Letters in Shropshire Star

I had a letter published in the Shropshire Star the other day:

Easy way of saving NHS cash in England

With all the talk of cutting services at the Princess Royal Hospital, it is worth bearing in mind a few things. Firstly, the English NHS has been underspending for the last few years by a considerable amount.

Spending on the Scottish, Welsh and Northern Irish NHS has increased considerably. Secondly, the Welsh government refuses to pay the going rate to English hospitals for treating Welsh patients - something that costs the NHS in Shropshire approximately £2m per year.

Thirdly, the Welsh are terrible payers - Oswestry hospital threatened to refuse to treate patients from Powys earlier this year because they wouldn't pay their bills. A hospital in Bristol actually went as far as cancelling surgery for Welsh patients this year for the same reason.

The Welsh get free prescriptions and free hospital car parking yet we in England still subsidise their health service thanks to the Barnett Formula.

Why do our MPs allow £20bn a year flow over the border to subsidise spending in the rest of the UK? Shropshire's hospitals could raise well over £2m a year by charging Welsh health boards the amount for treating their patients and penalising for overdue payments.

Stuart Parr
Telford

Tonight they printed a reply from another reader ...

Rules for English are unfair

I agree with Stuart Parr's letter (Shropshire Star, October 2). We English are very unfairly treated under the Barnett formula to the advantage of the other countries in the so-called United Kingdom.

Over the last few years this has become the "dis-united kingdom". He asks why our MPs allow this disparity and all I can do is point out again that our Government is heavily Scottish-dominated. The other countries in the UK all have their own assemblies, but not the English.

The Scottish-dominated government will not even stop the Scottish, Welsh and Ulster MPs from voting on English-only matters in Westminster.

All this is very unfair to the English and even Barnett has stated so, but with the majority of English MPs being Conservative our current government is not going to change anything,

We can only hope to achieve parity after the next election and have our own parliament, or better still get rid of the other money-wasting and expense claiming assemblies.

Graham Burns
Newport

Agree with every word right up until the second half of the last sentence.

Shropshire Star: It's not too late to hear out English nationalists

It's been a while since I wrote a letter to the Shropshire Star. This one was published in tonight's Shropshire Star ...

It's not too late to hear out English nationalists

It's a little late for John Denham to be worrying about the emergence of white supremacists in England when he has served in a British government that has deliberately ignored moderate English nationalists for the last decade.

The effect of which has been the emergence of groups like the English and Welsh Defence League.

I have no interest in ethnic nationalism. But I really must point out that independent observers have said that the violence at the English and Welsh Defence League protests in Birmingham has been largely instigated by the thugs from Unite Against Fascism.

If the Government had spent the decade listening to the reasonable demands of ordinary people who want equal rights for English people instead of marginalising them, there would be no reason for white supremacist groups to exist.

We would have an English Parliament and English politicians elected by English people defending English interests, instead of anglophobic British nationalists at Westminster treating us like serfs.

John Denham and his colleagues have only themselves to blame for the emergence of racists like the English and Welsh Defence League because they are a product of their anti-English policies.

It's not too late for the Government to engage with moderate English nationalists like the Campaign for an English Parliament and promote an inclusive English civic nationalism, but I suspect they will be too busy navel gazing to realise it.

Stuart Parr
Telford

Shropshire Star Letters

These two letters were in the Shropshire Star in the last few days:

Promote St George

As a patriotic English-woman and a proud Shrewsbury resident, I feel it's about time that my local council and the rest of the politically-correct establishment did more to promote England's patron saint.

The council uses taxpayers' money to promote multi-culturalism but does nothing to mark St George's day. This anti-English bias is an absolute disgrace.

Helen Foulkes
Shrewsbury

I'm English and proud

Isn't it strange how this year it's no longer racist to celebrate St Georges Day?

It couldn't possibly be because the main political parties are scared that they have pushed the English people too far, making them second class citizens in their own country?

All of a sudden the likes of Gordon Brown are saying it's OK to be English again, but we still have the usual rhetorical clap trap in the media.

Why are the English the only race who have to justify who they are? Why are we made to feel guilty about our culture and heritage?

Mike Amos
Shrewsbury

Shropshire Star: Campaign for fairer treatment of English

Derek Armstrong has done it again!

Campaign for fair treatment of English

Householders in Scotland will have their council tax bills frozen until 2012 in a £210 million deal funded by English taxpayers.

Nationalist leaders of Scotland's parliament in Edinburgh have pledged to keep council taxes unchanged after scrapping plans for a controversial local income tax.

This latest example of UK "apartheid" means that by the time of the London Olympics, Scottish families will be paying the same amount of council tax as they were in 2007, whereas English council tax bills are set to rise be almost £50 next year for an average property to plug a £2.5 billion black hole in local authority finances caused by the economic downturn.

This decision will fuel resentment south of the border over the way Scotland's devolved government uses subsidies from the treasury to offer sweeterers denied to most of the rest of the UK.

The Scots already get free eye care and dental check-ups, free access to cancer drugs and free care homes for the elderly - now they will get council tax priveleges as well, at English tax payers' expense.

