Today we celebrate England. We also remember England’s greatest writer, William Shakespeare. Both have given so much to enrich the world. England pioneered Parliamentary democracy and fired up the prosperity from industrialisation and freer trade. Shakespeare captured so much of the human condition that his plays are as relevant today as 400 years ago.
We live with asymmetric devolution in the UK. Labour’s model gave devolved governments to Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland. They wanted regional assemblies to break up England, Â but voters rightly rejected these.
The EU always refused to recognise England, also wishing to break it up into unloved regions. Most of us in England have affinity to our town or village and to our county but not to a region.
I live in Wokingham. We do not feel we belong to “the rest of the south east” or to the Thames Valley or to Berks,Bucks and Oxon, in ways government sometimes lays down.
This is all unfinished business. Today is a day to remember what is good and best about England, which has survived much in the struggles for freedom, democracy and prosperity.
April 23, 2024
Hear, hear!
April 23, 2024
Not just EU but Tory party. Who was going to address Lothian question 14 years ago? Who gave a cru b and took it away? Who called its supporters Turnip Taliban or swivelled eye loons? Come on JR repeated Tory leaders betrayed our nation to EU- Heath, Cameron, May, Sunak to name a few. Who was given an 85 seat majority to free our nation from EU and deliberately failed to deliver and now is doing its utmost to prevent divergence and force lockstep under EU rules, regs and laws!!
Starmer is not any better and cannot be trusted to further betray the nation to the EU, his record and that of his front bench exactly the same.
April 23, 2024
We STILL have no English Parliament and the Not-a-Conservative-Government is busily imposing Regional Mayors onto areas of England which have not voted in favour of having one (creating yet another tier of government in a country which is already massively over-governed).
When it comes to England, in what way is the NaCP different from Labour – or the EU come to that?
April 23, 2024
Please no English Parliament. We have local and central government and that is quite sufficient. We don’t need another talking shop telling us what to do. If the Scots and Welsh had any sense, they would get rid of theirs.
April 23, 2024
We need to reverse 70+ yrs of centralisation, documented by Simon Jenkins in his 2007 book but continued since then, partly because people seek to grab power if no-one stops them. I identify with a county and always have done.
Also de-growth is now a reality in the real economy. Should we not learn to work within this rather than pursue the false promise of more, more, more …?
April 23, 2024
ABSOLUTELY! The devolved assemblies are a mistake, why continue.
There is only ONE PARLIAMENT! Parliament is supreme and there can only be one supreme body. To call the devolved assemblies, or the EU assembly, âParliamentsâ is to violate our language.
April 23, 2024
Well said Donna.
What have imposed Police commissioners achieved at huge cost to the taxpayer? Nothing, confidence has plummeted and policing fails to achieve any objective for the public.
JR 14 years to reverse any Labour policy, including those Liz Truss now advocates, but your party decided to build on Labour policies, build by using former Labour ministers, implement and gold plate every EU directive, rule and law by the use of quangos to hide it was the govt doing this!
April 23, 2024
Police commissioners aren’t working out. It is a complete and utter waste of money that would be better spent on more police detectives actually to conclude cases.
The public can’t even be bothered to vote for them, they don’t sort out problems when you have them.
April 23, 2024
Nobody asked for them
April 24, 2024
I always vote … but when it comes to the Police and Crime Commissioner election, I will be spoiling my ballot paper with the words “unnecessary, unwanted and unaffordable.”
April 23, 2024
+ many Donna. Canât see one bit of difference between Labour and the not a Conservative Party in their blatant discrimination against England. Itâs obvious why Labour created their asymmetrical devolution act because they needed their Celtic MPs to help them govern England but just why the idiots in the naCp havenât addressed it considering they get their votes from England can only be because they hold us English in contempt.
April 23, 2024
Cheers to England and St George!
We are free people and must NEVER surrender.
The Jews have live with us in peace for 500 years. A Jewish man was in London, NOT âat a demonstrationâ – just in London where there was a Moslem demonstration. OUR police accused him of being Jewish in London.
This is intolerable and the Chief of the Met must go!
We have a dragon of our own to slay!
April 23, 2024
Sunak gives away another ÂŁ500 million of our taxes to corrupt Ukraine on a US/UK proxy war for regime change of Putin! Highest taxes in 70 years and Sunak thinks he has a bottomless pit of mo eh to waste.
April 23, 2024
Sunk says there is âheadroomâ for ÂŁ500,000,000 to give to Ukraine but NONE for tax-cuts. And this is what our money is supporting:
âUkraine has long turned into a brutal dictatorshipâ German political scientist and journalist Christoph Herstel points out that the lives of those who disagree with the war-agenda are under threat.
