John Prescott

“I’ve always felt very proud of Wales and being Welsh. People are a bit surprised when I say I’m Welsh. I was born in Wales, went to school in Wales and my mother was Welsh. I’m Welsh. It’s my place of birth, my country.” - John Prescott

The Hannah Mitchell Foundation, the latest attempt to balkanise England, has announced that proud Welshman John Prescott is to be their patron.

More details at The Guardian and Halifax Courier.

One campaign supporter, a Mr Graham Jones MP of Accrington, went to great pains to stress that The Hannah Mitchell Foundation was an inclusive, non-partisan campaign:

No to an English Parliament and No to continous Tory rule.

A Tory run England has no democratic mandate in the North. In fact no English Parliament can ever have a democratic mandate because it will never represent other parts of England.

Most northerners value being northern before English. The North-South divide is now as huge as ever following Osbornes unfair austerity. The idea of an English Parliament is dead.

It's for northern people to decide their destiny, not as suggested above for southerners to impose a Tory English Parliament. (which is what this is)

What an auspicious beginning.

I am delighted to be here and to lend my support to the Campaign for the English Regions. Without your organisation and hard work we would not be where we are today - with a Bill in Parliament to prepare for Regional referendums.

The momentum for regional devolution has increased year on year and you have played an important part in that. We have achieved a lot. It has not always been easy. But the fact that we are giving the English Regions the same choice as the people of Scotland, Wales and London is an achievement we should all be proud of.

I'm proud that we have shifted the balance of power away from Westminster and Whitehall and changed the culture that "Whitehall always knows best". I'm proud that we no longer have the most centralised system of government in Europe. I'm proud to have put the footings in place for regional government in England. And I'm proud to be part of a Labour Government that established the Scottish Parliament, the Welsh Assembly and the GLA.

That was a monumental step for any government. And, there is no turning the clock back.

Of course there was opposition. But only one political party has directly opposed devolution. They opposed it in Scotland and Wales. They did the same with London. And they'll do the same again with regional government in England.

Opponents will tell you that this is a move towards a federal Europe and a plot orchestrated by the European Union. It is not.

They will tell you it is a plot to abolish county councils. It is not. They say it will add more layers of bureaucracy. It will not. But I tell you this - I bet they will field candidates for elections to a Regional Assembly. And I bet they will want to have a voice to be heard in the regions.

Since 1997

Since 1997 we've strengthened the Government Offices for the Regions, increased the number of issues they deal with and given them responsibility to take decisions traditionally dealt with in Whitehall.

We've set up nine Regional Development Agencies, which have played a key role in reducing unemployment and boosting investment in every region.

We've helped to establish a network of Regional Chambers and Assemblies which have improved accountability and given the regions a new voice.

And, we've increased the resources of the RDAs and the responsibilities of the Regional Chambers as we have gone along.

Several Regional Chambers are already regional planning bodies and from this April they will all have the responsibility to draw up regional spatial strategies.

Regional Economic Development

We have done all this not from some high minded good intention but because of a hard headed belief that better social, economic and political decisions can be made at regional level.

In the past we have pumped huge sums of money into enterprise zones, subsidies for property development and hand-outs to compensate for unemployment. They have achieved no overall economic gain. They have not helped people get back to work. And they have left whole communities abandoned and on the dole.

Our efforts are now increasingly focussed on measures to encourage and foster indigenous assets, skills, talents and potential for local people and communities.

The emphasis is on drivers of home-grown local economic activity.

To help achieve this we have increased RDA funding from £900 million in 1999 to more than £2 billion by 2005/6. And in addition we have put this in a "single pot", so that they have the maximum flexibility in allocating their resources.

RDAs have put in place long-term frameworks for regional employment and skills. They have for the first time produced regional manufacturing strategies. They have up-to-date regional economic strategies. And they have launched venture capital funds in each region to improve small firms' access to finance.

Our aim is more businesses - not more benefit offices.

In 1999 the rate of business start ups in areas of high deprivation was just one sixth of the rate in more prosperous areas. So we recognise that some areas face a more difficult task than others.

