The English Democrats Party Putting England First

Those with power to affect our way of life must be answerable to the people. Democracy is much more than the ability to choose, from time to time, between broadly similar parties which compete amongst themselves for power.

Real democracy is measured by the ability of the people to manage their political, economic, physical, and cultural environment.

The EDP will be guided by the following general principles:-

The state should serve the collective interests of its citizens.

We wish to see a modern and wide-ranging Bill of Rights founded on traditional English
civil liberties.

The EDP seeks a far ranging freedom of access to information.

Wherever reasonably practicable, public appointments should be chosen by direct election.

Power should be devolved, as and when practical, within all spheres of government and service provision, including, for example, the education and health services. Devolution within England should be through the existing system of local government, subject to modifications that are necessary to meet the needs of a workable and efficient democratic system. The aim should be to enable local people to identify with Local Authorities. We must reverse the trend towards remote and unaccountable decision-making.

We favour - recognition for traditional counties, which would include the reunification of Yorkshire; - greater autonomy for Cornwall.

We favour the use of referenda in local government with a view to using referenda in other tiers of government if the experiment proves successful. A system similar to that used in Switzerland should be the model. This would enable citizens to petition for a referendum on certain policy issues.

Proposed changes to the constitution should be referred to the electorate in referenda. The results should be binding. There could be a role here for the Second Chamber as guardian of the constitution.

Rules are needed for the timing and funding of referenda with the aim of making them as fair as possible to all parties involved.

The creation of the English Democrats Party was prompted by concerns that recent constitutional reform has ignored the interests and wishes of the people of England. The people of England should be given the same opportunity as those in other parts of the United Kingdom to enjoy the opportunities and benefits which devolution can bring. It should be seen as a chance to build on the English democratic tradition and to create institutions suited to modern needs. Any UK citizen who is on the electoral register in England shall be entitled to take part as a voter and candidate in the election of members of the English Parliament.

There are many good constitutional and financial reasons for creating an English Parliament but the over-riding argument is that the English are a nation and as such they are entitled to a parliament which will acknowledge and promote their identity and culture.

England to be recognised and treated as a unified country. Scotland and Wales have been recognised as countries and their people given the opportunity to vote in referenda for devolved government. Scotland now has a parliament, and Wales an assembly. In contrast, the people of England have been denied the opportunity to choose an English Parliament. Instead, England is being dismembered into nine regions. We find this discrimination unacceptable. England should be a political entity with its own parliament and executive.

The immediate abandonment of the Barnett formula. The formula institutionalises discrimination against the people of England by ensuring that public spending in Scotland and Wales is far higher per head of population than in England. The Barnett formula diverts about £8 billion of extra public expenditure to Scotland each year. This means that the entire population of Scotland enjoys a subsidy averaging £30 per person per week. This has meant, for example, smaller class sizes in Scotland, higher pay for teachers, shorter hospital waiting lists, and the availability of prescription drugs and surgical procedures which are unavailable in England on grounds of cost. This unjustified discrimination must end. A new fairer system is needed which enables England's share of the £8 billion to be used to improve public services in England.