âYou canât talk about peace there, of course, you canât work politically for the good of peace: all the parties that were involved in this are banned, all the media that talked about peace are banned. The elections have been cancelled. This is the dictatorship of the CIA, which Zelensky is helping,â he claims.
April 23, 2024
@Lynn Atkinson – but we have a mostly foreign supporting socialist parliament that hates the people they expect to vote for them and pay them. The last thing they have shown time and time again is any inclination to ‘serve’ the fine people of these lands. they are self indulgent, to engrossed in embellishing their own personal self-esteem to notice there are humans struggling under their tyranny out side the Westminster bubble
April 23, 2024
Are we as free as we used to be though Lynn.
You can’t think for yourself we have group think foisted on us.
We have all got complacent.
Don’t recognise the good in England.
Don’t see the improvements in English Education, even though educating all children to 18 and providing more childcare hours to younger children costs a fortune.
The English spend too long just concentrating on the negatives on not enough on what we do well.
April 23, 2024
Lynn
He was Jewish (fact) and given the way he was dressed, it was clearly obvious to me having seen the TV footage.
He was advised politely, for his own safety, not to go near to the protests by a police officer.
For goodness sake what is wrong with that.
If the policeman in question did not try to advise him, and he got hurt, everyone would blame the police for not getting involved.
Too many people jumping on the band wagon trying to accuse the police of racism, when it did not exist.
The Police are dammed it they do and dammed if they do not, by people who seem to want to exploit some situations, to suit and advantage themselves or their cause.
What sort of a Country are we now becoming !
April 23, 2024
I’m a bit torn on this, Alan; the protestors say all Jews are welcome, and they say hundreds of Jews with kippahs and some full orthodox dress take part in the demos against Israel. Perhaps they mean all Jews that agree with them only.
When protests are going on nearly every weekend, do the London police ensure they don’t go past Jewish religious areas, synagogues etc? Why should Jewish people be stopped from walking on the streets where they live for their protection, I thought the protestors were peaceful?
April 23, 2024
A-tracy
The problem with many, not all Protests, is that perhaps they start with good intentions, and from a good place, but they then get hijacked by those who simply want to cause trouble and chaos (professional trouble makers) no matter what the cause, because that is their enjoyment.
Quite how you solve this I am not sure, but in many demonstrations the organisers are wise as to what the risks are, and what may happen, so they try to police and protect it themselves.
For many years the police marched with/alongside the demonstrators to try and avoid infiltration, the problem today is that infiltration happens before the march even starts.
Free speech has thus been hijacked by those who simply want to cause trouble, because they just like to stir it up, no matter what the cause, and they are clever at what they do, and how they do it.
Certainly any routes should be agreed first, and with the Police before any official demonstration starts, simply to try to protect those living in vulnerable areas.
So ideally, no Muslim demonstrations should walk past Synagogs, and no Jewish demonstrations should walk past Mosques in an ideal world, but then many would say that impinges on their freedom to go where they want, at a time of their choosing.
Whatever you decide you will upset someone, so that is the risk you run when trying to run a free society.
What annoys me most is that many who come here to live, want to turn our Country into a similar place they chose to leave !.
April 23, 2024
He was obviously a provocateur.Did you see his interview on Sky yesterday with Kay Burley-typical hasbara,shouting down,interrupting the other guest-the organiser of the pro-Palestinian marches who was totally calm and measured.
You have to ask why is the media portraying it otherwise-and why politicians are going with it.Who controls this country,I mean really controls it?
April 25, 2024
I don’t watch Sky, but they are media and if they portrayed it as you say they did Mitchel, giving context, then it hasn’t been portrayed as otherwise. I think the BBC also did a fair report. The Guardian also wrote a piece called ‘Initial Story about ‘openly Jewish’ incident not full picture, there are several pieces on their website, “As the picture has become more complicated, nobody has disputed that the officerâs suggestion that being âopenly Jewishâ was a problem was offensive. But a fuller account has emerged since, prompting reasonable questions over whether Falter told the whole story.”
Perhaps its time we only allow these marches on a limited number of weekends in this area if Jews cannot use those areas on those days.
Sadly, being openly Jewish is seen as provocative. and antagonising. Khan repeatedly says London is safe and open for Jews with these marches most weekends.
April 23, 2024
Alan,
That’s pretty much the way I see it. If you look at the video there seems to be a very burly guy that seems to be associated with the person the police man is addressing. So, for me the whole event was staged to cause controvy.
April 23, 2024
BA, M, K-D, agreed.
April 23, 2024
My opinion as well Alan, the corrupt woke whingers need driven out of Great Britain!
