England Defence Association

You will be redirected to the England Defence Assosiation

noreply@blogger.com (England Defence Association) — Thu, 25 Sep 2008 08:20:00 +0000

England as a nation‏

noreply@blogger.com (England Defence Association) — Tue, 23 Sep 2008 21:33:00 +0000

The present Prime Minister's predecessor once characterised Scotland as "a proud historic nation": sentiments which the Prime Minister would doubtless share. Under devolution, the people of Scotland, Wales and even Northern Ireland are reaffirming their historic nationhood and taking pride in their new national governmental institutions. England, too, is a proud historic nation; and a great many people living in England - perhaps the majority - view their national identity as English in the first instance, and British only secondarily. In the light of these trends, we believe the government should state explicitly whether it regards England as a nation in its own right or not. It goes without saying that any acknowledgement of nation status, however qualified, for England should be accompanied by the acknowledgement of nation status for Scotland and Wales, at least - Northern Ireland perhaps being a special case. Equally, if England is not to be regarded as a nation, the same should apply to Scotland and Wales.

An online petition has been created in order to get a reply from Gordon Brown to a serious question - Does he recognise that England is a nation.
It is a short-run petiton, in order to get his response, but only petitons with 200 or more signatures will be recognised. Therefore, please would you sign the petition, so that he cannot dismiss it and has to answer the question? It will be invaluable for shaping campaigns and hopefully we might get a few useful quotes from it. Fingers crossed.

SIGN THE PETITION HERE

Thanks to Della from the Armchair activists.
"To be born English is to win first prize in the lottery of life"

Brown to fight on despite critics

noreply@blogger.com (England Defence Association) — Tue, 23 Sep 2008 21:12:00 +0000

Prime Minister Gordon Brown defied calls for him to quit, vowing on Tuesday to stand by his beliefs and fight on to make life better for people living in Britain.
In a speech to his Labour Party's annual conference, Brown said that with global markets in crisis this was no time for a novice, a remark aimed at the Conservative opposition and, perhaps, potential Labour rival David Miliband.
After 11 years in power, Labour is lagging some 20 points behind the Conservatives in opinion polls, putting the government on course for a crushing defeat at the next national election, due by mid-2010.
Brown, 57, promised few significant new policies or spending measures, which may not stop some Labour lawmakers questioning his leadership. But delegates loved his performance and bookmakers said it was now less likely he would go.
"I know that the way to deal with tough times is to face them down. Stay true to your beliefs," said Brown, who took over from Tony Blair as leader in June 2007 without an election.
"Understand that all the attacks, all the polls, all the headlines, all the criticism, it's all worth it, if in doing this job I make life better for one child, one family, one community," the former finance minister said.
Brown admitted there was not much money to spend, but pledged to improve healthcare and education, give everyone a fair chance and reform the global financial system to avert a repeat of the crisis that has crippled major banks.
A mini-mutiny erupted last week when a dozen members of parliament called for Brown to go. While the revolt petered out, talk of a challenge may grow if polls don't improve for Labour.
"There seems to be little appetite amongst the rank-and-file for a full-blown leadership campaign at this point so we think he is probably safe at least for the rest of the year," said Graham Sharpe, spokesman for bookmakers William Hill.

SARAH AND OBAMA
Conservative economic affairs spokesman George Osborne said there was nothing new in Brown's speech and a weak prime minister could not lead Britain out of crisis.
"This was the same old Brown. No apology for the mess he's got the country into, no new ideas that show us how he's going to get out of it, no idea how anything will be paid for," he said. "Gordon Brown is retreating to the left to save his job."
In a break with tradition, Brown's wife Sarah introduced him with a short film listing Labour's achievements since 1997 and an endorsement from U.S. presidential candidate Barack Obama.
"Prime Minister Brown has a clear sense of not only how to rebuild the economy for the people of Britain but also a broader vision about how all of us have to work together," Obama said.
Labour delegates were in festive mood in the jammed conference hall, some dancing to pop music before Brown appeared and whooping and whistling when he took to the stage.
"Who can beat Gordon Brown in terms of experience, understanding and the ability to speak from the heart? This was the time for a big speech and he delivered," said Claudia Webbe, an anti-gun crime campaigner at the conference.
The economy was once the jewel in Labour's crown. But inflation is now double the government's target, unemployment is rising fast and the housing market has crashed, pushing Britain towards its first recession since 1992.
The prime minister lacks Blair's easy charm and some in Labour want a better communicator to lead them into the next election. But Brown insisted he would not change.
"I didn't come into politics to be a celebrity or thinking I would always be popular. Perhaps, that's just as well ... So I'm not going to try to be something I'm not," Brown said.
"If people say I'm too serious, quite honestly there is a lot to be serious about."

WANKER
"To be born English is to win first prize in the lottery of life"

Brown fights to win over party doubters

noreply@blogger.com (England Defence Association) — Tue, 23 Sep 2008 02:37:00 +0000

Prime Minister Gordon Brown faces a major challenge in a speech to his Labour Party on Tuesday to silence critics who question his leadership.
After 11 years in power, the ruling Labour Party is lagging some 20 points behind the opposition Conservatives in opinion polls. That puts it on course for a crushing defeat at the next parliamentary election, due by mid-2010.
Brown, 57, took over from Tony Blair 15 months ago without a leadership election and lacks Blair's easy charm. Some Labour lawmakers want to replace Brown with a leader better able to win over voters fed up with Labour rule and worried about the threat of economic recession.
One member of Labour's influential executive committee told Reuters the prime minister had been given time to sort out the economic crisis but would have to go next July after European elections if he had failed to reverse poor poll ratings.
Brown, chancellor for a decade under Blair, will tell delegates at Labour's annual conference that his experience makes him the best person to guide the country through the financial turmoil sweeping the world.
But he is also expected to admit that his government had made mistakes. It had to learn from these and concentrate on winning a fourth term by helping Britons weather the economic downturn.
"A government fighting on behalf of the people will get the support of the people," said Derek Simpson, joint chief of the biggest trades union and Labour Party sponsor Unite.
"With a change of policy, not a change of leader, we can win the next election."
The economy, once the jewel in Labour's crown, has now more than lost its sparkle. Inflation is double the government's target, unemployment is rising at its fastest rate since the early 1990s and the housing market has crashed, pushing the country towards its first recession since 1992.

SHOW OF UNITY
Cabinet ministers have put on a show of unity at the conference in Manchester but speculation that Brown could be ditched has refused to die.
Four junior members of the government quit or were sacked last week after calling for Brown to go.
Foreign Secretary David Miliband, whose speech on Monday received a standing ovation, is most often singled out as a possible leader. He is only 43 and seen as a rising star in the party.
However, the growing global financial crisis may have given Brown some breathing space. One opinion poll last week, taken as he brokered a rescue deal for the country's biggest mortgage lender, showed the Conservative lead over Labour shrinking to 12 points from 21.
Labour activists also loudly cheered Brown's close ally, Chancellor Alistair Darling, for turning his fire on banks' multi-million pound bonuses and market excesses.
After more than a decade of trumpeting a light-touch regulation that has made Britain one of the world's most important financial hubs, Labour may find it can win back its traditional supporters by curbing unfettered capitalism.