Sustainable Communities

Overcoming those obstacles depends on creating sustainable communities. We are focussing resources in our most deprived areas. Over this Parliament we will put £1.9 billion into the 88 neighbourhood renewal fund areas and a further £2 billion over ten years into the 39 new deal for communities areas.

Sustainable communities need a strong economy, jobs, good schools and hospitals, good public transport, a safe and healthy local environment, high quality design and enough housing to meet the needs of local people.

Two weeks ago I launched the Government's new Communities Plan to address some of these issues. The Plan put in place proposals to spend some £22 billion over three years and to meet the very different problems of low demand for housing in the north and shortage of housing supply in the south.

The Plan is as much a regional document as a national one. Alongside the main policy document we published nine regional daughter document which recognise that many issues are best dealt with at regional level. The Plan deals with the different housing problems in different regions.

That is why we are setting up Regional Housing Boards which will involve the RDAs and other regional partners.

And from April 2004 we will establish a new single pot for housing investment in each region. This will enable regions to set their own spending priorities for housing. For example they might design programmes to meet particular local needs or the needs of one particular group of people.

Of course those regions that opt for regional assemblies will have more powers and more control over policies like housing and economic development which have traditionally been in the hands of central Government.

But that level of devolution of responsibility and resources will depend on success in a regional referendum.

Soundings

We are now coming to a critical time in the delivery of this Government's vision for elected Regional Assemblies.

As you know in December we launched a soundings exercise to assess the level of interest in holding regional referendums. We have asked for responses by 3 March - that is next Monday.

It is therefore of critical that you take the chance to have your say. Responses are flowing in and we expect many more to come. The more we hear from you the better the judgement we can make.

We've got an open mind and no decisions have yet been made about which regions will go forward.

Some regions may not want to hold a referendum. We will respect their views.

But I believe that there is a hunger for English regional government in several parts of the country, and where there is support we will respect that.

My firm hope and intention is for the first referendum to take place before the next General Election.

Once we have considered the level of regional interest in referendums we will direct the Boundary Committee to review the local government arrangements with the view to holding a referendum in those regions.

I am aware, of course, that establishing unitary local authorities throughout a region with an elected assembly will require controversial decisions. But for those regions that want it, I firmly believe that the prize of elected English regional government is worth it.

Announcements

I just want to say a word about two announcements which I am making to Parliament today.

First, our White Paper invited comments on how to involve stakeholders in the work of elected assemblies.

Assemblies will be democratically elected. Our initial view was that it would not be appropriate for non-elected stakeholders to be full members of democratically elected assemblies. Responses to the consultation agreed with that.

However, we don't want to lose all the expertise and commitment that social and economic partners have contributed to the Regional Chambers.

And the consultation made it clear that the best way forward was for elected assemblies to have flexibility in the way they involve stakeholders.

Each assembly will therefore be required to engage stakeholders in their work. This will include involvement in the assembly's overall vision for the region and the regional strategies it will deliver.

Within that framework, assemblies will be able to decide which stakeholders to involve and how to involve them.

Stakeholders might for example be on scrutiny committees, they might help develop policy, or they might work on specific regional strategies.

Regional Assemblies might set up regional 'partnership forums' to bring stakeholders together. Or they might set up consultative groups with different sectors or on different issues.

Assemblies will be able to fund stakeholder involvement in order to develop their capacity to participate.

Crucially, they will have the freedom to make their own decisions about how to involve stakeholders.

Secondly, we announced in 2001 the first Government funding for Regional Chambers. This was to support their RDA scrutiny role and develop their role as a voice for their regions. This has worked well. But, as the chambers know, the funding only covers a three year period up to 2003/04.

I am pleased to say that we can now commit to continue this £5m annual funding programme for a further two years.

This is in addition to the money that will now go directly to the chambers to support their planning role - which in the past had been channelled through local government.

Closing remarks

From this you can see that we are pushing ahead with our regional agenda. The Regional Assemblies Bill is making good progress and received its second reading in the House of Lords last week. Once we have royal assent we will announce which region or regions will go first. The first referendum could be as early as Autumn next year.