April 23, 2024
I am the son of a plough boy, with a heart full of gratitude for over 8 decades of life in this Sceptred Isle. It was Wycliffe, all those centuries ago, who risked his life to give every ploughboy in England the chance to read the Bible in his own language. The English Martyrs of the Reformation continued that great aspiration, to bring the gospel of grace to bear. Indeed, it was all of grace – God’s grace through his only begotten Son – that brought such wisdom, enlightenment and grace (especially) to these Islands, and to the world beyond. One consequence of this was an understanding and kindness towards the dispossessed Jews, forever, still, God’s people. Genesis 12:1-3 reads: “Now the Lord had said unto Abram, Get thee out of thy country, and from thy kindred, and from thy fatherâs house, unto a land that I will shew thee: and I will make of thee a great nation, and I will bless thee, and make thy name great; and thou shalt be a blessing: and I will bless them that bless thee, and curse him that curseth thee: and in thee shall all families of the earth be blessed”. This is a great mystery – see Romans 11 and Ezekiel 36ff, to bring us right up to date. Pray for the Peace of Jerusalem (which is really the Lord’s Prayer!) A truly blessed Passover to all faithful Jews! Amen.
April 23, 2024
Amen!
April 23, 2024
I find it impossible to celebrate this morning. Israel is fighting a war to prevent its annihilation, yet Sunak and Cameron are presently betraying it, following exactly the instruction of the Biden regime.
April 23, 2024
+ 1
April 23, 2024
Sunak and Cameron are NOT England. We are ENGLAND.never forget that you are a freeborn Englishman and live up to it (itâs a stretch for all of us).
April 23, 2024
Indeed Blairâs botched devolution has been an appalling disaster for England, Scotland and Wales. It was clearly done thinking it would benefit labour but it mainly benefited the dire SNP which is now finally falling to pieces. Doubtless, when Starmer gets later this year he will rig the voting system again by extending voting to non tax paying children and perhaps to overseas people who merely live in the UK.
The failure of 14 years of the Conservative to deliver anything positive with the 80 seat majority they were given by Farage is appalling. Delivering us perhaps 3+ terms of even more tax to death socialism.
April 23, 2024
What we have seen is that the civil service and the new court Blair set up is more powerful than parliament in England.
April 23, 2024
+1 Blair and Brown were total disasters even worse than the dire Major, Cameron, May, Boris, Sunak. Will Starmer be even worse still – I rather suspect he might be.
April 23, 2024
I agree Lifelogic, We need rid of the WEF stooges
April 24, 2024
No, Johnson was head and shoulders the worst ever! Having forced terminal illness on millions, having bankrupted massive numbers by shutting down the private sector (but not the corporate sector which made billions) heâs now demanding that we present our armed forces for annihilation.
April 23, 2024
This government has extended voting rights for people who have chosen to neither live nor pay tax in the UK. Why should those people have a say, yet people who do choose to live in the UK and pay their tax in the UK have no say?
Whatever happened to no taxation without representation? Or does it only apply if you have the right sort of passport?
April 23, 2024
I agree with you Peter.
April 23, 2024
Correct. In 14 years all they have done is continue with the Blair (WEF) project.
April 23, 2024
However England still got regions and unwanted Mayors thanks to Conservative Party
April 23, 2024
…and unwanted USA style ‘Police & Crime Comissioners’
April 23, 2024
âïž got it in one, Glen
April 23, 2024
You don’t mention that it was the Conservatives who in the 1974 Local Government Act began the process of erasing England’s history by abolishing ancient counties and boundaries in favour of made up new regions like Cleveland which people felt no affiliation too. And of course it was all done without any sort of local approval. As is often the case to read your piece one would think everything is the fault of Labour and the EU when the reality is that your own party is usually equally culpable.
Reply And Conservatives who corrected some of those errors getting rid of made up counties later
April 23, 2024
Reply to reply. Specious reply. Your main point was about mayors, your party has imposed them! Remember Osborne ( with the help of Heseltine) wasting our taxes up north to further that aim? Stop blaming others.
April 24, 2024
Actually I remember Prescott choosing the North East for the Referendum on Regions. He was soundly trounced, 98% voted them down.
I think Prescott was Labour, might be wrong because I doubt he ever did a hands-turn!
April 23, 2024
The Tory Party under Heath deracinated my family which had been Yorkshiremen documented at least from the 14th century and deposited our ancestral homeland in Greater Manchester wherever that is so we are now what Greater Manchesterians. Nothing matters to the Tories except what we do not want and never asked for.
April 23, 2024
Letâs be specific. Monmouthshire is resurrected thanks to Sir John Redwood.
Forever grateful!
April 23, 2024
Diversity and cultural enrichment is our strength. The stats must surely show that the more we import the better we get. Or do they?
Feudalism has been replaced by Diversity, Inclusion and equality. At least feudalism gave merit a chance.
