The English Question (Redesigning the state) Book

The devolution of powers to the Scottish Parliament and the Welsh Assembly leaves an unresolved question at the heart of the United Kingdom. What is the future of England? How should England be governed? And, what meaning is now to be attached to "Englishness"? The book pursues the historical construction of Englishness, along with Celtic and black identities. It asks, is Englishness hopelessly tied up with a particular ethnicity and cultural nostalgia, or can it be transformed to embrace diversity? Examining different models of government, the book asks if England should be given its own Parliament, and explores the case for devolution to the English regions. Might the "city region" be the political unit of the future? And, should the distribution of public spending between the different parts of Britain be reformed? With contributions by known thinkers drawn from the academic and political worlds, this collection of essays provides a strong array of insights and ideas into how political relationships, identities and structures in the UK could evolve in the future.Read More