That's only 18 months away, which means not just us getting the process right but beginning the planning of your campaign - raising awareness and drawing up support.

The government has its role. Political parties have theirs. But it will be the grass roots campaign organisations like your own which will make the difference.

It's you who people will listen to down the pub and in the supermarket.

Don't misunderstand me, when the time comes I will be on my regional battle bus but the drive and energy you can bring is essential.

This is an opportunity which I relish and which I believe - with your support we can make happen - not just in a few regions but over time across the whole of England.

John Prescott's speech to the Campaign for the English Regions Conference; 24th February, 2003

The following is an SNP press release from 12 January 1995:

Labour are miscalculating in seeking to impose assemblies throughout England, merely to lend cover to their Scottish devolution plans. Labour's only response to the anomalies inherent in devolution is to issue parrot cries about creating regional assemblies in England. In other words, Labour are proposing assemblies for regions whose names sound like contenders in the 'Come Dancing' television programme, merely as a means of disguising some of the inadequacies of their Scottish devolution plans!

It's a shame that we didn't have Scottish and Welsh nationalists in power in 2001 when the UK Government was hatching its plans to regionalise England. I remember well the odious Rhodri Morgan campaigning enthusiastically alongside the even more odious John Prescott in the North East. This was back in the day when serious political commentators referred, only half-jokingly, to John Prescott as the First Minister of England on account of the swingeing undemocratic powers over England that the fat Welsh buffoon had stolen away to the ODPM. My new Freedom of Information request is an attempt to shed some light on exactly what support for the balkanisation of England was offered by our partners in the United Kingdom, and what support if any John Prescott requested.

Dear Ministry of Justice,

I would like to make a request under Freedom of Information to see all the minutes of the 2nd Joint Ministerial Committee meeting during which the Government’s White Paper on English Regional governance was discussed.

The devolved administrations expressed their support for devolved regional government in England and offered to assist the process based on their experience of devolution to date.

However, no representatives of England were present at this meeting. Attending were representatives of the UK Government along with representatives from the Scottish, Welsh and Northern Irish administrations, as follows:

UK Government
Rt Hon Tony Blair MP, Prime Minister
Rt Hon John Prescott MP, Deputy Prime Minister
Rt Hon Paul Murphy MP, Secretary of State for Wales
Rt Hon Helen Liddell MP, Secretary of State for Scotland
Rt Hon Dr John Reid MP, Secretary of State for Northern Ireland

National Assembly for Wales
Rt Hon Rhodri Morgan AM, First Minister
Jenny Randerson AM, Acting Deputy First Minister

Scottish Executive
Rt Hon Henry McLeish MSP, First Minister
Rt Hon Jim Wallace QC MSP, Deputy First Minister

Northern Ireland Executive Committee
Sir Reg Empey MLA, Acting First Minister
Mark Durkan MLA, Minister of Finance and Personnel

I understand that the meeting took place on 30th October 2001.

Yours faithfully,

Gareth Young

I'm reasonably sure that this request will be refused, they wouldn't want to 'prejudice the UK government's current dealings' with the devolved administrations.

Who ever would have guessed that the fine specimen of a man that is John Prescott was the product of inbreeding?

If like me you will never forgive the class-obsessed, anti-English, pie-gobbling shit for this, and if you fancy a healthy dose of schadenfreude, then you can enjoy Prescott's anguish on iPlayer.

Wonderful news that Peter Hain has stepped down in order to spend more time with his parole officer - another anti-English bastard out the government, hopefully for good. Of course, almost every Labour MP has 'issues' with England, but the really obnoxious former ministers, listed in the axis of evil below, are finding that their political influence is on the wane. Or gone altogether.