"To be born English is to win first prize in the lottery of life"

Labour conference

noreply@blogger.com (England Defence Association) — Fri, 19 Sep 2008 16:25:00 +0000

The Labour conference begins today following fierce speculation about Gordon Brown's future as party leader.
Three large protests against Labour (Iraq, public sector and postal workers) will hit Manchester while delegates congregate in the secure zone, and an alternate far-left conference is taking place down the road, tempting veteran Labour left-wingers like Tony Benn and Jeremy Corbyn away from the main event.
Apart from that, there are some specific focal points to look out for.
Charles Clarke will be delivering the Unlock Democracy lecture on Sunday. There's always a chance he'll make further comments along the lines of his New Statesman article telling Mr Brown to step down "with honour", although the last time politics.co.uk spotted him being questioned on the subject by an eager journalist (at the Lib Dem conference) he came within an inch of punching him in the face.
Mr Clarke pops up again on Monday to go head to head with journalist Andrew Gilligan at a debate entitled 'Who calls the shots – politicians or journalists?'. It could be interesting. Not only was Mr Gilligan the journalist blamed by the Hutton inquiry for being less than accurate in his Iraq war reports but he is also credited (or despised) for leading the campaign against Ken Livingstone's attempts to be re-elected as Labour mayor of London.
Later in the day David Miliband makes his speech to the main conference hall on foreign policy. Pundits and obsessives will be scanning his words with a political decoder to spot any hidden leadership pitch. They probably won't find one, but you never know.
There's a good panel for the debate on how Labour can win the next election, featuring education secretary Ed Balls, one of Mr Brown's most loyal lieutenants, health secretary Alan Johnson, consistently a highly-rated leadership contender, Ken Livingstone, who needs no introduction, and Jon Cruddas, the backbench left-winger who retains tremendous popularity within the party.
Then on Tuesday, it's Mr Brown's make or break speech to the conference. Or at least everyone presumes it's Tuesday, because that day's plenary for the conference hall lists precisely nothing.
There are reports the speech was finalised a month ago, boding ill for its chances. Most of the best speeches, the professionals say, are finished hours before delivery, fresh and written in blood in the early hours of the morning.
Things are about as bright for Mr Brown as he could possibly have hoped them to be at this stage. Whoever leaked whichever name on whatever occasion, the drip feed of briefings, letters and resignations over his leadership appears to have subsided. Furthermore, his part in the Lloyds TSB – HBOS merger has been widely praised, and there are reports he may be busy fixing up another one between EDF and British Energy. It all plays well with his strategy of presenting himself as a good man to guide us through bad economic times. Will it be enough? Probably not. We'll soon find out.

Stay with the E.D.A throughout the week for conference coverage.

"To be born English is to win first prize in the lottery of life"

NHS SERVICES

noreply@blogger.com (England Defence Association) — Fri, 19 Sep 2008 16:25:00 +0000

BEN Bradshaw MP, an English Health Minister, thinks the English NHS provides a better service than the Welsh NHS despite spending less per patient in England than in Wales.
Tell that to the English patients denied cancer and dementia drugs, still having to pay for prescriptions and extortionate parking charges at hospitals which are free to Scottish, Welsh and Northern Irish patients.
Exeter voters must remember Mr Bradshaw's statement at the next general election and show him the exit.

Roger Prescott
Fore Street, Plympton

In reply :

YOUR correspondents miss the point about health policy in Scotland and Wales.
If they believe free prescriptions for millionaires should be a priority for finite health spending, they will prefer the Welsh system.
If they agree hospitals should be forced to subsidise free car parking for anyone who wants to use their car parks, they will prefer the Scottish one.
However, if they believe NHS spending should focus on the speed and quality of healthcare, then they should favour the English system.
In England, we have shorter waits for operations, shorter waits in accident and emergency and it is easier to see a GP at a time that is convenient to you.
People in England can also now choose to have their operation anywhere.
I believe these priorities matter more to the public and I will defend them to the hilt.
Incidentally, 85 per cent of prescriptions issued in England are free and hospitals are advised to offer parking concessions to patients and visitors who need them.

Ben Bradshaw MP

"Ben Bradshaw of course doesn't once mention the funding differences. And I can respond to every other claim with a few personal experiences." - Dee (ARMCHAIR ACTIVISTS)

"To be born English is to win first prize in the lottery of life"

Brown faces struggle at party conference

noreply@blogger.com (England Defence Association) — Fri, 19 Sep 2008 16:25:00 +0000

LONDON (Reuters) - Prime Minister Gordon Brown is facing the political fight of his life as his Labour Party gathers for its annual conference this weekend with several lawmakers openly calling for a new leader.
Fifteen months after taking over from Tony Blair, Brown's popularity is in tatters with poll after poll showing Labour trailing the opposition Conservatives by some 20 points as the economy teeters on the brink of its first recession in 16 years.
Brown's allies say there is no question of the prime minister stepping down and he is the best person to guide the country through the global financial storm -- the 57-year-old Scot was finance minister for a decade.
"Our focus is upon helping the British people come through this turbulent economic time, and on our defining mission of building a fairer Britain," Brown wrote to party members on Friday. "I am confident we can come through this difficult time."
Not everyone agrees. An online poll on Thursday of 788 Labour Party members showed 54 percent want another leader.
Panicked about losing their seats in the next national election, expected in 2010, some Labour lawmakers have called for a leadership race and in the last week, Brown has lost four junior members of his government who were trying to oust him.
But so far no credible challengers have shown their hand and cabinet ministers have so far rallied behind the prime minister with varying degrees of support.
Every minister's speech to the annual conference in Manchester, northern England, will be examined in forensic detail for any sign of disloyalty.
No immediate rebellion is expected, but Brown will have to show he can still electrify the party with his own conference speech on Tuesday if he is to have any hope of stopping the constant challenges to his authority.
Brown will focus on the economic crisis. Inflation is more than double the central bank's target, unemployment is rising at its fastest rate in 16 years and house prices -- an obsession of the British middle classes -- are slumping.
The government was forced to nationalise Northern Rock bank earlier this year and had to broker a rescue takeover this week when the country's biggest mortgage lender, HBOS, looked as if it might become another credit crunch victim.
"I'm not going to be diverted by a few people making complaints," Brown said in an interview with Sky News broadcast on Friday. "That's the stuff of politics. We get on with the business of government."
But the prime minister will also need to pull a few rabbits out of the hat if he is to give the party faithful something to cheer about and quell dissent in the ranks.