April 23, 2024
Is every public building in England flying the St.George flag today ?
April 23, 2024
I’d rather they flew the Union Jack. We’re a United Kingdom and I’m a Unionist. The flag of St. George for when the England team is playing; I’m English too.
April 23, 2024
We don’t have a patron saint of the UK (don’t tell the tories; they’ll either create a quango or ban it)
April 23, 2024
DA,
On St George’s day the flag of St George is the better choice.
A back street pub near me used to host Morris men on St George’s day. Not this year. Though they are still appearing in The City.
https://ewellmorris.co.uk/events/
Of course this is not an essential part of England but it is nice to see them turn out though I am not a huge fan.
I am a refugee from North West London which no longer feels like England any more.
April 23, 2024
and they should! Dark forces are trying to make the red cross of St.George into a HATE SYMBOL.
April 23, 2024
You can be quite sure that with the LibDems in charge, Wokingham Council won’t be running up the St George’s cross today. Nor will anywhere else in Sir John’s constituency, I don’t suppose.
April 23, 2024
No
April 23, 2024
Ashford in Surrey was adorned on all sides.
April 23, 2024
If only Shakespeare were here today to hold up a mirror to all the unpleasantness.
But there! I daresay he would be cancelled and the resultant plays closed down swiftly.
Arrested, harassed, stripped of his livelihood he would maybe be hurled into jail or sent away.
Nothing is bad enough for truth tellers!
April 23, 2024
Great cartoon in the Critic – Shakepeare’s been hauled in for a talking-to by Ye Human Resources and is being told: “Thou shouldst know by now that thou cannot walk up to a female co-worker and tell her that age cannot wither, nor custom stale her infinite variety⊔
April 23, 2024
+++
April 23, 2024
There’ll always be an England
And England shall be free
If England means as much to you
As England means to me.
April 23, 2024
The royal throne of Kings, this sceptred island,
This earth of majesty, this site of Mars,
This fortress, built by Nature for her purpose,
Against infection and the hand of wars:
This demiParadise, this other Eden,
This precious stone set in a silver sea,
This blessed plot, this earth, this realm, this England,
We highly dedicate, O Lord, to Thee.
Grant, Lord, that England and her sister nations,
Together bound by the triumphant sea,
May be renownâd through all recorded ages
For Christian service and true chivalry.
April 23, 2024
Thereâs a comma after âchivalryâ. How does John of Gauntâs speech go on?
What about the missing part of that poem?
April 23, 2024
“We are not now that strength which in old days
Moved earth and heaven;that which we are,we are.”
Tennyson,Ulysses.
April 24, 2024
Since water privatisation, Dell Boyâs âthis septic isleâ is more accurate.
April 23, 2024
I’m not so sure about ‘always be an England’.
Successive Governments encourage Union members’ independence, and avoid even naming the place known as England.
April 24, 2024
+1
April 23, 2024
Sadly it is changing, and in many cases not for the better.
Over populated, over taxed, and over governed.
April 23, 2024
more and more divided over everything we held high. So, what has caused this? I don’t need an answer – you all know!
April 23, 2024
Which is exactly what Jean de Ghentâs speech does in the second part of the speech, the one that only theatre wonks not the population at large know: the dying lord describes the nationâs strengths and what it has come to today telling that England is now being leased out by the current ruler.
Remind you of something?
April 23, 2024
We have been in worse trouble and recovered. It takes gumption. And a knowledge of our constitutional rights and powers.
After the Maastricht Treaty was passed I was sooooooo depressed. I told my father (ex RN) that we had lost the country, things had never been so bad.
He told me that Hitler had been knocking at the door, we could not feed ourselves, half the ships were at the bottom of the ocean and we were looking down the barrel of the biggest gun I could imagine.
I pulled myself together after that.
April 23, 2024
I do so hope that the PM can stand firm on his benefits decision.
Those who claim it will hurt the most vulnerable are wrong.
For years now armies of left wing facilitators have been aiding and abetting claimants.
âActing beyond authorityâ to dish out taxpayersâ âdonationsâ for the most inappropriate things.
He should also scrutinise charities.
April 23, 2024
I am proud to be British and applaud what our ancestors gave to the world. For such a small country we have achieved so much and I will never condone the few who try and re-write our history, malign our white males and rubbish our achievements. Happy Saint George’s Day.
April 23, 2024
@Christine +1
April 23, 2024
Sir John
Anyone who thought that the WEF ideology and the world government socialist teachings of Klaus Schwab were a myth, a conspiracy theory, just look around, look at all the political spouting from the âBlobâ, and the attitude of this Conservative Government towards the people of the UK – then you have proof in spades on who controls the UK.