Anyone who feels angry at this might consider joining the CEP (Campaign for an English Parliament).

The CEP is a non-political organisation that is working for an English Parliament so that the people living in England can at least have a political institution that fights for our interests.

Our telephone number is 07071 220234, which is not a mobile number.

Our website address is: http://www.thecep.org.uk/wordpress/

Derek Armstrong
Broseley

Shropshire Star: England is denied EU aid benefit by Labour

This excellent letter appeared in the Shropshire Star on Saturday:

England is denied EU aid benefit by Labour

The Labour Government is denying England a windfall from the European Union yet it is making sure that Wales, Scotland and Ulster benefit.

The fall in the value of the pound has increased the value of euro-denominated EU grants by a fifth and the European Commission has offered a six-month extension to its December 2008 deadline to all countries for unused funds as part of a 200 billion euro (£178 billion) economic stimulus package.

Labour took up the option for Scotland, Wales and Ulster, but rejected it for England. Only recently Brown and his ministers held their cabinet meeting in Liverpool to demonstrate solidarity with the people of Merseyside in the midst of the recession.

However, in 1989 he signed the Scottish Claim of Right, in which he pledged "to make the interests of Scotland paramount" in everything he said and did.

As Prime Minister we rightly expect him to show and even-handed attitude towards all the nations of the UK.

Anyone who feels angry at this anti-English action might consider joining the Campaign for an English Parliament. Our number is 07071 220234, which is not a mobile number. Our website address is http://www.thecep.org.uk/wordpress/

While Wales and Ulster have their own assemblies and Scotland has its own parliament, England has no such parliament or assembly. Labour cares for the UK's Celtic nations, while treating England with contempt.

Derek Armstrong
CEP Member
Shropshire Branch

Derek has set the bar high - not only did he get across a very valid point on the blatant discrimination the English suffer at the hands of the British government, he also got the CEP phone number and website address in the letter as well!

Shropshire Star: Kind of PM to think of England

The following letter was published in tonight’s Shropshire Star. Unfortunately, whilst editing it they took out “in England” from the end of the first line which makes the whole letter ambiguous.

Kind of PM to think of England

How kind of Gordon Brown, the MP for Kikcaldy and Cowdenbeath in Scotland, to find some loose change down the back of the sofa to pay for free prescriptions for cancer patients.

I remember when my own mother was recovering from cancer the last thing she needed was the worry of how to pay for prescriptions when she was unable to work.

However, when considering Mr Brown’s generosity, it should be remembered that in Wales nobody has paid for a prescription for nearly two years now.

And any of Gordon Brown’s constituents in Scotland suffering from long-term of permanent illnesses haven’t paid for prescriptions for some time. Already 92 per cent of prescriptions dispensed in Scotland are free of charge.

Stuart Parr
Telford

Shropshire Star: New flag pointless

This was published in the Shropshire Star last night, rather amateurishly edited:

New flag pointless

It’s a shame readers have been unable to see John Yates’s [sic] proposed new British flag. Mr Yates has spent 30 years agonising over the exclusion from Wales that he hasn’t noticed most Welsh people don’t consider themselves British any more.

Redesigning the flag when the union is unlikely to see out the next decade is a bit like rearranging the deckchairs on the Titanic.

Shropshire Star: Pensioners in England missing out

This was in tonight’s Shropshire Star …

Pensioners in England missing out

On April 1 a new scheme came into force to allow pensioners to have free off-peak travel around England. Previously they were entitled to only off-peak travel within their local authority.

Pensioners in Scotland and Wales have been entitled to free public transport at any time in their own country for years. In Northern Ireland they get free transport in Northern Ireland and the Irish Republic.

English pensioners don’t have the same rights as Scottish, Welsh and Northern Irish pensioners because there is no English government for English people.

Letter: Shropshire Star

This has been printed in the Shropshire Star ...

Who does Gordon Brown think he is trying to make public buildings in England fly the British flag?

Which flag flies from public buildings in his constituency in Scotland? Certainly not the “butchers apron”.

The Prime Minister is currently in his own country supporting the Leader of the Scottish Labour Party (there’s isn’t an English Labour Party of course) at their spring gathering. She intends to lead Labour to victory in the Scottish Parliament – the Parliament that Gordon Brown helped to create in 1997 and the English equivalent of which he actively conspires to deny us.

There are only a handful of buildings in Scotland that Gordon Brown can force to fly the British flag because most public buildings are the responsibility of the Scottish Parliament. However, in England he can – and will – force public buildings to fly whatever flag he chooses to drape himself in to try and cover up the fact he has no mandate in England.

I live in England and I fly the English flag all year round. I no longer consider myself British at all – the British nationalist Labour Party have demonstrated quite clearly that it is only the Celts that matter in this union, not the English.

When the Conservatives took control of Telford & Wrekin Council they replaced the flag of the EU with the English flag. I hope the take advantage of the new relaxed flag flying rules to remove the British flag and replace it with our own national flag, the Cross of St George.

Stuart Parr
Shropshire Branch
Campaign for an English Parliament

Shropshire Star: The root of the problem should be addressed

This was in tonight's Shropshire Star ...

