The former chairman of the Campaign for an English Parliament, Mike Knowles, has added his contribution to the Constitutional Futures series.

The CEP's Gareth Young gives his opinion on why you should vote for English Votes on English Laws.

And he is joined by a host of English Free Press bloggers (see the Campaign for an English Parliament Blog for details).

English Parliament online welcomes contributions from its readers. If you would like to contribute to a series of articles on Constitutional Futures: Where now?, then please get in touch.

A brief, to hopefully inspire, follows.

If nationalism is the ‘politics of grievance’ it might then be argued that the Campaign for an English Parliament, and the wider contemporary English nationalist movement, has failed to capitalise on a decade of well rehearsed English grievances that have resulted from asymmetric devolution, the democratic injustice of the West Lothian Question, the inequities of the Barnett Formula and an unpopular 'Scottish Raj'. There appears to be a stronger emerging English national consciousness but little, yet, by way of a mainstream political movement. English nationalism remains, in the words of Arthur Aughey, “A mood, not a movement”.

English nationalism has been described as the ‘lion that never roared’. Is the lion of English nationalism dead, sleeping or pacing its cage; and could it be the secret nationalism of the English that resurfaces powerfully in the next decade to threaten the integrity of the United Kingdom? The English Democrats now have an elected mayor in Doncaster and claim to be the biggest UK party on Facebook. Are the English Democrats the future of English nationalism, the advance guard, or are we still waiting for a popular nationalist movement in England? If we are still waiting, what factors are likely to bring about an English resurgence; from where will it spring, and is it likely to be a progressive force?

Will the result of the next general election serve to remove English grievances or will age old national rivalries resurface to unbalance the Union further?

Will the Conservatives win by a large enough majority to mitigate the West Lothian Question; will they implement a form of English Votes on English Laws, and; how will the opposition parties and the Scots react to that?

Is there a Doomsday Scenario for the Union that could come about from the result of the General Election? And could the General Election result provoke a constitutional crisis brought about by a collision of national interests that Westminster is ill-equipped to reconcile?

What should be the Campaign for an English Parliament's strategy as it enters its second decade?

Considerations

The Calman Commission
The Conservatives have pledged to review the recommendations and come up with their plans if they form the next government. Labour have promised to implement some of the recommendations in the first year of the next Parliament.

Scottish and Welsh nationalism
What is the likelihood of an independence referendum in Scotland, and might the question instead be framed by the Unionist parties as a vote for the Union (rather than for independence) or for Devolution-Max?
What are the chances of a Welsh Parliament with primary legislative powers?
Would a Scottish referendum influence the push for a Welsh Parliament and feed nationalist grievances in England & Wales?

Northern Ireland
What effect does Northern Ireland have on the British Question, does it get overlooked, and might David Cameron's courting of the Ulster parties affect the nationalist equilibrium?

The prospect of a Conservative government
Is Conservative support for Union on the wane and/or will it wane if they fail to make substantial advances in Scotland? Will the Conservatives introduce a form of English Votes on English Laws, or will it be kicked into the long grass if a Tory majority mitigates the party-political aspect of the West Lothian Question? Will they reduce Scottish and Welsh representation at Westminster by reducing Scottish and Welsh constituency sizes in line with England's? Will they dare touch the Barnett Formula?

Reform of the Barnett Formula
IPPR believe that the Barnett Formula could undermine the Union.
The Steel Commission favours ‘fiscal federalism’ for Scotland.
The House of Lords Barnett Formula committee has called the Formula "arbitrary and unfair".
The Calman Commission recommends retaining the Barnett Formula in the short-term (until a needs formula can be devised) whilst allowing increased borrowing powers for Scotland.
The Holtham Commission has called for a needs-based formula, and calculates that Scotland is over-funded by £4.5bn a year.
But would reform of the Barnett Formula undermine Westminster sovereignty?

