CAMPAIGNERS claim a demand for an English parliament like the rest of the UK was greeted with interest in Oxford.

With Vera Lynn’s There’ll always be an England playing, the Campaign for an English Parliament ‘Battle Bus’ visited Broad Street on Friday on the 26th leg of a 28-stop tour of the country.

The action group wants a separate parliament, similar to those in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland, and is trying to raise awareness ahead of the General Election in May.

Although the UK parliament sits at Westminster, in London, it consists of MPs from all four countries.

And while there are 108 Scottish, Northern Irish and Welsh MPs who regularly vote on English matters, English MPs cannot sit at the Welsh Assembly, Scottish Parliament, or Stormont, in Northern Ireland.

The group, who handed out leaflets and stopped and talked to passers-by, received a mixed reaction.

Kathryn Toghill, 24, of Rewley Road, Oxford, said: “It would probably be fairer to have a separate parliament for England but it would be a waste of resources.”

Kathy Fricker, 59, from Beckford, said: “It would be better to keep our existing parliament but perhaps cut the number of Scottish, Welsh and Northern Irish MPs.”

Campaign spokesman Eddie Bone said: “There has been a lot of interest.

“We have had hundreds of people ask us questions today – from all age groups, too, which is encouraging.

“The response in Oxford has not been as positive as some areas, but once people understand the issue the campaign is highlighting it gets a better reaction.”

“We are running out of pubs and village schools, 1,700 village shops have closed down in the past 18 months, and something like 1,200 churches.

“Our communities need people who are accountable to them, people who know what’s going on.

“At the moment we have 108 MPs voting through things like hospital parking charges, when they have no accountability to the people it is going to affect.”

The Battle Bus was ‘blessed’ by Father Richard Martin, a former chaplain at Magdalen College School.

He said: “I think it is a wonderful idea – especially when you think of things like student tuition fees, which don’t exist for Scottish students.”