The Taxpayer funded foreign holiday so many in Government, in Parliament, in the Establishment recieved to enable them to go to these religious meetings is reckless â that is why there is no defence of society, of the UK, of England. This socialist doctrine is not only decrying England, its flag, it is also writ large with regards the Union Flag.
We have a England football team that not only took to the knee to visibly announce their disrespect of England, its Flag and anthem, they have now taken to the refusing to even show any English emblems when they play for âEnglandâ
Who do we have to thank for all this? The Conservative Government, they refuse on every count when it comes to defending society, the UK. Even when it gets to equality they heighten and hasten they virtue signalling by reinforcing âDiscriminationâ, they create the opposite. They Discriminate by not treating everyone as equals, they refuse to serve those that empowered and pay them. Thye treat foreign fudged agreements as international law when that is the last thing it is, âinternationalâ
St Georges day, this Conservative Government has shown disdain for everything that creates this great Country, this Great Union. They are completely anti everything this Country and its people stands for.
April 23, 2024
Indeed. Perhaps Sir John can explain how the non Equality laws DON’T discriminate against white English heterosexual men? Especially those applying to join our Armed Forces, Emergency Services, Health, Councils and all other public services and quangos with their forced left wing wokism. How does ESG or DEI help our capitalist Markets and companies? It’s now suggested that the Footsie 100 is about 40% below world markets. Same companies trading at discount in the City whilst above average elsewhere in the world. Shell and many others thinking of leaving and going to New York. Do you think Tory high taxes, meddling with capitalism and removing profits to promote “diversity” through its stifling non meritocracy rules have any impact? High business transaction costs in share trades and stamp duties. High corporation tax and windfall (reckless stifling taxation).If I was ARM, Shell etc etc I’d leave as the Uni Party ain’t for changing!
April 23, 2024
I’m pleased to see you have remembered England Sir JR. There was a time when you championed equality for England. Sadly in recent years you seem to have abandoned that aspiration.
If devolution is to stay it needs to be extended to England. We need our own parliament, with a UK body to work on reserved matters.
The fact we are ignored by the British establishment is an insult. As is the fact that MP’s from Scotland, Wales and N.Ireland vote on matters pertaining to only England. Yet English constituency MP’s are banned from voting on devolved issues. MP’s won’t even utter the word England in parliament!
If/when Labour become the government, for sure nothing positive will happen for England. They will continue to fawn over the three devolved nations whilst ignoring us.
Happy St George’s day ………….
April 23, 2024
Old Albion : âAs is the fact that MPâs from Scotland, Wales and N.Ireland vote on matters pertaining to only England. Yet English constituency MPâs are banned from voting on devolved issues.â
I donât understand how this is allowed in a country that calls itself a democracy. But I suppose itâs another illustration that we have a uniparty Parliament all of whom are keen for us to have high taxation, high spending, massive illegal and legal immigration, Net Zero and as many Chinese âstudentsâ in our universities as possible.
The next step, already proposed, will be that all UK âresidentsâ whatever their nationality will be allowed to vote in all elections. The number of postal votes will increase for sure and this is one way the government can change the electorate even quicker.
April 23, 2024
Sir John
âThis is all unfinished businessâ 14 years of prancing around worrying about the next election and personal self-esteem, equals neglect of the job.
They would, as seems to have the plan destroy the UK first, before even taking on the role of the Countries management. None of the ills of the Country were unforeseen, it was obvious from the get go, but not one situation has been looked at in 14 years, even with a massive parliamentary majority. They canât be bothered to stop criminalâs entering the Country. Under the none existing international law they often site as a stumbling block, they refuse the UK Citizen their rights and seemingly award them to Criminal Gangs in other lands. They love using taxpayer money to support foreign people and entities. They take their orders from unaccountable Foreign Courts and Bodies.
They refuse the UK as a democracy, they refuse the UK as our legislators, they refuse their duty to keep us safe and secure. 14years ago they knew of the shortage yet did nothing, buying from foreign governments is not protecting the UK. Its an endless list of neglect. They will raise taxes but refuse to control spending. We have 20mph speed limits so local authorities can milk the car owners, there is nothing safe about 20mph, its delusional. At 20mph people are not paying attention, they are looking at other things to keep them occupied. This Conservative Government is just incredibly anti the UK, anti common sense. But they will prance around looking for a headline here, another there just to avoid the basic responsibilities that have to all of us equally
April 23, 2024
England should have its own national anthem for England teams playing in international and especially Home Nations tournaments.
April 23, 2024
We have our England flag flying!
April 23, 2024
The word England and English identity or origin has been ignored and omitted from descriptions in all manner of means. Britain or ‘the UK’ has often taken its place.