The root of the problem should be addressed

Daniel Kawczynski is right to be concerned about the funding of schools in Shropshire but fails to address the root cause of the problem.

On the 11th December in Parliament he said “Coleham primary school in Shrewsbury receives, on average, £711 less per pupil than the national average”. Is this £711 less than the English national average or the UK national average?

English schools are already at a disadvantage because the British government doesn’t spend as much on education in England as the Scottish Parliament does north of the border. The Scottish Parliament can afford to spend more because of the £11.3bn annual subsidy it gets from the English taxpayer under the Barnett Formula.

What the Scottish Parliament has done for Scotland in the last few years has shown the indisputable benefit of having a devolved national government – something a succession of Scottish ministers (including Gordon Brown) have continued to deny
to the English.

Gordon Brown promised to make health and education his priority when he was appointed as Prime Minister. Not only is he doing a terrible job of it but he has nothing to do with health and education in Scotland where he was elected because it’s the responsibility of the Scottish Parliament.

If Mr Kawczynski wants to solve the problem of poor education funding he should first address the cause of this and many other problems in England – the lack of an English Parliament.

Stuart Parr
Campaign for an English Parliament

Shropshire Star: Battle for fairness on matters of treatment

This letter was in last night’s Shropshire Star …

Battle for fairness on matters of treatment

I must say that I became quite emotional when I heard that my constituent,
Mrs Jeannie Evans, of Frankwell, had finally been allowed the vital drug Avastin
which will save her life.
At first she was told that this would not be
possible and so she approached me.

We found out that this drug is being given to Welsh patients who come to
Shrewsbury for treatment but is not available for Shropshire people. This
outrageous situation had to be challenged.

The government has given huge powers to the Welsh Assembly, which they
created, and they have different health guidelines to us in England. This
has led to the difference in the treatment between the two countries in what
people can recieve in terms of treatment.

I was so angry about what was happening that I wrote a letter to the Prime
Minister and demanded that he look into theis gross injustice which he has
helped create, and sort it out so that citizens on both sides of the border are
treated equally.

I contacted the local Primary Care Trust and I am very pleased that they,
on appeal, finally decided to give my constituent the treatment she
requires.

I will continue to fight this gross cross border injustice until my
constituents get health care parity with the Welsh. Until such time, if
other constituents find themselves in a similar position they should please get
in touch with my office.

Let me have the details and I will be pleased to look into the situation
and do what I can to help.

Daniel Kawczynski
Shrewsbury

This is good news - I have written to the Shropshire Star before on this same subject when Herceptin was the drug being refused. Finally, Daniel has realised what is happening and is taking steps to bring it to the attention of the general public but he still supports the ridiculous English Votes on English Matters proposal the Tories have cooked up rather than an English Parliament which is the only way to stop this kind of thing happening.

Daniel, if you read this then please do what is right for your constituents and support the Campaign for an English Parliament.

Shropshire Star: Brown has no place as our PM

Brown has no place as our PM

Many people would agree with me that Gordon Brown has no mandate to govern England.

He hasn't contested an election as leader of the Labour Party and potential Prime Minister for a start - so much for his pledge to restore trust in democracy.

However, there is a more important reason why Gordon Brown has no mandate to govern England.

According to the Labour propaganda unit, Gordon Brown's domestic policies consist of health, education, housing and planning - none of which he has been given a mandate for by any part of the electorate.

In Scotland, "domestic" issues such as health, education, transport, the environment, housing and planning have all been made the responsibility of the Scottish Parliament.

Gordon Brown wasn't elected to the Scottish Parliament, so he has no say in those matters in his own constituency and his constituents didn't elect him for these policies.

As far as I am concerned, when Gordon Brown takes office this summer, England will be without a legitimate leader and Government

Stuart Parr
Brookside

Shropshire Star: Scotland benefits while we pay out

Scotland benefits while we pay out

On April 1st the cost of prescriptions in England went up to £6.85 per
item. On the same day in Wales the charges were abolished.

In Scotland 92% of prescriptions are dispensed free of charge and MSPs only
narrowly rejected a bill to abolish them completely in 2005. It is only a
matter of time before they are abolished north of the border.

In Scotland pensioners are entitled to free public transport throughout the
country at all times and Northern Irish pensioners have just been given the
right to travel on public transport throughout Ulster and the Republic of
Ireland free of charge at any time.

In Scotland the elderly are entitled to free personal care in the care home
of their choice without having to go through means testing or selling their
homes.

In Scotland cancer sufferers get the newest and most expensive
treatments. The same applies to those suffering from dementia.

In England the same drugs are refused because the cost of the treatment is
more than the value the English NHS puts on a life.

In England we will shortly be required to pay to have a satellite spy box
fitted to our cars and pay per mile to drive on our roads. The same law
won’t apply to Scotland and Wales so they will be able to drive in England was
well as in their own countries without paying the road pricing tax.

The transport minister was elected in Scotland yet his department doesn’t
have a say in what happens to transport in Scotland.

Taking into account the above and the many other services our neighbours
receive it would be understandable for an Englishman to feel left out but there
is no need because we get something that our neighbours don’t - the
bill.

Stuart Parr
Telford