"FROM WHERE I SAT", at the  "West Midlands Constitutional ", Inaugural Meeting 28th July 2001 at the Aston Business College, Birmingham.

I suppose one has to be dedicated to one's cause to turn up at a meeting of this nature on what was perhaps one of the hottest days this country has known for many years. And so it was that about eighty people, many if not most, from Councils, local, regional, County and City together with people from political groups were gathered in one hot room. 

For some reason these meetings are opened by a person from the "clergy", in some cases a Bishop, but on this occasion the meeting was opened by Canon Kenyon Wright (formally chair Constitutional Convention and Canon, Coventry Cathedral). He is well versed on the subject of Regional development having been in from the early stages, and as a member of the Clergy is "unbiased" in matters of politics.

The convention is not given grants by the government and should therefore be seen to be independent. It has a grant of £40,000 over two years from the West Midlands based Barrow Cadbury Trust and £6000 from the Campaign for the English regions.

" Membership of the Convention is open to any individual or organisation committed to its overall aims, which are as follows: -

•	 To express a considered view to the people of the West Midlands and Central Government on the issue of democratic accountable regional government.
•	 To raise public and corporate understanding of the issues and alternatives that are possible.
•	To affect education, research, foster debate, inform and disseminate information about the Governance of the West Midlands Region."

Obviously then, if you are not committed to those aims, you cannot become a member.

In all the opening speeches the thrust was about setting up Regional Government--with "positive" speeches on the issues before us. Not once was there any mention of the European Union's involvement in the division of England, and because of this my anger at the duplicity of the ordinary people taking place I had to "have my say".

The Scottish Parliament had been held up as an example of what devolution meant and the workings of it, so it was this example that I quoted from the meeting that took place in the Scottish Parliament on 22nd May this year, when members from the European Union's Committee of the Regions attended, and that I had the report of that debate (which I held up for all to see) in which I chose the words of Mr Dammeyer when he had been speaking to the Scottish Parliament about devolution, that as far as the Scottish people are concerned, Scotland is a "Country", the Scottish people are "nation", but Mr Dammeyer explained that from the European point of view Scotland is like a Region of the European Union. I made the point that the Welsh people are also a nation, and Wales is a "Country", but again, as far as the European Union is concerned Wales is a Region of the European Union. I concluded that the English are a "nation", and England is a Country, but England as far as the EU is concerned will have to be divided up into regions. (The EU decided that, and the British government obviously agreed)

Another gentleman at a later stage also drew attention to the fact that on the official EU map of Great Britain there was no ENGLAND, only regions.

After the speeches, we were huddled into 'groups' to debate and come up with (in a very democratic fashion) ideas, thoughts, and expressions of our thinking of what/how the "regions" would work.

Before I could become involved in this part of the afternoon, Canon Kenyon Wright came over to ask to have a look at the report of the Scottish Parliament for 22nd May.

I gave it to him and he went to read it at the back of the room. I then decided in my infinite wisdom, to 'have a word', 'put my spoke in', or whatever expression you care to use. I am not really one to be organised by anyone and I certainly did not want to take part in any debate, which might help bring about the division of my beloved country, England. 

The results of the debates, the still pictures and video's that was taken, will be used in future talks, or promotional material.  We were given the option to not be included or shown, but as I rather doubted my "halfpenny-worth would be used, I did not bother. (I will go to vote when the referendum comes, in order to put a great big CROSS right through the whole ballot paper.)

My conversation with the Canon lasted for quite some time, during which he doubted that we, as a country had "Fundamental Rights" which I said had been ignored, and our own Bill of Rights. The latter I told him I had got from out of the Encyclopaedia Britannica, and I thought the fundamental rights I came from Halstead, but it was such a long time ago, from the time I first started out on my quest for truth, that I said I would Photostat the page and forward it to him.

It became quite obvious to me as the conversation went on, that even though he was alleged to be "neutral/unbiased", he was, (in my opinion) absolutely pro European. To confirm that, I refer you to the earlier sentence.

