http://www.ippr.org/images/media/files/publication/2012/01/dog-that-finally-barked_englishness_Jan2012_8542.pdf
At page 34 of the PDF is the following:
Even more significant was the response to a question that asked respondents which political party in their view ‘best stands up for the inter ests of England’. As is made clear in table 6.2, a (narrow) plurality supported the view that no party does this.
To the extent that one agrees that ‘English interests’ require championing, it is hard to dissemble from the view that they are not sufficiently well represented in the current political system. Unlike Scotland and Wales, there is no significant political party promoting England as a locus and focus of political life. That the tiny English Democrats are currently absorbing members from a disintegrating British National Party makes clear that they will not plug that particular gap. 12 UKIP’s recent conversion to the cause of an
12 For example, two very prominent former BNP activists – Chris Beverley and Eddy Butler – ar e now members of the English Democrats, the latter following an unsuccessful leadership bid against the BNP’ s Nick Griffin in 2010. Despite their membership of the English Democrats, Beverley and Butler continue to work for BNP MEP , Andrew Brons. See http://andrewbrons.eu/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=71&Itemid=120 (accessed 5 January 2012)
English parliament suggests they hope to broaden their appeal in England, but they can draw little encouragement from table 6.2.
| Party | |
| British National Party | 4 |
| Conservatives | 20 |
| English Democrats | 2 |
| Green Party | 2 |
| Labour | 21 |
| Liberal Democrats | 4 |
| UK Independence Party | 9 |
| ‘I do not think that any party stands up for the inter ests of England’ | 23 |
| Don’t know | 15 |
| N | |
See also: http://www.ippr.org/publications/55/8542/the-dog-that-finally-barked-england-as-an-emerging-political-community
How do the big three parties between them get 45% of these people's support on this question? The LibLabCon like only one thing about us English, and that's the money we pay into the UK Treasury. They'd rather send us to the gas chambers if they could.
ReplyDelete