England - epetition reply
5 June 2007
We received a petition asking:
"We the undersigned petition the Prime Minister to agree to the setting up of an English Parliament."
Details of petition:
"The 1998 Scotland Act has left England uniquely without its own Parliament or Assembly. Simple fairness requires that an English Parliament now be created."
Read the Government's response
Devolution has been designed to meet the varying demands of the people of the UK. The great virtue of the British Constitution is that it has for centuries, been able to accommodate difference and anomaly in order to meet the specific aspirations of the British people.
English constituency MPs currently total over 80% of Members in Parliament and they represent over 80% of the population of the UK. An English Parliament would turn the UK into a federal nation. History shows that where one country in a federation contains more than 30% of the economic wealth or population, the federation is unsustainable. England's dominance within the UK would make a federal UK unsustainable. There would be continued tension between the policies of the English Parliament and Government, and those of the federal Parliament and Government, with the English institutions determining most of the economic and social policies, including public expenditure, but the federal institutions responsible for defence, taxation and macro-economic policy.
The highest priority was given to the creation of a parliament in Scotland, and a national assembly in Wales, since the demand for decentralisation in these countries was long-standing. Indeed, proposals to create similar institutions were enacted in the late 1970's but failed to secure the necessary majorities in referendums. The existing devolution settlement introduced in 1997/98 was designed to meet varying needs, and enabled better local decision making, in response to local issues.
Further Information
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