The Patriot
“What an English King has no right to demand, an English subject has a right to refuse”
John Hampden
In 1635 Hampden refused to pay an illegal tax and championed English dreams of liberty. His actions resulted in the return of parliamentary democracy to England and ended the tyranny of King Charles I. He was acknowledged as ‘Patriae Pater’ by a grateful England and with his last words he prayed that England’s people would never lose their freedoms or rights.
Nearly 400 years later, I wonder what Hampden would have made of our current predicament? Would he have meekly paid the taxes imposed by Scottish and Welsh politicians upon the English?
Taxes imposed in order to fund their lavish public spending programs, taxes hidden with subtle name changes, taxes which only apply to those living in England.
I think Hampden would have known injustice when he saw it, that he would have stood up to be counted just as he did all those years ago. I think he would have known that prescription charges are not ‘charges’ at all but a health tax levied against the English and that tuition fees are not ‘fees’ but an education tax levied against the English. Only England pays these taxes in full and soon the other nations of the UK won’t pay them at all. That the English are singled out for extra taxation in order to fuel the endless spending of others would have roused men like Hampden into action.
Hampden is long dead and it appears that his contemporaries are few and far between. England remains gagged while the other nations voice their demands and complaints. This imbalance is evident in the distribution of public funds and the collection of ‘fees & charges’ which illustrate a huge geographical bias. Those with the right UK postcode receive free healthcare, a free education and lower taxes while those unfortunate enough to live in England are financially deterred from education and are made to pay for basic medicines.
If we are to end this geographical discrimination and these unfair taxes we must have representation for those living in England, we must have a voice equal to the voices of the other nations and we must have England recognised as a nation in its own right.
We must have a parliament for England.
(This contribution came from my good friend Francis Drake, another true Englishman.)
