I am Mike Blundell, an accountant who has lived in Bristol with wife and family for 20 years. My work involved travel within both England and Wales so I get to see a fair bit of both countries.

Let Monmouthshire decide

Standing for the English Democrats means standing for democracy. The 1974 transfer of Monmouthshire into Gwent was the stuff of closed doors and smoked filled rooms.

Secretive authoritarian decisions made unannounced by a few without either consultation or notification to legitimise it. Either we make a stand against this outrage or we continue condone it.

The English democrats do not seek to compound the original crime with demands for Monmouthshire's return to England; we seek to re-establish democracy by allowing the people to chose by referendum.

Without English Democrats as members of the Welsh Assembly this referendum is doomed to remain simply an ideal, the status quo will continue by default.

In addition to fighting for a referendum for Monmouthshire I will be putting the case for local democracy and more involvement of local people in the decision making process.

The English Democrats support all countries of the British Isles in their legitimate demands for their own Parliament with each having equal authority to run their domestic and financial affairs. Without this there is inequality and injustice that will inevitably lead to national unrest and disintegration.

This will benefit only those who seek to profit by our misfortunes.

We recognise that this will have profound implications for all of the nations of Britain and justice demands that the people of Monmouthshire are the ones to decide their loyalties and future.

Ensuring public services are properly delivered The bread and butter of being a member of the Welsh Assembly is ensuring that public services are delivered properly. It is essential and will be the bedrock of my participation in the assembly. Making sure that the Assembly?s wishes are clearly expressed and holding officers to account for delivering them is a fundamental part of my being an English democrat. I am resolute and deeply committed to transparency in politics and democratic government by consent. That is why I abhor the way that devious politicians worked against the interests of the people of Monmouthshire in 1974 and I will strive to prevent such occurrences in the future.