In the broadcast media for example when a resident of England is the subject their identity is British, not English, but if they are from Scotland or Wales those nations are often and frequently mentioned.
Locations in these places have a base, but not English locations. It is assumed England need have no mention. You never hear ‘here in England’ or England when mentioning a city or village.
This is not acceptable, so let us mention England and resist the attempt to erase us.
I wonder what our host will do.
April 23, 2024
I think the constant changing of county lines has helped to destroy people feeling they belong. For example, we also have a change of boundary in our Ward for the general election. This is the second time this has happened in the last 20 odd years and I am losing a very good Tory MP and do not know what I will get in his place, as happened last time.
However, getting back to St George. I love it that we have a patron Saint of his calibre. After seeing the statue of Queen Elizabeth 11 in Rutland with the three little corgi dogs, one trying to mount up the plinth to get to her, I feel we should have a day to celebrate her and her reign. She was such an example, perhaps a little cool, but this added to her persona and much better than the touchy, feely, lot we have now. Please could you put this in motion before we get the dreaded Labour lot we are thinking about who will try to get rid of the monarchy as they did when the last lot were in. Remembering the Blairs and the poor Queen and Prince Philip at that awful 2000 New Year celebration still makes me squirm. How belittling they made her feel with holding silly hands and singing something they had no intention of honouring.
April 23, 2024
England used to be a great country to live in with freedoms and a way of life that encouraged progress.
We were ralatively free of the dictators that took over other countries from time to time – But now is very different.
After the last war, old rules just faded away, to give us a better life and a more enjoyable one. Before the war the world was still controlled by those who had worked themselves into positions of power.
Now, those in powerful positions want to take back what they were forced to give away. They do it with a vengeance.
Day by day we lose something of value.
Unless we recognize that the pendulum is swinging against us, the real Englanders, then the powerful will win. We will become peasants once more, reduced to living without hope.
April 23, 2024
Our English background should always show the steadfastness of our future . There are influences and particular individuals who try hard to destroy the psychology that is deep in our history – Biden is one of those ; he forgets that it was this country that provided the finance for Ireland’s independence to exist , or maybe he is too ignorant and confused to understand this . I am proud of our achievements ; I trust we will always win against dragons .
April 23, 2024
âThis country (by which I guess you mean England) provided the finance for Irelandâs independenceâ: Remarkable, incredible and frankly laughable.
Ever heard of Clan na Gael, the Friends of Irish Freedom, or the 1919 Irish Convention in Philadelphia, all from the USA
I wonder who is the most confused or ignorant about the history of these isles.
April 23, 2024
We introduced income tax to feed Ireland when they botched the rotation of potato crops and starved. We built Ireland – do you think Dublin is the greatest Georgian city because the Irish adapted their mud huts?
Although the Irish are the undisputed world champion equestrians, and I am more than 1/4 Irish and proud of that, we the English had to provide the Derby at Epsom, the greatest racecourse on earth, Aintree and the mighty National and Cheltenham and is supreme Festival for them to display their greatest gift. We even provided the racehorses known as âThe English Thoroughbredâ.
Without the English, the Welsh, Scots and Irish are nothing. With us and combined we are greater than the sum of the 4 parts.
April 23, 2024
well we didn’t feed them very well. Towns and villages in England held collections to send money to the starving Irish – about 2m died.
April 24, 2024
They would all have died if we had not all paid 4p in the ÂŁ to feed them. Even Victoria herself paid that tax.
April 24, 2024
The outbreak of potato blight caused the famine, ravaging their staple food, there was no botch of rotation..
April 23, 2024
GB News reporting this morning that Sunak, ânow that the Rwanda Bill has been passed, nothing can the flightsâ âŠ.apart from the woke civil service, the woke media, Labour opposition, the ECHRs and immigration lawyers
April 23, 2024
Thank you, Sir John.
I think we should also remember Churchill on this day:
âNothing can save England, if she will not save herself. If we lose faith in ourselves, in our capacity to guide and govern, if we lose our will to live, then, indeed, our story is told.â
Sir Winston Churchill, from a speech to the Royal Society of St George, 23rd April 1933
April 23, 2024
+many
April 23, 2024
England as I once knew it is dying and the Tories are partly responsible for that appalling act of criminality.
April 23, 2024
The England I grew up in has disappeared and this decade of tory rule is to blame
April 24, 2024
No that is wrong. The problem started after the war with the ousting of Churchill and the socialists wasting our Marshall Aid. It continued unabated since apart from the Thatcher interlude, when she turned the entire ship of State around. Massive achievement – those Thatcher Governments and the brilliant people they attracted will be a beacon when the lights do actually go out.
