St David's Day Debate
Letter to Speaker Bercow
Submitted by Toque on Mon, 03/01/2010 - 14:34I suspect that there's bugger all chance of Bercow being presented with some red roses by an English youngster on 23rd April, but an email can't do any harm.
Dear Mr Bercow,
On St David's Day, today, there is a St David's Day debate in the House of Commons, and this despite the fact that there is a Welsh Assembly that acts as a forum for the nation of Wales.
Can we have a St George's Day debate please, for the discussion of England?
Topics for debate might include:
- Have the Government's English regional committees been a failure?
- What is the point of Regional Ministers?
- Should RDAs be abolished?
- Should English Votes on English Laws be called English Votes on English Laws if Scottish MPs are still permitted to vote on Second and Third Readings of English legislation?
- Does England lose out because of the Barnett Formula?
- Should England have its own national anthem?
- Does Government do enough to recognise England's nationhood?
- Should the people of England be consulted on how they wish to be governed, or should the Conservative Party - if they form the next government - just usher in a procedural change to the Commons' voting system to mitigate the West Lothian Question?
- Is the rise of the BNP in anyway related to the political vacuum that England finds itself in, and; does this House do enough to inculcate an inclusive English national identity when it's not obsessing about Britishness?
- Should the Houses of Parliament fly the Cross of St George from one of its three flagpoles, given that it doubles as an English parliament?
There's plenty to discuss, so let's have a St George's Day debate, please.
Happy St David's Day to Toque's Welsh readers.
