English Democrats

The English Democrats
Party leader	Robin Tilbrook
founding	2002
Headquarters	Quires Green, Ongar , CM5 0QP
Youth organization	Young English Democrats
Alignment	English national independence, England's EU skepticism
Colours)	 Red and white
Parliament seats	0/650
Number of members	2,500
Website	www.englishdemocrats.party

The English Democrats party logo on a car

The English Democrats ( "English Democrats" ) are a regionalist political party in England . The main political goal of the party is the establishment of an independent parliament for England. The English Democrats can be seen as a kind of English counterpart to the regional parties of Scotland ( Scottish National Party , SNP) and Wales ( Plaid Cymru ). In contrast to these two parties, which belong to the center-left spectrum, the English Democrats represent right-wing conservative to right-wing populist positions.

Party history

The party was founded on September 17, 2002 by Robin Tilbrook . This was preceded by the three referendums in Wales , Scotland and Northern Ireland in 1997–1998, which led to the establishment of regional parliaments in these parts of the country as part of the policy of devolution (decentralization) of the new Labor government under Tony Blair . Only England remained without its own parliament afterwards.

Political positions

According to the party's will, England should be "recognized as its own country" and receive its own parliament. Regionalization in the sense of dividing England into individual regions with separate parliaments is rejected. In particular, the participation of Labor MPs elected in Scotland in British affairs must cease. Since 2014, along with the debates over the referendum on Scottish independence in 2014 , the party has been increasingly concerned with the scenario of a complete dissolution of the United Kingdom.

The party wants to stop “mass immigration” to England. Only immigrants with vocational training, the appropriate assets and those who speak the English language should be accepted as immigrants. The so-called "immigration into the social systems" should be prevented. The political correctness (including understanding the English Democrats somewhat diffuse the non-response of unpleasant truths) is rejected. Self-righteous political correctness is incompatible with a free and democratic society. It has led to people in public office no longer pursuing the interests of the majority, but rather those of small interest groups.

St. George's Day (the day of St. George , the patron saint of England) is set to be a public holiday in England.

The English Democrats are striving for England to leave the European Union , as the EU is centralized and bureaucratic based on the French model and the integrity and sovereignty of the member states are threatened. The English Democrats are in favor of a referendum on leaving the EU. If in such a referendum the majority of British voters should decide to leave, England would have to leave, if necessary also accepting the breakup of the United Kingdom.

In terms of economic policy, the English Democrats are striving for a kind of re-industrialization of England. The dependence on the service sector and the disregard for industrial work should be reduced or disappear. A high degree of economic independence ( Economic Independence ) is sought.

Overall, the political standpoints of the English Democrats are very similar to those of the UK Independence Party (UKIP), which is why the party has certain difficulties in distinguishing itself from this party. When asked about this, party leader Robin Tilbrook stated that the English Democrats were a specifically British party that specifically represented British and not all-British interests. De facto, however, UKIP is also a predominantly British party despite its all-British claims; their following in Scotland is low.

In the 2015 general election , the English Democrats ran candidates in 32 constituencies and received 6,531 of 30,695,212 votes nationwide (0.02%).

criticism

The party founder Tilbrook had previously been a member of the Conservative Party . In their relatively short party history, the English Democrats have received, among other things, an influx of members from right-wing nationalist groups such as the British National Party , which, together with the party's political orientation, has brought it from various quarters to be accused of right-wing populism . In an interview with the BBC in April 2013, Tilbrook estimated the number of former BNP members to be "maybe 200 to 300 out of 3,000", which he shouldn't worry about.

Election results

year	choice	be right	Share of votes	Seats
2005	General election 2005	15,149	00.06%	0/529
2010	General election 2010	64,826	00.25%	0/533
2015	General election 2015	6,531	00.02%	0/533
2017	General election 2017	1.913	<0.01%	0/533
2019	General election 2019	1,987	<0.01%	0/533

Web links

Commons : English Democrats  - collection of pictures, videos and audio files

• The English Democrats , official party website

Individual evidence

1. ^ ^{A b c} English Democrats' Robin Tilbrook on party conference. BBC News, September 14, 2014, accessed September 17, 2014 . 
2. ^ ^{A b} The English Democrats Party. (No longer available online.) Hope not hate, archived from the original on December 1, 2016 ; accessed on September 13, 2014 (English). Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.  
3. ↑ ^{a b c d e} Full Manifesto. (No longer available online.) Archived from the original on April 15, 2015 ; accessed on September 13, 2014 (English). Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.  
4. ^ Election 2015 smaller parties: English Democrats. BBC News, April 26, 2015, accessed April 26, 2015 . 
5. ↑ Edmund Tobin: ONGAR: English Democrats leader hails election success. The Guardian, June 10, 2009, accessed September 13, 2014 . 
6. ^ BNP and other fascist election candidates. unite against fascism, April 10, 2012, accessed September 13, 2014 . 
7. ^ English Democrats: Robin Tilbrook on ex-BNP members. BBC, April 23, 2013, accessed September 13, 2014 .