create the chance for a Labour majority in Westminster but with a Conservative English majority on English Matters. Sounds like a recipe for sclerosis. I think a full English Parliament and English First Minister is needed.

The terms of devolution for each of England, Wales, Scotland and NI should be the same.

The per capita public spending should be the same.

Out of interest - Brown is regularly and rightly attacked for being a partisan, self-serving weasel. How would you propose that Cameron plays this to avoid looking similar? (EVOEM will obviously be hugely advantageous politically to the Consevatives).

Reply: David Cameron has to explain the unfairness and propose a solution.

If only we had some Conservative MP’s representing Scottish constituencies we might have a bit more balance. Sadly however, the more this kind of simplified posturing on a very complex issue continues, the less likely we are to correct that imbalance at the next election.

From a small beginning in 1707, the United Kingdom of Great Britain went on to conquer the world and rival the Roman empire in historical terms. It’s been a wonderful 300 years, let’s not take our eyes off the ball at this vital moment.