April 24, 2024
Agree – I amend my comments to Blaire & May & Sunak
April 23, 2024
“The EU always refused to recognise England.” This is absolutely true, and it is a key clue to the EU’s attitude to the United Kingdom: a continual attempt to disunite and destabilise our Union – partly (when we were members) via ludicrously exaggerated redistribution of our taxes away from the core or our wealth-production into regional support for Wales, Scotland and the West of England. This was a targeted attempt to divide and rule (as they did in Yugoslavia and Ukraine, where their pernicious meddling is insufficiently comprehended). In Northern Ireland they are attempting to destroy the links with England that prevent our mainland island from being threatened by a foreign power – an essential defence strategy that Churchill recognised in the 1930s.
The malevolent anti-English feeling of the French (and of the current German) governments should never be underestimated. It is a product of historical prejudice that we cannot afford to ignore. Since Saxon times, England has been the lynchpin of Britain’s enduring signal commercial success. This is what the envious EU has never reproduced, and wants to destroy: it is now more determined than ever to do so.
April 23, 2024
“Oh to be in England!” springs to mind or “Ode to be in England?” .
April 23, 2024
The cry of every illegal immigrant
April 23, 2024
Thanks your great comments, Sir John..and the time you spend in your work for local people + those of us further afield. If only we had such calibre of person in most constituencies. (Was never meant to be? Things would be running too smoothly praps. Would be a shock to all our systems and the System). We all of us can only sit the present ‘political rubbish’ through..seeing what that ‘Zeitgeist’ (Fate has many faces) evolves into. Some are a bit fearful, for sure. Nevertheless, let most of us stay fearless. England shall survive and ‘do better’ (as per the annual school reports of old), if common sense raises its head in many areas of life + our trust in the same Power continues ie the One that took our nation to the brink and back again a fair few times. (No space here to explain myself). Once we get rid of a lot of busy-body, amateur, self-seeking people in politics + make civil servants sackable, well, this would be the start needed for ‘doing better’. What say the Reader? I’m curious…
April 24, 2024
Civil servants are sackable, Keith. Liz Truss sacked two senior civil servants, but neglected to watch her back for what would happen then. She was a little too busy as Foreign minister laying the ground for war in Ukraine, and not attentive enough to winning the war on Whitehall scheming that she needed to, in order to survive. It’s no good trying to ‘save the West’ if you can’t save yourself.
April 24, 2024
We need to get rid of the âprofessional politicianâ. They are the root cause of all the problems. We need gifted amateurs like, Sir John – he earns his real money elsewhere and serves in Parliament as an act of love for our country and people.
April 25, 2024
Lynn, there don’t appear to be many people like John around anymore.
April 23, 2024
âWe live with asymmetric devolution in the UK. Labourâs model gave devolved governments to Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland. They wanted regional assemblies to break up England, but voters rightly rejected these.â
And after fourteen years of a so called Tory Government who rely on England for their votes, just exactly what have your party done John to rectify this anomaly? Absolutely zilch, thatâs what. In fact even the crumb that was EVEL was too good for us it seems. Your Government is every bit as anti English as the anti English Labour Party. Youâre just carrying on where they left off, doing the EUâs bidding of balkanising our nation in competing regions with no national voice and no national representation. 550 UK MPs squatting in English seats canât even say the world England let alone stand up for it. Not a whimper when 117 Scots, Welsh & NI MPs meddle and vote on English only matters as they often do. Not a murmur to the fact that only our young are clobbered with ÂŁ9,250 tuition fees and only our sick alone have to pay for their prescriptions and hospital parking. ÂŁ2.000 per head less spent on us than the devolved nations and not a peep. Pathetic the lot of them.
HAPPY ST. GEORGEâS DAY EVERYONE.
April 23, 2024
+1
April 23, 2024
It’s as though the EU Commission fear us, ‘English’. Or is it plain jealousy?
LOL do they really think that by denying that a country called ‘England’ exists, we English, will kow tow to them as too many across Europe have done so, already?
We are our own people and have no need to be controlled by any foreigners. Especially when they have no affiliation with our country. So stay out of our affairs, and we’ll work with you but do stop working against us, we’re not amused.
April 23, 2024
A good day for Rishi Sunak pledging to boost UK defence spending to 2.5% of GDP by 2030.
In other words If Putin wants to spread his forces we’ll pose little resistance until 2030.
April 24, 2024
War has moved on. We need hypersonic missiles, drones and robots.
The Ukrainians are fighting a 20th century war, and losing comprehensively.
Now the pundits are hoping that the USD61 billion âwill slow the Russian advanceâ (until after the US Presidential election).
April 23, 2024
Sir John,
On the day the PM announced an increase to the defence budget, were the Mod wrong to close and sell off so many of our military bases and build on them, as they have in Arborfield?