	De facto English First Minister. A disaster for railways, local planning, fire service, Dome, public probity, and destroyer of greenbelt and architecture. Champagne socialist and philanderer. Retired in disgrace.
	PM without mandate, unelected in England or Scotland on his priorities 'Education, Housing and Planning'. For ten years he has formulated his ideas on a 'Britain of nations and regions'. Can barely conceal his visceral hatred of England. Repugnant NuFascist
	Blair's former flatmate elevated to a position of power beyond his ability. Unelected Secretary of State for Constitutional Affairs who supports devolution for Scotland but, passionately, not England. Sidelined
	Jobsworth lickspittal, jilted bitch of John Prescott at the ODPM. Cold and calculating Minister for Regions who rode roughshod over local democracy. Irrelevant
	Horrendous little shit. Used his position as Secretary of State for Wales (and Northern Ireland) to argue that there should never be a Secretary of State for England. Like Brown he can barely disguise his contempt for English history and tradition. Stepped down
	Constitutional attack dog of the Scottish Raj. Old radical -now a part of the furniture- increasingly bogged down in a constitutional mire undertaking interminable green papers, reviews and committees. Famously described the English as 'very violent'. Out of his depth
	Understudy to the lickspittal Raynsford at the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister. Did what he was told, and liked it. Pimped out to the NLGN. Lost his seat.
	First Minister of Wales thanks to a cottaging scandal. More enthusiastic about regionalising England than governing Wales. Beaten by Plaid.
	Probably did England a favour for so obviously being an anglophobic twat, though even then he may have just been playing to the crowd. Beaten by the SNP.
	Gordon Brown has been using him as a sounding board for his ideas on Britishness for a decade. The new Raj? Simpleton.

They are my personal top ten, ordered by magnitude of their hatred for England. I'm sure you will have others, you may disagree with the order, and I'm sure many of you will be surprised at some of the omissions. Tony Blair isn't in there because, although undoubtedly bad for Britain, I don't think he was anti-English. He was never a great fan of regionalisation, he didn't really care either way, it was just a concession he made to the Europhiles and Marxists in his party in order to command their cooperation in 'Blairism'. Similarly with the Barnett Formula; sure it was unfair but he didn't have principles so why rock the boat. He didn't hate England, it just meant nothing to him. He was a man without a national identity; not English, not Scottish, not even British; one foot over the Atlantic, the other in Iraq or Brussels, his arse on Britain.

People like Des Browne and Alistair Darling, although members of the Scottish Raj, were just puppets. Admittedly Darling, as Secretary of State for [English] Transport, was a particularly high-profile Raj-ist he never deliberately antagonsied the English. 'Dr' John Reid (Secretary of State for [English] Health) is a similar case in point, though unlike Darling in possession of a backbone.

John Prescott is above Gordon Brown if only for the scale of his incompetence. It defies belief to even begin to imagine the amount of taxpayers' money wasted on his various failed projects - and nothing that he turned his hand to was a success. His complete and utter uselessness and buffoonery endeared him to some people. But not to me. For me he will always be an evil and incompetent cunt. I can only thank God for his incompetence, if he'd been competent he would have been dangerous.

I watched a hugely entertaining BBC4 programme last night on the subject of Deputy Prime Ministers and what their purpose is, what they do, and whether they are really needed.

The consensus is that they are not needed, they don't do much and fulfil no particular purpose.

The programme focussed on John Prescott's failings and misdemeanors, so much so that it took up most of the programme. The viewer was treated to the whole catalogue of Prescotts failures ending in a closeup of Prescott's jowly fat face proclaiming:

For many Tories morality means not getting caught.

And then,

Tories never know when to say sorry, apologise or resign.

Both quotes seemed extraordinarily apposite given the circumstances that Prescott now finds himself in. I defy anyone that watched the programme not to hate the hypocritical fat Welsh cunt.

In my previous post I included a quote from the dishonourable John Prescott (philanderer, trustafarian, thug, champagne socialist and, unfortunately, MP). It went like this:

"Devolution has strengthened Britain because it has allowed the different parts of the UK to give expression to their diversity whilst celebrating the values that bind us together as a nation."

But has devolution really strengthened the Union? The Government go to great pains to tell us that it has.