In making up the written agenda after the debates to which all (except myself) had contributed, one of the top items that came up was the lack of "awareness" on the changing situation in the matter of the Regions and that a greater effort must be made to 'educate' these people (and the younger generation). This, from a sceptic point of view, says I, could be likened to "brainwashing"-which is exactly what it is.

I was not on my own in remarking that other than the five very 'positive' alternatives given to us, as to how the new Regions should look and what they should be, we had not been given one "alternative" proposal put forward as to "Why change the present system, or horror of horrors Teresa Gorman's idea of a "government" for England. That, I was told (and have been told so before too) would be playing into the europhiles hands!!!  How choosing to have "Regions of the European Union" is NOT playing into the hands of the Europhiles is beyond me.

Overall, I found the whole agenda very unbalanced, not one mention of the European Union's involvement in the scheme of thing angered me, for had it not been for our entry into what was alleged to be a Common Market all those years ago, we would not have had devolution in Scotland or Wales and we certainly should not have had a government (any British government) that would have divided England up into Regions.

"I want to say a word about the important European dimension.  Hearing Mr Blair rubbish our history and Mr Straw ridicule our patriotism, and seeing Mr Blair quite happily surrender more and more of Westminster's authority to Brussels, I sometime wonder whether he would mind very much if we simply ended up as a series of provinces in a "Europe of the regions".  Of course, elected regional bodies, with a corresponding decline in the importance of Westminster, will be a big step in that direction."

"There is no mystery as to how we would fit into a Europe of the regions.  The European Commission published a map to illustrate its thinking--a map on which every country in the European Union was depicted except England.  It was not a printer's error; it was a reflection of the fact that, looked at from Brussels, Scotland is one region which can be called Scotland and Wales is another region which can be called Wales, but there is not much point in attributing a group name to a part of the united Kingdom which is made up not of one region but nine." 

"Regional Government will bring about what can best be described as the balkanisation of England and the side-lining of our parliament at Westminster as the regional bodies, already busy setting up their separate offices in Brussels, look more and more to Brussels for direction and funding.  I cannot believe that nine English regions, each competing against the others for the biggest share of grant money, will do much for harmony in our country. It certainly will not help to maintain our national identity, and that, I believe, is something which is worth preserving."  (Lord Waddington, Column 1431 Lord Hansard 21 March 2001, Debate on Devolution: England-the whole of the debate is well worth reading)

As regards the people who financed the convention unless they too are europhiles, or do not know very much about matters European, their money is not being used in the truly democratic, "unbiased" fashion they perhaps expected it to be.

As regards the Clergy in the role of un-biased politicians, I leave that for you to decide, but with the greatest respect to them, they are being seen to be taking an active part in the furtherance of European Union matters and politics in general.  I deduce this from the many letters written by them to the press. 

On the way home in the train, I was told by one member of a council, that if after the first world war, the European Union flag had been flown from the top of Parliament, the Palace and all other government buildings there would never have been a second world war.

My reply to that was that it would have been the "swastika flying'' instead, I was wrong again, because it would never have come to that.  We were so wrong after the First World War not to plough money into Germany etc., we treated the Germans all wrong, we treated them like dirt, etc. 

The fact that Britain hadn't enough money to feed itself at that time, that British people were very much suffering themselves, and that the men and women who had actually fought their war, were dumped on the scrap-heap by their own politicians, never came into the argument.

It surely is not 'what might have been', if we are in a "what might have been " scenario, surely those who gave their lives in World War 11 if they had realised 'what might have been' happening that very day, that British subjects had spent the whole sunny afternoon debating how to destroy this country called England, this nation of England, each person in that room playing their part doing exactly what the European Union wants them to do, they just might not have been so ready to die for their country.

Is there anyone who is ready to die for the European Union?  OOP's, Sorry, the EU is all about peace, freedom and justice, isn't it? 

Scottish web-site 
http://www.scottish.parliament.uk/official_report/cttee/europe.htm
 
Details on the political declaration of the constitutional regions can be found at: http://www.flanders.be/public/authority/government.news/index.asp#2

Anne Palmer.   29.7.2001.