The English Democrats Party Putting England First

Why do we need an English Party?
The fact is there is no political party putting the interests of England first. All three major parties are ‘unionist’ in outlook. This means that they see themselves representing the interests of all three nations in the UK, irrespective of whether policies that support Wales and Scotland disadvantage England. England has over 55 million people, we need our own distinct voice, no unionist party will put England first. We will.

Are you against the Union and the United Kingdom?
Unlike the SNP and Plaid Cymru, we are not seeking independence for England and we are not anti Union. We are simply pro-English. We would like to see a continuation of the Union of Great Britain, but with willing participants, and a new post-devolutionary agreement. We would govern in the name of England, and would work with political parties in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland for the good and stability of the union. Our model would be a Parliament for Wales, Scotland, Northern Ireland and England and for the existing House of Lords to be scrapped and replaced by representatives of all parts of the United Kingdom which would work to scrutinise policy across the Union and minimize differences to keep the Union stable. The current asymmetrical devolution is unstable and is likely to destroy the Union in the medium term - we would not want to see this happen.

What are your origins? Are you anything to do with the far right?
The founding members of the English Democrats came together in 2002 when the party was launched at Imperial College London. Many of the founding members were ex-members of the non political grouping The Campaign for an English Parliament. Our party consists largely of people who have stepped out of their professional working lives to provide leadership and protest against the anti democratic behaviour of New Labour and the indifference and incompetence of Conservatives and Liberal Democrats.

English Democrats have no links with the BNP or any other political party, and seek simply to provide political representation for England in the same way that the SNP (Scottish National Party) provides a Scottish political representation and Plaid Cymru provides political representation for the Welsh.

Politically, our policies are neither left nor right. We have a commitment to a mixed economy, but also require protection for the vulnerable and would advocate developing public ownership policies for key strategic industries. We are implacably opposed to globalisation, economies based on ‘cheap labour’ and the offshoring of English jobs.

You have England in your title - does this mean you are racist?
English Democrats are proud of who they are - English and Democratic. Comments about being racist are the favourite insults used by Liberal Democrats and New Labour, as their objective is to trade on self hatred and anti Englishness. The EDP takes a hard line on anyone suggesting the English Democrats are racist and will seek legal remedy for anyone slandering the party in this way. The party is open to all races, religions and people irrespective of where they live in the world. English Democrats are guardians of the English way of life and the values and beliefs of England. We do not claim Englishness to be purely ethnic or purely cultural, but it is a complex mix of the two. We firmly believe Englishness is a state of mind, and if people are born in England and have an English heritage they are welcome to share our national identity. Newcomers to this country are also welcome, providing they abide by English laws and conventions and seek to identify and give their loyalty to England.

Are you anti European?
There is often confusion in answering this question. We are very interested in having good and productive relationships with all the countries in Europe, but we do not believe in political union, ie. The United States of Europe = EU. We believe that the people of England have been betrayed by Labour, Lib Dems and Conservatives alike, with half-truths and lies being told which have resulted in our country being stripped of its right to make laws on our own behalf. We reject any attempt to break England into Euro Regions, removing England’s status as a nation and demand a vote on the EU Constitution and call for immediate withdrawal from political union with the EU.

We want to be friends and trading partners with Europe - but we don’t want to be run by Brussels. We would never support joining the Euro and believe laws to penalise people who buy goods in imperial measures are draconian and anti-democratic.

What would we do if we left the EU?
Well, trade would not suffer. All countries of the EU do much better trading with us then we do with them, so nothing will change there. We would develop and capitalise on trading links with the Commonwealth and seek to rejoin EFTA (European Free Trade Agreement) and would seek to re-establish stronger trading links with the English Speaking nations of the world. We would seek a status with the EU like that enjoyed by Switzerland and Norway, which appears to have many of the advantages of EU membership - with few of the drawbacks. We would return sovereignty to England and strengthen our relationships with other free thinking nations.

Would our trade suffer?
We do not believe the EU has brought any advantages to English businesses, in fact we believe the contrary to be the case. Onerous and expensive bureaucracies have flourished issuing masses of legislative requirements which make our industries uncompetitive in comparison to the rest of the world. At the same time the EU is admitting vast amounts of trade from low cost countries like China and India, without their need to meet the same stringent standards. The consequence is our manufacturing base and production facilities are closing down and re-locating, where the bureaucracy and costs are so much cheaper. This process will, in time, be catastrophic for England and many European nations. The EU seems powerless to protect its own vital strategic interests and we have no faith that the people who are running the EU (faceless and unaccountable bureaucrats) have the skills or ability to make a success of the venture. We will always oppose being part of the Eurozone.

What’s your view on fox hunting, abortion and other contentious issues?
The English Democrats have sought to steer away from issues which are largely a matter of conscience. Legislation is not always the answer to everything. Sometimes education and changing social attitudes is a better way to deal with the activities society finds problematic. The English Democrats hold dear original English Liberal values of freedom of choice and freedom from the state on the activities of the individual. Also, legislation can only really be considered if it is likely to be enforceable at a realistic cost. We know some people feel very strongly about animal rights and the right to life for the unborn child as well as matters such as euthanasia and stem cell research are also crowding an area of policy which is controversial and full of lively debate. The party trusts its representatives to make decisions on these matters using their own conscience, guided by our Christian heritage and the need to protect society. It is for this reason that the party has no firm policies on such issues and would leave them as a ‘free vote’ to our representatives.