Foreword by the Rt. Hon. Tony Blair:

The question is: is the UK stronger as a result of devolution or not? I think it is stronger, because people in Scotland say: 'Oh we have our parliament now, that is a fair settlement.' You will get the Tories and parts of the rightwing press trying to stoke up English nationalism, but my point to the English is we are 85% of the UK, we are the majority, we vote through the spending for Scotland and Wales. It is a fair settlement to have a Scottish parliament and my answer to English nationalism is the same as my answer to Scottish nationalism: it is foolish, and wrong and backward looking, and we can modernise the UK for today's world. But the fact that they take different positions on different issues is not a problem. --- Guardian; Friday September 24, 1999

"Our proposals have been designed to preserve the Union, the sovereignty of Parliament and the separation of powers." - Lord Irvine of Lairg The Lord Chancellor, Opening Address to the Conference on Constitutional Reform in the UK, 17 January 1998

"I feel that devolution has strengthened the UK." - Alistair Campbell, Sunday Herald, 22 February 2004

"Devolution has strengthened the UK, preserving the union on the basis of a fairer partnership." - 2001 Labour Party Manifesto

"Devolution has strengthened Britain because it has allowed the different parts of the UK to give expression to their diversity whilst celebrating the values that bind us together as a nation." - Tony Blair, Foreword to Your Region,Your Choice, May 2002

"Empowering our regions does not mean the break-up of England, just as devolution has not meant the break-up of the UK. It makes our nation stronger and more dynamic." - John Prescott, Foreword to Your Region,Your Choice, May 2002

"Devolution has strengthened the United Kingdom, not weakened it, as opponents once claimed." - Peter Hain, Better Governance for Wales, June 2005

"It is increasingly clear that devolution has strengthened the United Kingdom." - Tony Blair, Hansard, 29 November 2000

"Devolution has created a system which better responds to and reflects the needs of the people and I believe that strengthens the United Kingdom." - Rhodri Morgan, address to the Oxford Union, 13 March 2003

"Devolution has strengthened that democracy, giving Scotland a fresh voice within the United Kingdom." - Jack McConnell, Speech at the Union of the Crowns Dinner, 01 July 2003

"devolution has strengthened their [the Welsh, Scots and Irish] sense of identity so we can now assert Englishness without in any way damaging Britain." - David Blunkett, The Telegraph, 15 March 2005

"Then devolution to Scotland and Wales was a threat to the United Kingdom. Today devolution has weakened the separatists and strengthened the United Kingdom. Then childcare was at the bottom of the political priority list." - Alan Milburn, Speech to the Fabian Society, 17 Jan 2005

It's tempting to think that such a fine upstanding body of men could only ever be correct but sometimes, just sometimes, politicians don't always tell the full story.

So, has devolution strengthened the United Kingdom? Let me know what you think:

Has devolution strengthened the UK?
	Yes
	No
	The jury is still out
Free polls from Pollhost.com

'Where do we come from? What are we? Where are we going?' Gaugin asked. For English nationalists the first two questions are easy to answer: We come from England, we are English. The third question has been exercising the minds of the Witanagemot Club for some time. It's been hard to answer because, we are told, England is merely a collection of UK regions - rather than a nation - with no desire for political autonomy, self-determination and, more obliquely, no desire for her own parliament.

Finally I'm back in Canada, having returned from what John describes as my trek in the jungle. Whilst I have been away the third question has not been answered but, to my delight, several of the obstacles to its elucidation have either been removed or thrown into stark relief.

John Prescott.

It used to be said that John Prescott was the First Minister of England, or the First Minister of 'the regions' if you prefer. England was his personal fiefdom, and his writ extended across many of the England's legislative areas that have become devolved areas of competence for the Scottish government. Although his incompetence knew no bounds he was able to influence decision-making, and in particular reorganise local government, in a manner befitting a despot - he was no doubt referred to by those in Brussels as 'Our man in England'. With the endless indulgence of Blair the only check on Prescott's powers over England were the regional bodies set up and appointed by himself, and the lack of indulgence from other members of Cabinet over whose policy areas he tried to wrest control or influence.

But now Prescott has been stripped of practically all responsiblity. The once mighty Office of the Deputy Prime Minister, Mandarin of the Regions, is now but a shell, to be abolished (word has it) by Brown when he becomes PM. The great tragedy of this story is that the fall from grace (but not favour) has come about not through Prescott's well documented incompetence, but through an unimaginable and unpalletable sequence of events: Prescott naked, erect, an object of desire, copulating, more than once...