"To be born English is to win first prize in the lottery of life"

Commission on Scottish Devolution - Questionaire

noreply@blogger.com (England Defence Association) — Fri, 19 Sep 2008 16:25:00 +0000

It would be most helpful to our cause if you could fill in this questionaire when you have a few moments spare. We must make our voices heard -

Commission on Scottish Devolution - Questionaire

Thanks to Dee from the Armchair Activists.
"To be born English is to win first prize in the lottery of life"

ARMCHAIR ACTIVISTS

noreply@blogger.com (England Defence Association) — Fri, 19 Sep 2008 16:25:00 +0000

We know Brown and his ilk are out to screw England in order to feather the nests of their kith and kin, but many outside the campaign refuse to acknowledge it. Yesterday’s news however should mean that no one can now deny that this cabinet is happy to sacrifice English jobs if it means safeguarding Scottish ones.

Asked at a daily press briefing yesterday if Brown had urged the bank to minimise job losses in Scotland, the spokesman said: "Absolutely not. This was a commercial decision taken by Lloyds.
"The prime minister did not lobby on issues of jobs relating to any part of the UK. These are decisions that are taken by Lloyds, which is a commercial organisation."

Got that? It was commercial. But no, hang on…

Later in the day he popped up on Radio 5 Live and said that he had "made his concern about the future of HBOS's iconic Edinburgh HQ 'very clear' to Lloyds TSB bosses. The company insisted that it would retain the Edinburgh office and said its 'management focus' would be on saving as many staff as possible north of the border."

City analysts were taken aback by the merger document's specific pledge to 'keep jobs in Scotland' and pointed out that it sat uneasily with an overall drive to find £1billion in job cuts. They said it appeared that employees in England would face the brunt of the cutbacks.

Mr Darling told Radio 5 Live: "HBOS and the new group will continue to have a very significant presence in Scotland."

This is being reported in just about every newspaper, so please write a generic letter and sent it to as many of the following as you can. Even if it is just one line, PLEASE speak out against this outrage. Here’s a few that I’ll be sending…

Sir
Gordon Brown denies that he has put pressure on Lloyds TSB to sacrifice English jobs in order to save Scottish ones, yet his Chancellor said he had spoken to them about jobs. Furthermore, after speaking to them he said the management ‘focus’ was on saving ‘as many staff as possible north of the border’.
Is this a coincidence? I think it is no more a coincidence than the fact both have signed the Scottish Claim of Right, where both swore to hold Scotland’s interests paramount “in all their actions and deeds”.

Sir
Alistair Darling has promised to safeguard Scottish HBOS jobs by sacrificing the jobs of Labour’s traditional supporters in the North of England.
Add to this to the lavish block grant (Scotland gets 20% than Yorks & Humberside) and you won't need a soothsayer to work out why England are turning against Labour.
I wish Brown would call me at 6.30 in the morning to ask my opinion, I really would.

Sir
Given the pressure put on Lloyds TSB to sacrifice English jobs before Scottish ones, should Brown’s latest slogan be “English jobs for Scottish votes!”?

Sir
It may be right for an Edinburgh MP to fight for his constituents’ jobs, but is it fair for a UK Chancellor to horse trade jobs in England in return for expediting the takeover of one UK company for another?

Sir
If the voters in Labour’s English heartlands threatened to vote SNP, do you suspect the UK Chancellor would sacrifice Scottish jobs in order to secure the votes in Yorkshire? Is this how new Labour repay decades of loyalty? I do hope they remember when the next election comes around.

Sir
What is worse? A Prime Minister who is unaware what terms his Chancellor is asking for, in negotiations the PM is managing.
A UK Chancellor who has signed an oath to hold Scotland's interests paramount and then struck a deal to ensure job losses are avoided in Scotland (England being the only other place they can occur)
Or, a person in England who votes for a Party capable of doing either of the above?

Thanks to Terry Heath from the Armchair Activists
"To be born English is to win first prize in the lottery of life"

ARMCHAIR ACTIVISTS

noreply@blogger.com (England Defence Association) — Thu, 18 Sep 2008 11:15:00 +0000

What a mess poor old Gordon is in. Still, I hope he doesn't resign on account of what is best for "Britain" - we can all take a lot more yet.
Those who have had the opportunity to watch the news today - and I'm referring to the BBC - may well have noticed that they are not reporting on the MORI poll results, which put the Tories at 54% The BBC has instead run stories on how the government has reduced MRSA and how wonderful it all is.
Nor, on their reporting of the banks merger, have the once mentioned this -
Suspicions that Prime Minister Gordon Brown sought to limit the political damage from the HBOS takeover were heightened today after Lloyds TSB vowed to protect jobs in Scotland.
In an unprecedented move for a bank merger, the company today insisted that it would retain its Scottish HQ in Edinburgh, would continue to print Bank of Scotland banknotes and that its "management focus" would be on saving as many staff as possible north of the border.
City analysts were amazed by the merger document's specific pledge to "keep jobs in Scotland" and pointed out that it sat uneasily with the wider drive to find £1 billion in job cuts.
The Standard understands that Chancellor Alistair Darling was intimately involved in moves to get Lloyds to agree that maintaining a strong presence in Edinburgh was crucial to protecting the integrity of the financial system in Scotland.
Mr Darling today admitted that he was worried about protecting jobs in his own Edinburgh constituency. Read more here.

It's only incredibly important in relation to jobs in England and the fact that Brown and Darling are sticking to their Scottish of Claim of Right pledge.
It would appear that the BBC is intent on "burying bad news" for the Labour Party. With out licence fees, remember?
With this in mind, please would you pen a letter pointing out how the BBC is acting as a Labour Spin Doctor, in deciding what news items the public should be allowed to know about. Even if you live abroad, you can mention that it has not been published on their website, either, so you don't need access to our TV programmes to join in if you should so wish (and we certainly do value your contributions).
I telephoned a complaint to the BBC this morning. Apparently, they're very busy with a lot of complaints recently and have a backlog. I had to wait 10 minutes on the telephone, so I took the opportunity to complain that I never get an English voice on the other end - don't they employ people with English accents to answer the phones? The operator said they employ people lots of ethnics, so I said I'm not an ethnic, I'm British, like you, aren't I?
You can write to whichever newspaper takes your fancy, or use the same email to write to all of them if you have the time. The BBC needs its wings clipped and pulling back into line. They serve us - not the other way around.

Why is the BBC behaving like a Labour Spin Doctor? On a day when the Tories hammered Labour at 53% in a MORI poll, BBC News 24 chose to ignore it and run a story that the government had reduced MRSA since 2004, thereby burying bad news for them. Even when they reported on the bank mergers, they never mentioned that Gordon and Alistair had inserted a unique in banking clause that jobs and the headquarters in Scotland must be spared - presumably at the cost of jobs in England. Not even a peep of either on their website. It is not the job of the BBC to decide that we must not be told news which shows the Labour Party in a bad light. Is the government involved in this? We deserve to be told what is going on between the BBC and Gordon Brown.

Cheers to DEE from Armchair Activists.

