Tuesday, October 18, 2005

Letter: Shropshire Star

Had this published in last night's Shropshire Star.

Proud to be counted as English

One of the national newspapers published an article on October 10 under the headline "Fly the flag? That's racist".

The article tells the story of deputy chief fire officer Eugene Johnson, of Wiltshire and Swindon Fire Authority, ripping a three-by-two inch cross of St George sticker off a fire engine because "people would consider it racist and it has no place on a fire engine". Since when has our national flag been considered a racist symbol?

This is just the latest in a long line of attempts to discredit any symbol of England as racist and shameful.

But this is England and we don't exist, remember. We don't exist on EU maps, we don't exist on British government maps.

This once proud nation, which has produced some of the greatest people to ever walk the earth, has been reduced to a mere shadow of its former self by deliberate and calculated acts of discrimination and prejudice by the British government.

We are the only country in Europe that has no specific representation for its people and one of the few countries under minority rule - the Labour Party lost the English vote by 66,000 votes in the General Election.

The only way England can be saved from Balkanisation and petty anglophobia is for us to have an English parliament for English people to represent English interests.

Stuart Parr
Telford


... and right next to it ...

Plot to destroy country may be Prescott's work

Bob Wydell asked me some weeks ago specifically why an old EU map referred to UK regions by name, but left out England.

The reason for the delay in reply is because I have been trying to find out, but without success. All I have established is that it was produced 25 years ago by some lowly official and was promptly corrected when the mistake was pointed out. Given that the same map included other member states by name, it is hardly strong evidence of a sinister EU plot to destroy this country.

There is a plot nonetheless, and it comes from John Prescott. County councils are often Conservative-controlled. Imposing regional government means he can get rid of county councils.

Stuart Parr, of Telford, agrees this would be a mistake - I would go further and say it would be an outrage.

Philip Bushill-Matthews MEP
European, Parliament, Brussels


Not exactly true as I understand it but he slags off Prescott so I thought I'd post it.

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