England is now rudderless, buffeted by the winds of various Whitehall departments without any grand plan or EU charts to guide her destruction. Captain Prescott who had charted the course 'Balkanisation by any means' has lost control of the ship. It can only be a good thing. But where now for HMS England and all the unwilling citizens of the regions?

Gordon Brown

Precious little has been heard from Brown since it was revealed that 52% of the United Kingdom population believe that it is wrong for a Scot to become Prime Minister. Let's think about those words 'United Kingdom'....What do they mean?

To the majority of the population it is clear that they mean very little. This has been the case for the majority of Scots and Welsh for sometime now, but now the English - the glue of the Union - are starting to get uppity. For the English the Scots are now viewed as the Quebecois are in parts of Canada, as discontented troublemakers endlessly agitating for more privileges. Gordon Brown wishes to govern England in a way that no Englishman sitting in an English seat could hope to govern Scotland, and whichever way you add it up the political arithmetic just doesn't allow for an extention of the Scottish Raj.

Rather predictably Brown supporters and Scottish columnists have started hypocritically accusing the English of 'Scottophobia' for baulking at the prospect of a Scottish MP, unnaccountable to the English, becoming de facto English First Minister, hand-selecting English ministerial posts and directing English policy. However, even the most parochial Scot and Brownite must concede that English antipathy to the Scottish Raj is nothing compared to barely veiled anti-English hatred sometimes exhibited up in Scotland. Antipathy to all things English (more usually British and by extent English) is a defining characteristic of Scottish politics and society, and this characteristic was played upon to great effect by those who campaigned for Scottish home rule. To a greater or lesser extent those campaigners got what they wanted, English MPs are no longer permitted a say in Scottish affairs. Thankfully the English have, for the most part, risen above such xenophobia despite the extreme provocation of the Scottish Labour Party. It is not because Gordon Brown is Scottish that the English object to him becoming PM, but because of the fact that he sits in a Scottish seat (at a time when the West Lothian Question is unanswered). The real question is not whether it is right for Gordon Brown to be British Prime Minister but whether it is right for him to govern England. If an English MP is not permitted to govern Scotland, or even vote in its parliament, then it is wrong for Gordon Brown to govern England and vote on matters pertaining only to England. This is not about 'Scotophobia' it is about the West Lothian Question pure and simple.

Little Man in a Toque recommendation: Gordon Brown and the cloak of invisibility by Nigel Hastilow

John Reid

The 'Stop Brown Candidate' has been made Home Secretary despite the fact that many of his decisions will not affect his constituents up in Scotland. According to Iain Dale "I've just read in the Standard that John Reid described the Home Office recently as "the one Department which can't have a Scot in charge".

This appointment will just serve to highlight the problem of the West Lothian Question. One commenter on Iain's blog teasingly asks "What about John Reid, Glasgow MP, who will insist that the English carry ID card to access key services, yet his own constituents will not be required to do the same?"

Quite! A flag-ship Labour policy now depends on a Scot imposing it on the English. We may not yet be able to answer that third question - Where are we going? - but in the month that I have been absent the political terrain seems to have opened up to enable more fleet-footed progress. The opposition have exposed their soft-underbelly. Labour are in disarray, no more so than in respect to the constitution. All in all it is extremely encouraging.

Do please check out John's Witanagemot Club roundup for more English news. I'm off to Drumheller for a few days of dinosaur hunting. In the meantime check out the Witanagemot Club for your English news.

On John Prescott's plans to concrete over cricket pitches Caroline Spelman comments:

This is a licence to build on green fields. Mr Prescott seems single-handedly to be transforming the British countryside.

Actually John Prescott's personal fiefdom has powers over just England, not Britain. The Tories are stuck in pre-1997 mode; they don't understand devolution; and they cannot accept that they are the party of England, and that North and West Britain doesn't want them.

Little Man in a Toque can exclusively reveal how John Prescott remains in his job.

Loyal as ever Mr Prescott refused to be drawn on the PM's performance.