"To be born English is to win first prize in the lottery of life"

Steadfast Trust September newsletter‏

noreply@blogger.com (England Defence Association) — Thu, 18 Sep 2008 11:15:00 +0000

Charity Update
Since starting with the charity 18 months ago there’s been a great deal of work gone into getting the organisation up and running. We feel we've got a great team in place that is more than capable of moving the charity forward. As we've mentioned previously we will now be sending out regular e-mail updates, we’ve started a bi-monthly newsletter (the first one is available on our main website and the second one will follow very shortly) and we are also rolling out our membership scheme so membership cards will soon be going out to all existing members. You can now expect to see fund raising events taking place around the country such as sponsored walks and stalls at country fairs and county shows. Many of these events will be listed on our improved ‘News and Updates’ section of our web page. We hope as many of you as possible will join in with the planned events.

Sponsored Walks
Remember these are the very first Steadfast sponsored events so let's show everyone what the English community can do by making them a resounding success!!

Sponsor an English Kid!
On the 28/9/08 Ella Ingram (English Rose aged 6 ) will be doing a Sponsored Walk in Leicester, from Alfred Place (King Alfred!) to Saxon Street (Anglo-Saxons!) in aid of the Steadfast Trust. You can support Ella in her efforts by going here

Devil's Dyke Sponsored Walk
Several East Anglian based volunteers (and a couple from further a field) plan to lace up their hiking boots and don their waterproofs to raise money for the Trust. A sponsored walk along Devil's Dyke will take place on Sunday 21st September. There are several earthworks bearing the name "Devil's Dyke" or Devils Ditches but the Dyke in Suffolk is one of a number of defences along what would have been the ancient boundaries of the East Anglian and Mercian kingdoms. It stretches across open chalk lands between the impassable fenland to the north and the thickly wooded land to the south and at its zenith it would have formed an effective barrier. The ditch may well have been filled with thorny bushes to act as further defence, and it is possible that the monument may have been built over an earlier prehistoric dyke on a similar alignment.

If you'd like to join in the fundraising and come along on the walk you can find full details of the walk here.

You can also sponsor several of the walkers on-line on the following pages.
http://www.mycharitypage.com/Ju/
http://www.mycharitypage.com/TimHawke/
http://www.mycharitypage.com/Ingy/

Final Thought
"There are no people so easily robbed of their culture as those who didn't know they had one."

Yours sincerely
Julien Crighton – Trustee of the Steadfast Trust
www.steadfasttrust.org.uk

"To be born English is to win first prize in the lottery of life"

Brown pledges to save Scots workers 'in bid to limit political fall-out'

noreply@blogger.com (England Defence Association) — Thu, 18 Sep 2008 11:15:00 +0000

Suspicions that Prime Minister Gordon Brown sought to limit the political damage from the HBOS takeover were heightened today after Lloyds TSB vowed to protect jobs in Scotland.
In an unprecedented move for a bank merger, the company today insisted that it would retain its Scottish HQ in Edinburgh, would continue to print Bank of Scotland banknotes and that its "management focus" would be on saving as many staff as possible north of the border.
City analysts were amazed by the merger document's specific pledge to "keep jobs in Scotland" and pointed out that it sat uneasily with the wider drive to find £1 billion in job cuts.
The Standard understands that Chancellor Alistair Darling was intimately involved in moves to get Lloyds to agree that maintaining a strong presence in Edinburgh was crucial to protecting the integrity of the financial system in Scotland.
Mr Darling today admitted that he was worried about protecting jobs in his own Edinburgh constituency.
"It's very sad for employees of HBOS. The new bank has made clear it wants to maintain its Scottish headquarters in Scotland. I've spoken to Lloyds TSB as well as to HBOS and I am extremely concerned about jobs," he said.
"There are many of my constituents in Edinburgh who will be affected by this and it will be very worrying for them. I know the new organisation will be very keen to make its position as clear as it possibly can. I very much want a significant presence to remain there."
But with the totemic Glenrothes byelection expected in just a few weeks, banking experts believed that the pledge was aimed at limiting the politicalfall-out from the demise of the historic Bank of Scotland.
Labour strategists feared that their lingering hopes of holding onto Glenrothes would be ruined by the job losses and the huge blow to national pride triggered by the English takeover of a bank that was founded in 1685.
With 25,000 staff north of the border, the bank is one of the biggest employers in and around the Labour constituency and the Scottish National Party accused Mr Brown of allowing "spiv" City types to wipe it out.
The SNP was set to step up its attacks today after it emerged that the Bank of Scotland name would disappear from the merged mega-bank. The new bank will be called Lloyds TSB, although the Halifax brand is likely to survive.
With more than 100,000 jobs in Scotland depending on banking, the loss of HBOS branches and jobs could have a devastating knock-on effect on the Edinburgh financial community. Just as he believed it was in the "national interest" to help smooth the takeover, the Chancellor was keen to prevent damage to the wider Scottish banking system.
Mr Darling today dismissed fears about a lack of competition resulting from the takeover, declaring that " financial stability trumps competition".
Labour is widely expected to lose Glenrothes in November, which could trigger Cabinet moves to oust Mr Brown.
SNP leader and Scotland's First Minister Alex Salmond said: "I am very angry that we can have a situation of a bank being forced into a merger by basically a short-selling bunch of spivs and speculators in the financial markets."

Thanks to Gareth of the Witanagemont Yahoo Group for bringing our attention to this article.
"To be born English is to win first prize in the lottery of life"

Brown in new blow as Tories take huge lead

noreply@blogger.com (England Defence Association) — Thu, 18 Sep 2008 00:21:00 +0000

LONDON (Reuters) - Prime Minister Gordon Brown suffered a new blow on Thursday with a poll showing the Conservatives 28 points ahead of the Labour Party and on track to seize more than half of the vote.
The Ipsos MORI poll showed how much Britain's deepening economic woes are hurting Brown, and could fuel a Labour revolt against his 15-month-old premiership two days before party members gather in Manchester for their annual conference.
The poll found 52 percent of those who said they would definitely vote at the next election backed the Conservatives.
That was up from 48 percent last month and would give the Conservatives an overwhelming majority in parliament if repeated at the next general election, due by mid-2010.
Labour was unchanged at 24 percent while the Liberal Democrats dipped from 16 percent to 12.
Julia Clark, head of political research at Ipsos MORI, said it was the highest Conservative score since the monthly tracker poll began in 1979. She said it was very unlikely Brown could recover from such a big deficit before the next election.
"The public are so fed up with Labour right now, they are sick with Gordon Brown," she told Reuters.
With the credit crunch taking a deepening toll on the economy, Labour members are increasingly questioning whether Brown is the right man to lead them. Brown faced down a revolt this week by Labour legislators demanding a leadership contest.
Data released on Wednesday showed unemployment jumped by its biggest amount in 16 years in August. Rising food and energy costs and slumping house prices have also stoked discontent with Labour, in power for 11 years.

