XPost: soc.culture.scottish, soc.culture.irish, uk.media.tv.misc   
   From: not.telling@isp.com   
      
   allan connochie wrote:   
      
   > "Westprog"  wrote:   
      
   >>The main posts of government would continue to apply to the entire   
    >>country.   
      
   > Ah but that is what is being questioned. In a BBC poll over 50% thought it   
   > was wrong for a Scottish MP to be Prime Minister.   
      
   That is entirely different, and nothing to do with the need for an English   
   national Parliament. There is a feeling among certain of the English that the   
   Scots are dominating the national government - and it isn't necessarily   
   unfounded. How many people live in Scotland? About 6 million? How many in   
   England? About 50 million? Given that, you'd reasonably expect that about 1 in   
   10 of the cabinet would be Scottish. It's more than that, I'm sure. Now there's   
   not even anything necessarily wrong with that - it is possible that Scottish   
   Labour MPs are the brightest they've got. But it's bad news for Gordon   
   "Britishness" Brown, who must see that 58% figure as a serious problem (hence   
   his current ludicrous efforts to appear less Scottish and more "British").   
      
    > There have been serious   
   > grumblings over John Reid's new position at the Home Office. I'm all for   
   > English devolution but it has to be that...........English devolution!   
      
   Absolutely right.   
      
   BTW: The disquiet about Read/Reid {sp?} is similar to the disquiet about   
   English   
   Welsh Secretaries under John Major. None of Read/Reid's powers extend to his   
   own   
   constituents.   
      
   > English people taking control of internal English matters. That is different   
   > from trying to prevent UK MPs obtaining important UK government positions   
   > just because they are not English.   
      
   Correct. And the Welsh and the Scots (and maybe women) have sometimes made good   
   English MPs - I'm thinking of Teddy Taylor in particular, in a constituency   
   near   
   here.   
      
    > As long as the union is in place then you   
   > can't turn non-English Westminster MPs into second class MPs. People should   
   > obtain positions in the UK government based on merit and not on what part of   
   > the UK they come from.   
      
   Quite right.   
      
   But England (the whole country, not some neutered system of "regions") needs a   
   Parliament. It need not even be sited in London. Winchester would be a place   
   with a good ancient claim. So would York or Lancaster.   
      
   --- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05   
    * Origin: you cannot sedate... all the things you hate (1:229/2)