April 23, 2024
I see the two tier Met Police kettling innocent St. Georgeâs Day marchers today. Had they held a Palestinian flag or pride flag, would they have acted the same I wonder. We all know the answer to that one, Suella was right. When is the little usurper going to act?
April 23, 2024
350 illegals have crossed the channel today to celebrate St.George’s day
April 23, 2024
Glen
That’s a couple of planes with their escorts and Rwanda filled up then !
Where to next, and how long will that take ?
I see from BBC news film that the French Police gave up trying to stop the launch of the fated Dinghy and its cargo of illegals, after the boat left France and got into ankle deep water !
Is that the effort we get for ÂŁ500,000,000 John
Looks like the French think the responsibility is ours as soon as the boats enter the water from a French beach.
April 24, 2024
Its been said that the french police don’t stop them when the boat & people are in the water ….because they might only be going for a little fun trip in a boat along the coast ”and thats not illegal”
April 25, 2024
The police would not behave thus if they had not clear orders from the ĂlysĂ©e to do so.
April 23, 2024
and the French could have stopped many.
April 24, 2024
Oh no, no no, out of date already. Official total shows 402 in 7 boats 23/4 but reporting shows three arrests made by the NCA already ( DTel. ) 2 Sudan nationals and 1 South Sudan national.
April 23, 2024
somebody should tell the Met, who have kettled, abused, beaten up people simply celebrating St Georges day.
a Met which has admitted lying, in court, in the Tommy Robinson case, which has been thrown out as it should have been months ago.
a Met which has shut all bars in Westminster at 7.30 despite zero trouble.
the Met are clowns of the highest order, they are actively discriminating in their behaviour in different ways for different demographics, in political ways, they are thugs, bullies, and liars.
this cannot go on, if the politicians dont sort it out the ordinary people will rebel.
April 23, 2024
Who controls Met Police? – needs to resign.
April 23, 2024
Iain
Perhaps you should go on a Police patrol shift drive out, and see for yourself the way people talk and behave to the Police nowadays.
When they do catch wrong doers, the great and good who run our justice system just give them a slap on the hand, and say be a good boy/girl in the future.
Good grief the fines do not even cover the coppers wages.
Many Police could be forgiven if they thought, what is the point.
Before you ask, Yes I have spent the day out as an official police observer, so have seen what goes on from the Police side of things, in many cases their hands are tied, because the habitual offenders know the finer points of the law, and exactly what they can do, and get away with !
April 24, 2024
I watched the mets handling of st Georges day on multiple simultaneous live streams, and was able to see factually how they handled things, free from editing and manipulation. Their corporate behaviour does not stand up to any reasonable review. Plenty of front line offices are openly upset about their behaviour. There is no room for being blindly pro police when they are openly breaking so many rules for all to see.
April 24, 2024
Ian
I am not blindly supporting the Police, never have, but sometimes things are not as they appear, spitting in your face is often not caught on camera.
April 23, 2024
Starmer and co will take us back to Blair’s Balkanisation of England, as part of going back in.
The police further disgraced themselves today by giving a St George’s Day Parade special demonstration of their two tier policing. They even had the horses out.
April 23, 2024
St George’s Day is a great day. It’s also NOT just a choice to be patriotic but a moral (and joyful) duty (an extension of love for family).
‘Merrily, merrily shall I live now under the blossom that hangs on the bough’ – William Shakespeare.
April 24, 2024
+1. Happy St Georgeâs Day.
April 24, 2024
Iâm pleased to see the dilution of nationalism. Whatâs the point of identifying as being âEnglishâ? What does it mean? Talk to a stranger in front of a map of the world and say âI was born there.â – pointing at England. And the stranger points to a different place on the map and says âI was born thereâ. So what. Two human beings on the journey from cradle to grave who happen to have been born in different places.
April 24, 2024
Very sad coincidence of the excellent Hon. MP Frank Field passed away on St George’s Day after battling cancer for many years aged 81.
He was a true gentleman, very modest yet packed a punch in the same mould as our conviction kind host.
He believed in Brexit and stood up to Jeremy Corbin and his anti-Semitism. He was appointed by Blair to as Reform Minister but his intelligent recommendations for Welfare Reforms -that very hot, not potato – were quietly dropped by New Labour. How sad that they didn’t grasp the nettle to save the country. RIP Frank Field MP.
April 26, 2024
They did it all for trains ,boats, planes ,plastics,fast food,designer mansions and Botox beauties.
I regularly watch Vietnamese young women on U Tube making their own houses, electricity ,roads, growing and selling crops.These young ladies teach me more than any formal tuition.The life is hard and healthy.Nature is in abundance…then look at the concrete jungles and see where we went wrong.