ECONOMIC PESSIMISM

Late on Wednesday, Lloyds TSB agreed to buy rival HBOS, a person familiar with the matter said, making it the latest troubled bank to be forced into the arms of a better-funded rival.
The Ipsos MORI poll found 69 percent of people were unhappy with the way Brown was doing his job and 70 percent thought Britain's economy would worsen in the next year.
Significantly, 36 percent thought the Conservatives had the best understanding of Britain's economic problems, compared with 27 percent for Labour.
Brown, chancellor for a decade before replacing Tony Blair as prime minister in June last year, used to promote his economic competence as his greatest strength.
Brown's authority was challenged on Tuesday when a junior minister resigned, urging an open debate over his leadership. Three other Labour legislators have been fired or resigned from government posts after demanding a leadership contest.
Work and Pensions Secretary James Purnell, regarded as a potential leadership contender, pointedly refused to condemn the rebels in an interview published on Thursday, although he said he did not agree with what they had done.
Purnell told the left-wing New Statesman magazine it would be "ridiculous to pretend that you can't complain when you're worried. I mean, I'm worried that we're 20 points behind."
The backing of at least 71 Labour members of parliament is needed to force a party leadership contest and only a dozen rebels have so far broken cover. The rebels hope the pressure will encourage cabinet members to persuade Brown to step aside.

"To be born English is to win first prize in the lottery of life"

English MPs should speak for England

noreply@blogger.com (England Defence Association) — Wed, 17 Sep 2008 19:54:00 +0000

Monday, September 15, 2008, 23:00

IN a keynote address by Ben Bradshaw, Minister of Health for England, to the CBI conference of health, when complaining about the Welsh allowing free parking in hospitals, he acknowledged that spending per head on health in England was less than in Scotland and Wales but claimed that waiting times were less and it was easier to see a GP, MP scathing of Welsh NHS, Echo, September 13.
Such a claim is arguable and to boast about spending less on health in England would be acceptable only if there was no criticism of the NHS in England.
Many drugs and desired improvements are held back for lack of financial resources and only in England are increasing prescription charges levied.
The English are denied the opportunity to decide their own financial priorities that are imposed upon them directly by the UK government led by a Scottish Prime Minister and Chancellor of the Exchequer.
It is time for all MPs representing English constituencies, including Mr Bradshaw, to stand up and speak for England against the unfair way in which we are now being governed in all matters, of which health is but one example.

Don Beadle
Gosport, Hants

"To be born English is to win first prize in the lottery of life"

ARMCHAIR ACTIVISTS

noreply@blogger.com (England Defence Association) — Wed, 17 Sep 2008 19:51:00 +0000

All letters relating to an English Parliament and the resulting disparities and which have been spotted, are posted and held online. You can see how many there are, or refer to them if you get writers block at any time. The link HERE
will take you to the most recently posted, but you can go back in time to see how those letters have increased in volume and a much bolder tone. A full 89 web pages of them so far. And many of them are down to your efforts. Well done again. Stick with us. It really is volume that counts.
YORKSHIRE POST LETTERS

From: Della Petch, Burdale Close, Driffield, East Yorkshire.
IF you're really feeling the squeeze over increased stealth taxes, you could easily hop over to a neighbouring country which offers free dental and eye checks, free prescriptions, free hospital parking, no tuition fees, free nursing care, lower council taxes, free access to a multitude of cancer treatments should they be needed, no fishing licences, cheaper transport, better roads, no bridge tolls, no road tolls, a promise that ID cards will not be necessary, lower house prices, fewer quangos and a totally separate national government to us in England, which insists on higher funding and then passes on the savings to its own people.
Where is this land of milk and honey? Why Scotland, of course. Their recipe for success is simple – Labour, Tories and the Lib Dems dare not charge them the same taxes as they charge the English, or the Scots won't vote for them to sit in the Scottish Parliament.
The resulting farce is that each is offering even more tax cuts to the Scots in the form of further reductions in council taxes taxes.
We don't have that same power of persuasion, because our votes to the British government are somewhat watered down by the Celtic-fringes and we don't have a national government to make their mouths water for our English votes.
They each insist that because England is the majority in the UK, we must make sacrifices to keep Scotland in the Union. Look at that list. Aren't our sacrifices already too high? It's time we demanded equal treatment and equal democratic rights in the UK in return for our English votes.
They rely on us for their over-plumped privileges – not the other way around. It's now time they were reminded of that, before the next life sacrificed for want of life-saving drugs is one of your family members.

"To be born English is to win first prize in the lottery of life"

E - Petition

noreply@blogger.com (England Defence Association) — Wed, 17 Sep 2008 19:41:00 +0000

The present Prime Minister's predecessor once characterised Scotland as "a proud historic nation": sentiments which the Prime Minister would doubtless share. Under devolution, the people of Scotland, Wales and even Northern Ireland are reaffirming their historic nationhood and taking pride in their new national governmental institutions. England, too, is a proud historic nation; and a great many people living in England - perhaps the majority - view their national identity as English in the first instance, and British only secondarily. In the light of these trends, we believe the government should state explicitly whether it regards England as a nation in its own right or not. It goes without saying that any acknowledgement of nation status, however qualified, for England should be accompanied by the acknowledgement of nation status for Scotland and Wales, at least - Northern Ireland perhaps being a special case. Equally, if England is not to be regarded as a nation, the same should apply to Scotland and Wales.

We the undersigned petition the Prime Minister to state whether he recognises that England is a nation. More details

Submitted by David Martin – Deadline to sign up by: 12 October 2008

"To be born English is to win first prize in the lottery of life"

Anti-Jewish and anti-Muslim attitudes seen rising in Europe

noreply@blogger.com (England Defence Association) — Wed, 17 Sep 2008 19:30:00 +0000

CHICAGO (Reuters) - Anti-Muslim and anti-Jewish feelings are rising in several major European countries, according to a worldwide survey released on Wednesday.
The Washington-based Pew Research Centre's global attitude survey found 46 percent of Spanish, 36 percent of Poles and 34 percent of Russians view Jews unfavourably, while the same was true for 25 percent of Germans, and 20 percent of French.
Spain has not had a large Jewish population since expelling its Jews in 1492. The other four countries have a long history of anti-Semitism culminating in the Holocaust.
The figures are all higher than in comparable Pew surveys done in recent years, the report said, and "in a number of countries the increase has been especially notable between 2006 and 2008."
Opinions of Muslims are also dimming compared to previous years with 52 percent in Spain, 50 percent in Germany, 46 percent in Poland and 38 percent in France having negative attitudes toward them.
Richard Wike, associate director of the attitudes project, said in an interview the poll did not try to find out why attitudes have changed but other data indicate negative attitudes toward Israel could be driving anti-Semitic feelings.
He also said concerns about extremism and immigration may be a factor in negative views toward Muslims.
Britain was the only European country without a substantial increase in anti-Semitic attitudes, the report said, with just 9 percent in that country rating Jews unfavourably. In the United States 7 percent had negative views of Jews as did 11 percent in Australia.
But about one in four in the United States and Britain thought poorly of Muslims.
"There is a clear relationship between anti-Jewish and anti-Muslim attitudes," the report said. "(Those) that view Jews unfavourably also tend to see Muslims in a negative light."
The findings were based on interviews with 24,717 people in 24 countries earlier this year. The poll had error margins ranging from plus or minus 2 to 4 percentage points, varying by country.
The most extreme anti-Jewish feelings, the poll said, were found in predominantly Muslim nations, where favourable attitudes were only in the single digits among Turks, Egyptians, Jordanians, Lebanese, and Pakistani.