English Regionalism
English regionalism has been termed “the dog that never barked”. The Government has moved to abolish Regional Assemblies in favour of Regional Ministers, Regional Grand Committees & Regional Select Committees. The Conservatives and the Lib Dems are opposed to the Regional Ministers and Committees and have also both suggested abolishing Regional Development Agencies and much of the regional quangocracy to reduce Britain's fiscal debt. Is the regional dream dead, and if so what replaces it?

Britishness and Constitutional Reform
Has the Westminster scandal weakened Britishness? Does the threat of a nationalist insurgency (the feeling that the Union is in flux/devolution is a process) hamper the prospect of constitutional reform at the centre? Is our idea of 'Britishness' central to constitutional reform? Will David Cameron ditch 'Britishness' and 'British values' in favour of a more pragmatic 'Unionism', and what does that mean for 'The Governance of Britain' agenda?

Sport
The 2010 Football World Cup will see England's streets festooned with England flags. How will politicians deal with that display of English pride?

The Economy
Has the collapse of the Scottish banks dented the prospects of Scottish independence, or will public spending cuts reinvigorate Scottish nationalism and also increase Welsh demands for a fairer system of funding?

If you have not already done so, you have until midnight on Thursday 5th November to submit your idea for democratic and political reforms to Power2010.

Ideas submitted so far include: An English Parliament, Compulsory Voting, Fixed Term Parliaments, Scrap the Database State and ID Cards, A Citizens Convention on the Voting System, Abolish the Party Whips and Return to Balanced Politics and More Power to Regional Government

To inform Power2010 of your preferred reform please submit your via the Power2010 website. If you don't ask, you don't get.

The Timeline

1. The public and organisations submit their ideas for fixing politics via the website by Thursday 5 November

2. Power2010 will bring together citizens from across the UK to decide the shortlist of reforms to go to the public vote

3. On November 18th – the day of the Queen’s Speech – public voting begins.

4. The voting ends at midnight on 31st January. The five top reforms voted by the public are announced in February 2010 – creating the Power2010 Pledge

5. In the months to the General Election every candidate is pressed to back the Power2010 Pledge at hustings, via email, letters and the media.

THE FUTURE OF ENGLAND?

A MAJOR CONFERENCE TAKING PLACE IN ROOM 10 IN THE HOUSE OF COMMONS. WEDNESDAY NOVEMBER 18TH 5pm to 7pm (SAME DAY AS THE OPENING OF PARLIAMENT) WITH FOUR DISTINGUISHED WRITERS AND CAMPAIGNERS.

• George Monbiot (Guardian newspaper and environment campaigner)
• Peter Facey (Director: Unlock Democracy)
• Paul Kingsnorth (author of 'Real England: The Battle against the Bland')
• David Wildgoose (vice-chairman The Campaign for an English Parliament)

It is eleven years since the 1998 devolution legislation. Scotland and Wales now have their own Scottish Parliament and Welsh Assembly. They have forged ahead since, re-creating and expanding their own distinct national identities and achieving major benefits and advantages for their peoples. But England has got nothing from devolution. Why should English students pay tuition fees and emerge from university laden with debt while Scottish students don't? Why should Welsh people pay no prescription charges while English people do? England still has no constitutional existence of its own and no national institution of any kind as 'a forum where the concerns of the nation can be debated' (the Welsh White paper). England is disadvantaged. The situation is gravely unjust to the people of England. Scottish MPs can now take part in legislation that concerns England only, can even be ministers of departments which deal only with England, without being accountable to any electorate. The Union is dangerously unbalanced. There are massive cultural, environmental and political issues involved. From many angles the people of England are being left out and overlooked. It is a situation that cannot continue. Nor should it. The Union should be a Union of equals or it is no Union.'

We are looking for an open debate. We want your contribution.

Anyone wishing to attend please phone Scilla Cullen (CEP Charman) on: 01438 833155 or email: scilla.cullen@dsl.pipex.com
Or Mike Knowles on: 01260 271139 or email: michael-knowles@tiscali.co.uk