Letter: England left out

Sir: It has become fashionable to dismiss the case for an English parliament, but I think it is a strong one.

The United Kingdom must work out whether it wants to be a unitary or a federal state. It is unlikely that it can manage to be both at the same time.

To have Scottish and Welsh parliaments, but not a legislature or assembly for England, will produce an increasingly "English" House of Commons in Westminster, which in turn will look more and more like a colonial legislature to the Scots and Welsh (to say nothing about Northern Ireland). I can think of no better way of subverting the concept of the Union.

I hope that there is still more constitutional reform to come.

FERDINAND von PRONDZYNSKI

Professor of Law

University of Hull