LESS SUPPORT FOR SUICIDE BOMBINGS
But in many predominantly Muslim countries there has been an erosion of support since 2002 for suicide bombing and other violence against civilians in the name of Islam.
In 2002 about three-in-four Lebanese Muslims said such attacks could often or sometimes be justified, but the figure dropped to about one in three in the latest poll. Lebanese Prime Minister Rafiq Hariri was assassinated in a massive explosion in February 2004, setting off a wave of political murders.
The survey also said positive attitudes toward Osama bin Laden have declined in several countries but the al Qaeda leader still enjoys high support in Nigeria, Indonesia and Pakistan.
The poll also found:

- France is the most secular nation surveyed, with 60 percent saying they never pray and only one in 10 rating religion as important in their life.

- Anti-Christian attitudes have been on the rise in Spain where 24 percent now rate Christians negatively, up from 10 percent in 2005.

- Majorities in Indonesia, Pakistan, Tanzania, Lebanon, Egypt, Jordan and Nigeria say they are concerned about Islamic extremism.

"To be born English is to win first prize in the lottery of life"

Brown battles to quell "dark and dithering" image

noreply@blogger.com (England Defence Association) — Wed, 17 Sep 2008 19:28:00 +0000

LONDON (Reuters) - Prime Minister Gordon Brown is often portrayed in political cartoons as a dark and brooding figure unable to connect with the world.
The 57-year-old son of a Scottish minister has struggled to dispel the unflattering image despite his best efforts to smile and show warmth.
Now, 15 months after he succeeded Tony Blair, commentators say Brown's dour personality is a serious impediment to his efforts to revive his political fortunes at the Labour Party's annual decision-making conference starting on Saturday.
Brown's opinion poll ratings are the worst for a prime minister in 70 years, Britain faces the risk of recession and some junior members of his party want to oust him.
"He has an unusual personality type which is the mirror image of Blair," said Anthony Seldon, a political commentator and biographer of Blair who praises Brown's intellect even if he has an awkward manner.
"Blair was extrovert, optimistic, outgoing," he told Reuters. "Brown is introverted and brooding. Premiership is perhaps better suited to people with lighter, more agile brains who can range more quickly."
For a decade during Blair's time in power, Brown served as chancellor, winning a reputation as a firm hand while presiding over a period of unprecedented economic growth.
He initially rode high in opinion polls after he took over as prime minister without a leadership race. His studious image was widely seen as an attribute after polls showed voters had come to mistrust Blair's much slicker public performances.
Attitudes soon changed. Brown's ability to govern came into question when the global credit crisis began a year ago, and public confidence sank further when he opted not to call an early parliamentary election because his poll ratings were down.
Commentators branded him indecisive and a "ditherer" for failing to take a quick decision on whether to call an election, and he has failed to shake off that label as economic problems have worsened and Britain flirts with recession.

"UNDERTAKER"
"He doesn't have the charisma of Blair or the quick charm that appears to be expected of a politician in these times," said Wyn Grant, a professor of politics at Warwick University.
"Brown has the rather grim, foreboding manner of a Presbyterian minister telling you where you've gone wrong.
"To compare his manner to that of an undertaker might be said to be a bit harsh on undertakers."
Brown lost an eye in a sports accident as a child and can appear uncomfortable when meeting people face-to-face.
He is widely portrayed as focusing on specific issues and concentrating too much on details, rather than the big picture.
"The job of modern leadership requires you to switch quickly from subject to subject and that is Brown's particular difficulty," said Seldon, mentioning Blair and former U.S. President Bill Clinton as men with agile minds.
"Brown is a much subtler thinker than Blair -- he has a prodigious brain which is very deep. But that personality type often finds it difficult to operate at the top level."
If he is going to win over his doubters and show the public he has what it takes to lead, Brown has little time to do it.
Opinion polls show his party is lagging 20 points behind the opposition Conservatives and calls to quit by members of his own party are growing.
His ability to lead Labour into the next election, due in mid-2010, could depend on his performance at the party conference, when he will make a U.S.-convention-style speech.
"At times like these, it's a question of how much you want gravitas and how much you want reassurance," said Grant. "Brown doesn't provide much reassurance."

"To be born English is to win first prize in the lottery of life"

Brown's woes mount as minister quits

noreply@blogger.com (England Defence Association) — Tue, 16 Sep 2008 19:05:00 +0000

LONDON (Reuters) - Prime Minister Gordon Brown faced the strongest challenge yet to his authority when a junior minister resigned on Tuesday, urging an open debate over his leadership.
Earlier on Tuesday, Brown's Labour Party rejected calls for a leadership contest that would have threatened his 15-month-old premiership when the party holds its decision-making annual conference from Saturday.
Brown, 57, took over from Tony Blair as prime minister in June 2007, but his popular support has slumped, not least as a result of mounting economic and financial problems. Some Labour members say he is incapable of leading the party to victory in the next general election, due by mid-2010.
Former minister David Cairns said he quit because the government seemed resolute in denying there was widespread debate within Labour over Brown's leadership. But he said he was not part of a wider plot to oust Brown who, as finance minister, had managed the economy since Labour's 1997 election victory.
"The issue of leadership and direction are being discussed and argued over, and to go on denying it is hardly credible," he told Brown in his resignation letter.
"I believe that the time has come to take the bull by the horns and allow a leadership debate to run its course."
Cairns, a former Catholic priest who worked in the Scotland Office, was the first minister to quit over Brown. In the past week, two members of parliament have been fired from government jobs for expressing dissatisfaction with the prime minister and a third resigned after saying he should be challenged.

TRAILING IN THE POLLS
Rising food and energy prices, a slump in house prices and job losses since the global credit crunch began have increased voters' discontent with Labour, which trails the opposition Conservatives by about 20 points in opinion polls.
A rise in annual inflation in August to a 16-year high and a slump in share prices on Tuesday amid financial market turmoil underlined the pressure on Brown as he tries to head off recession and regain his party's confidence.
Some Labour leaders rallied around Brown on Tuesday. Chancellor Alistair Darling said he had "every confidence" in Brown, and former Foreign Secretary Margaret Beckett said there was "nobody better" to run the country.
The party's National Executive Committee (NEC) also backed him by rejecting requests from a dozen Labour politicians to send out nomination papers for a leadership contest ahead of the conference in the northern city of Manchester.
The backing of at least 71 Labour members of parliament would be required for a contest to go ahead. However, rebels are hoping the pressure will encourage members of the cabinet to persuade Brown to step aside.
Blair faced a similar campaign of public criticism from Brown allies in 2006 before finally throwing in the towel after a decade in power and leaving Brown in charge.
This rebellion has undermined Brown's attempts to relaunch his premiership after a series of local election defeats.
Cairns said he had fundamental doubts about the government's direction and its leadership, but insisted he was not part of a wider scheme to unseat the prime minister.
"It may look like that but it's not that. Absolutely, hand on heart, I have no idea if anyone else is planning to resign," he told BBC television.
"I'm not part of a plot. I'm not part of a strategy."

