British Balderdash Conspiracy

One reason why our publicity is largely channelled through this blog is that London hacks simply can’t be trusted to tell the unvarnished truth.  Wessex is a really straightforward idea with which they really struggle. At the start of this month we gave an interview to the BBC.  Their researcher – who is actually fromContinueContinue reading “British Balderdash Conspiracy”

No Federal Finale

Officially, the Coalition doesn’t do regions. Much play is made of the apparent deconstruction of the institutional legacy heaped up by successive governments. Yet too much remains in place for the spin to be taken seriously. The regions still exist for statistical purposes and for European elections and are still used by numerous organisations, bothContinueContinue reading “No Federal Finale”

Ins & Outs

So, what is the Conservative Party’s settled policy on Europe?  Not one to be written without a regular check over the shoulder in the direction of Monsieur Farage.  Expect many more gimmicks like the one we saw recently: in effect taking scarecrows on wheels around the inner cities, urging illegal immigrants to get the messageContinueContinue reading “Ins & Outs”

London and the English

The place and the people are the subject of a recent on-line article by Professor Eric Kaufmann analysing what the 2011 Census says about national identity. It reveals wide variation in identification across England, with Englishness concentrated, perhaps paradoxically, in the Danelaw (and some additional coastal retirement zones, mainly in Wessex).  Areas around the Humber and Thames estuariesContinueContinue reading “London and the English”

English Is Not Enough

“What we think of when we talk of English traits really narrows itself to a small district. It excludes Ireland and Scotland and Wales, and reduces itself at last to London, that is, to those who come and go thither.”Ralph Waldo Emerson (1803-1882)Identity today is in flux: so the Census results tell us. There areContinueContinue reading “English Is Not Enough”

The Quintarchy

“[The accepted code of behaviour in politics] may be stated as follows: Talk about problems. Never mention a solution. Solutions make people mad as hell… Never excite a minority. Therefore all solutions should be anodyne, even if public affairs need bold and imaginative solutions. Never tell the truth. The people are too weak to acceptContinueContinue reading “The Quintarchy”

All At Sea

Cornwall is bigger than Wessex. Yes or no? It depends on definitions. Land area is one thing, but there are some rights of sovereignty that extend out to the 200-mile limit of the Continental Shelf. And it’s not just sovereign states who have clearly demarcated areas of seabed to their name. So do the devolvedContinueContinue reading “All At Sea”

Keeping Up With The Joneses

A letter in the Bristol Evening Post this week berated the ‘South West’ zone’s MEPs for not stemming the flow of Bristol jobs across the Severn. The problem is real enough, as south Wales has long benefited from regional development money in one shape or another. But to define the problem as being about howContinueContinue reading “Keeping Up With The Joneses”

Divide & Strengthen

Readers may recall that we drew attention to a long-standing attempt by the London regime to hamper the growth of Wessex consciousness. That is to say, the exclusion of regional flags from the list of those that may be flown without official permission. Fortunately, Communities Secretary Eric Pickles has listened enough to issue a discussionContinueContinue reading “Divide & Strengthen”