Andrew Gwynne MP

It's not often, or ever come to think of it, that you get a Labour Party politician engaging English nationalists in debate on a public forum. Which is why Andrew Gwynne MP should be applauded for this article and subsequent comments: "England, a constitutional conundrum".

My favourite exchange is this:

Mr A.D.Dagger says:
February 26, 2010 at 8:06 am

Perhaps? just as a starting point Andrew. You could pop along and see Mr Brown and ask him to be honest when making speeches on issues such as NHS, education, transport etc. Get him to tell everyone he is referring to England. Put him in front of a mirror to practice. E.n.g.l.a.n.d. Because so far he hss proven completely unable to say the word. I wonder why?

Andrew Gwynne says:
February 26, 2010 at 8:13 am

To be fair, on Tuesday both he and Ed Balls both spoke of government investment and reforms in “England’s schools”.

Wyrdtimes says:
February 26, 2010 at 9:12 am

Do you mean this speech on education? http://www.number10.gov.uk/Page22580

Where he mentions Britain nine times but England not once?

There really is no comeback from that. But it makes you wonder doesn't it? Perhaps Labour MPs don't even realise that Gordon Brown is doing it. Perhaps they don't object or even notice when Brown talks about "British schools" when he means "English schools", or about "a Britain of nations and regions" - where Scotland and Wales are the nations, and England the regions - or about that "golden thread of British liberty" that runs "from that long-ago day in Runnymede in 1215 to the Bill of Rights".

I think I'll send Andrew Gwynne a copy of Simon Lee's "Gordon Brown and the British Way" and ask that he distributes a few copies to his fellow Labour MPs.