"To be born English is to win first prize in the lottery of life"

Gurkhas march on court to demand right to stay in Britain

noreply@blogger.com (England Defence Association) — Tue, 16 Sep 2008 18:50:00 +0000

LONDON (AFP) - Hundreds of former Nepalese Gurkha soldiers marched on London's High Court Tuesday to press their demand for the right to settle in Britain, as a judge began a judicial review of their legal challenge.
Indian-born British actress Joanna Lumley, whose father fought alongside the Gurkhas, joined their protest outside the court before a judge began hearing a two-day legal action which affects 2,000 former Gurkhas.
She knelt before two veteran Gurkhas in wheelchairs to wish them luck in the test case being brought by five Gurkhas and a widow who have been refused the right to stay in Britain.
"My own father served with the Gurkhas for 30 years. Like so many people in Britain, I am ashamed at how successive governments have failed these magnificent and loyal soldiers," said Lumley.
"I want to see justice done," she told Lachhiman Gurung, 91, and Tul Bahadur Pun, 86, who served with her father in Burma during World War II.
A lawyer representing the Gurkhas said at the start of the hearing that the government's refusal to automatically allow them to live in Britain was "indefensible."
A judge last month granted the veterans permission for an urgent judicial review of the lawfulness of Britain's settlement policy for Gurkhas, who have fought for the British army for nearly 200 years.
Gurkhas who retired after 1997, when their base was moved from Hong Kong to England, can stay in Britain.
But those who retired earlier and whose individual cases were decided by visa officials in Kathmandu and Hong Kong must apply for permission to stay and may be refused and deported.
All other foreign soldiers in the British army have a right to settle in Britain after four years of service anywhere in the world.
Kau Prasad Pun, 53, was granted a British residential visa after 18 years' service in the Gurkhas, but he said he had joined the London protest to support his colleagues who were not allowed to settle in the country they served.
"We are being discriminated against," he said. "We enlisted to kill the enemies of Britain but now Britain is killing us."
The Gurkhas' lawyer, Edward Fitzgerald, told the court that four of the plaintiffs were refused the right to stay in Britain on the grounds they lack "strong ties" with the country.
"However distant their country of origin, whatever the location of their headquarters at a particular moment in history, however remote the battlefields on which they fought and risked their lives and shed their blood, all the Gurkha soldiers, past and present, were fighting for this country," Fitzgerald said.
"That gives them all equally strong ties to this country."
Around 200,000 Gurkhas fought for Britain in World Wars I and II, and about 3,500 currently serve in the British army, including in Afghanistan and Iraq. More than 45,000 have died serving Britain.
The Gurkhas, who are renowned for their bravery and ferocious fighting skills, have also struggled for many years for equal pension rights as their British army counterparts.
Three Gurkhas who lost a court challenge on pensions in July this year are taking their case to the Court of Appeal next month.
That case related to an offer made by the Ministry of Defence last year to transfer pensions benefits from the far lower Gurkha Pension Scheme into the more mainstream Armed Forces Pension Schemes.
The defence ministry offered to transfer the value of the GPS pensions into the AFPS for periods of military service after 1997.
Lawyers argued this penalised older retired Gurkhas, saying the years of service of those who signed up before that date but retired afterwards were valued at between 24 percent and 36 percent of British rates.
Several Gurkhas told AFP they currently receive a monthly pension of about 18,000 Nepalese rupees (173 euros, 245 dollars).

"To be born English is to win first prize in the lottery of life"

England -- Europe's most crowded country, after Malta

noreply@blogger.com (England Defence Association) — Tue, 16 Sep 2008 18:47:00 +0000

LONDON (AFP) - England is the most densely populated major country in the European Union, overtaking the Netherlands, data from the Office for National Statistics showed Tuesday.
In a written answer to parliament, the ONS said said the projected population density of England in 2008 was 395 persons per square kilometre.
The most recent United Nations figures available for the Netherlands are from 2005, when it had 393 people per square kilometre. Since then its population is believed to have remained steady or fallen slightly.
Tiny island nation Malta is the most densely populated of the 27 EU member states, with 1,274 people per square kilometre.
Britain has undergone a recent surge in immigration, with critics saying the system is in chaos.
Immigration has become a hot topic for discussion, with the latest figures likely to fuel that debate.
The ONS said the projected population density of the whole of the UK in 2008 was 253 persons per square kilometre -- which would place it fourth in the EU behind Malta, the Netherlands and Belgium -- with Scotland at 66 per square kilometre, Wales at 144 and Northern Ireland at 131.
The UK has seen a surge in immigration over the last 10 years, with the resident population swelling to 60,975,000 in mid-2007. Many immigrants have settled in London and the southeast.
The ONS estimates that England's population density will rise to 464 people per square kilometre by 2031.
If recently observed trends in fertility, mortality and migration were to continue, the UK population was likely to reach 71 million by 2031, a rise "attributable to a net inward flow of migrants", according to National Statistician Karen Dunnell.
Last week an all-party group of MPs, led by Frank Field and Nicholas Soames, called for a "balanced" approach to immigration, where the numbers allowed to settle in the country equalled those leaving.
"This is a milestone in the immigration debate as immigration accounts for 70 percent of our population growth," the pair said in response to the fresh figures.
"The government's points-based system places no limit on the number of people allowed to settle in the UK. If ever there was a case for balanced migration, it is now."

"To be born English is to win first prize in the lottery of life"

Rebel MPs challenge Brown

noreply@blogger.com (England Defence Association) — Tue, 16 Sep 2008 09:34:00 +0000

The demands of MPs wanting the chance to challenge Gordon Brown as Labour Party leader will be discussed at a meeting later.
The meeting of the party's National Executive Committee at Westminster is likely to discuss arrangements for the annual conference of the party, which begins in Manchester on Saturday.
But rebels also want the NEC to rule that nomination papers for a successor to Mr Brown be sent out to all Labour MPs ahead of the conference.
The NEC is expected to make a final decision on the issue.
The meeting comes as it was reported that an unnamed minister was close to resigning over his concerns about the Prime Minister's leadership.
The report quoted the minister of state as saying: "There just comes a point where you say, 'I just can't go on lying' you can't go on saying, 'I think Gordon Brown is the man to lead us to victory' when you don't believe it."
The Prime Minister will chair a special political discussion of the Cabinet, the first one in Downing Street since MPs broke up for the summer.
Like the NEC meeting, issues relating to the upcoming conference will be discussed, but it is likely Mr Brown's political difficulties will be mentioned as well.
The Premier faced further challenges to his authority when former minister George Howarth insisted that the party would "emerge stronger" from a leadership contest.
And Labour MP Barry Gardiner was axed as the Prime Minister's special envoy on forestry after joining other backbenchers in asking for nomination papers.
His removal followed the sacking of junior whip Siobhain McDonagh and party vice chairman Joan Ryan after they questioned Mr Brown's leadership.
A contest to replace Mr Brown could be triggered if 70 MPs - 20 per cent of the Parliamentary Labour Party - submit nominations.

