A PARTY aiming to see northern England gain independence from Westminster will be watching Scotland closely if it achieves a pro-Yes majority at next month’s election, according to its media chief.
Luke Blaylock said Scotland leaving the Union will be “a massive help” for the Northern Independence Party (NIP), which wants the north to leave the UK and become an independent country called Northumbria.
The NIP, a self-styled democratic socialist party, wants to “have a voice like the SNP in Scotland”. It was set up in October last year after Greater Manchester Mayor Andy Burnham (below) reacted with outrage on TV at Westminster’s limited Covid support package for the city.
Blaylock told The National: “There were lots of memes on social media and banners saying ‘free the north’ after Andy Burnham’s comments. We created a Twitter account and people asked why there was no party. At first people were not sure if it was a joke or not as it started out as a meme.”
The party have now grown since they announced they will stand former Labour MP Thelma Walker, who worked closely with former shadow chancellor John McDonnell, in the Hartlepool by-election on May 6. Most bookmakers are placing NIP in third place behind Labour and the Conservatives (ahead of both Reform UK and the Liberal Democrats).
“This is mental since the party is barely six months old and was set up by working class people with no experience in politics,” Blaylock said.
“Covid has shown the dividing lines of regional inequality in Britain – we need far more than a centralised government.
“If we win the by-election we will have a voice like the SNP in Scotland – it’s only one but it’s a start.
“We are contesting seats in local elections so we can rebuild communities by people in that area as we can’t trust Westminster to do it. Hopefully it’s the start of more defections and seats to be won.”
The party advocates a “green industrial rebirth”, increased funding for public services, individual regional governments and “socialism with a northern accent”.
Blaylock said: “Britain is the most centralised country in the developed world. If you look at history and how power works, it is so centralised there is no way to get radical reforms within it.
“People have been calling for some form of federalism for hundreds of years.”
READ MORE: Scottish independence 'inevitable' as new poll puts Yes in the lead
The think tank IPPR North calculate that if investment per head in the north matched that in London, it would have been £66 billion higher over the last decade.
Blaylock said regional assemblies and the regional mayors brought in by Tony Blair and David Cameron have not solved the issue as they are “practically powerless”.
He went on: “All wealth goes to the south east. We asked for meaningful devolution and all we got is regional assemblies and city regional mayors which are practically powerless.”
Blaylock said the only alternative for those in the north who don’t want to vote for Labour is right-wing parties. “People in the north won’t go out to vote because there is no alternative to Labour,” he added. “The right is the only alternative for the north if we hadn’t set up an anti-establishment party. It’s a natural progression as nationalism in England is right wing and has manifested itself in Brexit.”
He said after Scotland achieves independence, Wales will follow. The country has had a rise in support for Yes in the past few years, from fringe levels in the early 2010s to 39% today, according to an ITV News poll last month.
He continued: “Scotland will break away from the Union and Wales is the next step. We’re like Wales – we get forgotten about.
READ MORE: Anas Sarwar shamed by Welsh Labour over independence referendum stance, SNP say
“In many ways the north works like parts of Scotland. In 2014 we asked the same question ourselves as we were inspired by the referendum.”
But Blaylock stressed the NIP is not meant to be another version of nationalism, saying: “When Scotland goes independent it will serve as a contrast to Westminster on our doorstep.
“We are closer to Scots geographically and ideologically. It is very much based on regionalism and localism.
“We’re not creating our own version of nationalism – it’s a counter to English nationalism.”
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