I address this to the members of this forum who are interested in how the Free England Party is building the English Independence movement.
There are of course other activists who have camapigned for our independence (for example, the much respected Chris Nickerson) but generally when the handful of founder members of the Free England Party decided to get together in late January 2008, we were starting with a blank sheet of paper.
It wasn't just that there was no infrastructure to the party, although it was the situation we were facing, that we had to start a brand new party, get it registered with the EC, open a bank account/Paypal, set up accounting systems, membership records, and all the rest of it. But there were much more fundamental issues to deal with.
We in effect have had to try to create ab initio an active English Independence movement that wanted to contest elections and actively campaign. So having inherited nothing whatsover, just a few of us had to work out 'where' and 'how' we would find members and supporters for the FEP and for the general campaign for our independence.
We also had to define what we wanted for England, and why our just accepting the status quo of the current British state was not acceptable. We had to understand what it meant, and should mean, to be English, and who were the English and what was England. We have learned a great deal in a short time, and know there is much still to be learned.
We currently face these real challenges:
1. Building the party in these next few years so that it can start winning in local elections - and then as we gain electoral credibility - other elections. We were blooded in the 1 May local elections with three of us standing.
2. Making the general case for English Independence - and we have started to develop useful insights into the many complex policy areas covered under this broad heading.
3. Considering how to raise consciousness of English identity. After all, if everyone who lives in England consider themselves to be British, we would face an uphill battle to persuade them to even consider English independence, let alone the benefits of national independence! So expect to see more from us about England's history and culture, because we have to get the English people to recognise they are English, that they really do require their own English nation state and that we will have to struggle against the British state, political parties, commerce and media to get what we want.
So in this quick progress report, while it is clear that we still have a mountain to climb, I am astonished at how far we have come to date, how quickly the party is developing and how the tide is flowing in favour of England. But when you are going with the flow of history, work is easier!
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