The English Labour Network was launched a few weeks back by a number of party members concerned at Labour’s lack of a clear appeal to England. I have a lot of respect for a number of those involved, such as John Denham and Jon Cruddas, and the lack of a clear English strand to complement Labour’s Welsh and Scottish branches has been an issue which has increasingly concerned me over the years.
Having joined the group, I was asked to give an interview to explain why I felt the network was an important development and the direction in which the Left and the country now needs to take our re-discovered sense of Englishness.
To find out more about the English Labour Network, to join or to read the published version of my interview, visit: https://englishlabournetwork.org.uk/2017/08/14/crawley-council-leader-westminster-is-utterly-frantic-its-trying-to-run-far-too-much/
Cllr Peter Lamb 
I’d like to know more about your position on whether England should have a parliament of its own. Do you support the principle of an English Parliament?
I support the principle of English devolution, which could take the form of one Parliament for England. Although, we have to bear in mind that having a federal structure where one state is so totally dominant in political and economic terms has historically resulted in the collapse of the overarching structure (i.e. the break apart of the United Kingdom) and it would still leave England the most centralised state in the western world.