"To be born English is to win first prize in the lottery of life"

Brown tries to stamp out Labour revolt

noreply@blogger.com (England Defence Association) — Mon, 15 Sep 2008 17:37:00 +0000

LONDON (Reuters) - Prime Minister Gordon Brown tried on Monday to stamp out a party revolt that poses the biggest threat so far to his 15-month-old premiership.
Brown fired Labour MP Barry Gardiner from a junior post, a day after he joined a dozen other Labour politicians in challenging Brown's leadership.
Brown has already dismissed two other dissidents from junior government posts after they called for a leadership contest, saying Labour needed a debate on its direction after 11 years in power.
But Brown has failed to quell a growing chorus of dissent within his own party at the way he has led the country since taking over as prime minister from Tony Blair in June last year.
The rebellion comes at a crucial time, a week before Labour's annual conference in Manchester, and has sabotaged Brown's attempts to relaunch his premiership after the credit crunch and rising prices sent his popularity plummeting.
After a series of crushing election reverses and with Labour trailing the Conservatives in the polls by 20 points, Labour politicians are increasingly questioning whether Brown has what it takes to lead a country on the verge of recession.
The internal feud only damages Labour further with voters.
Gardiner accused Brown in a Sunday newspaper column of "vacillation, loss of international credibility and timorous political manoeuvres that the public cannot understand."
Questions over Brown's future could overshadow the Labour conference, but the rebels who have spoken out so far are relatively minor figures and no heavyweight challenger to Brown has yet emerged who could become a focal point for the revolt.
Gardiner follows government whip Siobhain McDonagh and Joan Ryan, a Labour vice-chairman, who were both sacked at the weekend for criticising the prime minister.
Justin Fisher, political science professor at Brunel University, thinks that while Brown has been hurt by recent events, it would require the resignation of a high-profile member of parliament or junior minister to encourage a member of the cabinet to show their hand as a potential challenger.
"A number of the people who have indicated that they want a contest, with the exception of the deputy whip (McDonagh), are not of sufficient stature in the party to really bring things to a head," he said.
"There is absolutely no question that it damages the prime minister, but I think there needs to be more momentum building up or perhaps a great deal of coordination for it to be potentially fatal."
Labour rebels are demanding that nomination forms for a leadership ballot be sent to all MPs before the conference. They need 71 signatures to trigger a contest, but the party's ruling executive refuses to distribute them, saying they are only issued to individuals upon request.
International Development Secretary Douglas Alexander, a close ally of Brown, dismissed the rebels' calls.
"My sense is the party, like the country, wants the government to be getting on with the real challenges given the kind of financial difficulties that the world economy is facing," he told BBC radio.

"To be born English is to win first prize in the lottery of life"

ARMCHAIR ACTIVISTS

noreply@blogger.com (England Defence Association) — Mon, 15 Sep 2008 17:12:00 +0000

The CEP Campaign to protest England’s disadvantage has got off to a great start.

This was reported in the People, Scot Free – Huge Fee. The article clearly states the rough deal that England gets compared to Scotland and refers to the protest (including quotes from Della Petch). It also quotes Alan Bieth, the Lib-Dem MP for Berwick who tells us we don’t need an English Parliament. Thanks Alan, if you want to disagree with him, you can complete a form here.

The main target however has to be the People. We really need to let them know we want equality and nothing less! You can write to the People here mailbox@people.co.uk and the article gives a separate email address as well features@people.co.uk Please include both.

Sir

The differences highlighted in your article (Scot Free- Huge Fee) show why England should be given equal status with those in Scotland. This means equal spending and an English Parliament to decide how the money should be spent.

Gordon Brown and other Scottish Labour MPs have ensured their electors get preferential treatment. Why won’t Berwick MP Alan Bieth demand equality for those that voted for him?

Yours etc

Thanks goes to Terry Heath of Armchair Activists for this article.
"To be born English is to win first prize in the lottery of life"

Calls grow for Brown to face challenge

noreply@blogger.com (England Defence Association) — Sun, 14 Sep 2008 21:04:00 +0000

LONDON (Reuters) - Politicians from Labour, an ex-minister and newspaper editorials kept up a chorus of dissent against Prime Minister Gordon Brown on Sunday, calling for his troubled leadership to be challenged.

Noises of revolt have been echoing within the Labour party for months, with Brown perceived by polls to lack vision and decisiveness in the job since succeeding Tony Blair last year.

At a time of economic crisis, with growth slowing and the housing and banking markets in a slump, the former finance minister is also viewed as having failed to take bold action to keep the economy on a sound footing.

The Sunday Times newspaper said the only choice Brown now had was to try to silence his critics by putting himself up for a leadership contest, tackling the issue head on.

"For the good of country and party, the prime minister should tell his critics to put up or shut up," the newspaper, largely supportive of Labour over the past decade, wrote in an editorial. "Let us have a Labour leadership contest."

More senior Labour members of parliament have called for Brown to go, saying a change is needed as Labour prepares to hold its annual conference next week and before an election due by mid-2010.

Brown has sacked two senior Labour MPs in the past three days after they said he should face a leadership challenge.

A former minister and Brown special envoy, Barry Gardiner, added his voice to the rumblings of discord on Sunday by saying that Brown had squandered his international credibility and that Britain needed a leader with vision.

"The public has stopped listening to Gordon Brown," Gardiner wrote in an opinion editorial. "We have vacillation, loss of international credibility and timorous political manoeuvres that the public cannot understand.

"The tragedy for those of us who nominated the prime minister is that since achieving power he appears to have forgotten what it was he once wanted to do with it."

POTENTIAL CHALLENGERS?

While Brown languishes far behind in the polls and is under intense pressure from elements within his party, there is little sign of revolt in the upper ranks of the cabinet, which makes a leadership challenge less likely, at least for now.

Supporters emphasise that Brown is trying to guide the country through tough economic times and that anyone else in his position would find themselves equally under pressure.

There are also no senior Labour leaders who appear at this stage to have the inclination or the courage to put themselves forward to challenge Brown's 15-month leadership.

Those that are mentioned as possible contenders -- such as Foreign Secretary David Miliband and Justice Secretary Jack Straw -- have either repeatedly ruled themselves out or are seen as out-and-out Brown loyalists.

But as with previous leadership challenges, including that of Margaret Thatcher in 1990, stalking horses can emerge to keep the issue at the top of the agenda and push Brown's hand.

Brown will address the annual Labour conference in Manchester on Sept 20-23 and be hoping to silence his critics. If he fails to do so, the chorus of dissent could grow louder.

"(Brown's) instincts will be to ignore the gathering storm over his leadership, convinced by his acolytes that this is just the last hurrah of a few discontented Blairites," the Sunday Times wrote. "Things have, however, gone a bit too far for that."

"To be born English is to win first prize in the lottery of life"