News and Events

News and Events

MAY 2003

The Mercian Constitutional Convention reaffirmed and declared the legal independence of Mercia, at 1.00pm on 29 May 2003, in Victoria Square, Birmingham. The declaration is printed on this website:

JUNE 2003

The inaugural meeting of the Acting Witan of Mercia was held in Stourbridge on 8 June 2003. The transitional arrangements within The Constitution of Mercia obliged the Acting Witan to notify the UK authorities that Mercia has declared independence, that their institutions are now legally inferior to those of Mercia in the region and that they should discuss the progressing of the transitional arrangements with the Acting Witan a.s.a.p.

The second meeting of the Acting Witan was held in Stourbridge on 14 September 2003 and decided to write to the UN and UNPO, asking for recognition of Mercia's independence. Also, a petition in support of Mercian independence will be drawn up.

The third meeting of the Acting Witan was held in Stourbridge on 22 November 2003 and decided to issue a letter regarding the non-payment of taxes and licences to the UK. This letter is printed in full below:

You appear to be unaware that Mercia declared its independence on 29th May this year. The Acts of Parliament under whose purported authority you are demanding payment are no longer recognised as automatically valid in Mercia. You should therefore urgently seek discussions with the Acting Witan of Mercia to request re-authorisation under Mercian law. Until this is done, your demand has no lawful basis.

As the Acting Witan will be considering a large number of such requests and as it will take time to process these thoroughly, I accept that it would inconvenience you if I were to withhold payment and that the public services you provide could suffer if many Mercians were to do likewise.

I therefore enclose the sum requested but cannot guarantee that future requests will be similarly treated. You are advised to contact the Acting Witan of Mercia without further delay, by writing to the following address:

The Acting Witan of Mercia, Cherry Tree House, 8 Nelson Crescent, Cotes Heath, Stafford, Staffordshire ST21 6ST

The fourth meeting of the Acting Witan was held in Stourbridge on 18 January 2004 and reported that interesting dialogue is now taking place with the UK crown and the prime minister's office regarding the independence of Mercia.

Having received no positive response from eight key UK agents of political control concerning our request for discussions about the transitional arrangements it was agreed that after a further four weeks the Acting Witan will progress Mercia de facto without them and set up administrative, judicial and economic systems, to be launched at the First Anniversary event on 29th May 2004.

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Plans were drawn up for the forthcoming First Anniversary event to be held in Birmingham on 29th May. The following flyer was designed for circulation to the media for advance notification:

CELEBRATION AND LAUNCH OF THE NEW MERCIAN CURRENCY AT MIDDAY IN VICTORIA SQUARE, BIRMINGHAM

FREE MONEY BEING GIVEN OUT BY THE ACTING WITAN OF MERCIA!

On the first anniversary of their declaration of the legal independence of Mercia (the greater Midlands), members of the Acting Witan of the region are returning to Victoria Square, Birmingham, to further the campaign for Mercia’s actual independence.

Following the complete refusal of the illegal and authoritarian United Kingdom government to engage in any talks on the future of the Midlands with democratic regionalists, the Mercian Constitutional Convention was formed by people from across the region and published The Constitution Of Mercia in 2003. The Constitution offers a new holistic society based on organic democracy, co-operative community and ecological balance and for a year has been the ultimate legal authority in the region, but remains subject to amendment by the people of Mercia.

The Constitutional Convention is now the Acting Witan (or assembly) of Mercia and is spearheading the full democratisation of the region. In pursuit of this aim, the Acting Witan has spent over six months in an ultimately futile attempt to persuade the UK key agents of political control to enter into meaningful negotiations on the transitional arrangements for full Mercian independence. Following the expiry of a final deadline for the UK to begin productive talks, the Acting Witan is now in the process of establishing new and lawful administrative, judicial and economic systems in Mercia on behalf of and in conjunction with the people of the region. The aim of these structures is to create a fully independent Mercia.

Consequently, a new currency, in the form of the Mercian penny, has been minted by the Acting Witan and is being handed out free to the citizens of the region in Victoria Square, Birmingham, on Saturday 29 May, Mercian Independence Day. Mercian pennies, worth the equivalent of one UK pound, will be given to people who register for Mercian citizenship and, with their new money, they will be able to buy items from the large variety of goods available from the Acting Witan stalls on the day. Despite this, transactions through barter, exchange and gifts will be preferred in Mercia, with currency only being used as a last resort because money breeds exploitation and poverty. Therefore, the newly-enrolled Mercian citizens will be encouraged to barter or exchange goods with the stallholders instead of paying for them with money. Alternatively, they can offer to undertake services for the local community and receive goods from the stalls in return.

Consequently, the launch of the new currency will give the people of the greater Midlands the opportunity to enjoy themselves participating in the birth of the revolutionary Mercian trading system and local businesses will be wise to follow suit because the new methods will operate entirely tax-free!

For further information, please contact Jeff Kent, the convener, at the Acting Witan office at:

The Acting Witan of Mercia, Cherry Tree House, 8 Nelson Crescent, Cotes Heath, Stafford, Staffordshire ST21 6ST

The day was a resounding success, with 127 people signing up over a space of only three hours to become citizens of Mercia. The new currency was launched and generated considerable support with a high level of understanding by the citizens about the principles for the just and sustainable economy which we espouse. After the event it was agreed that we should hold similar events across the Mercia region.

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The Acting Witan of Mercia met in Stourbridge on 11th July and agreed on a target to register 1000 Mercia citizens by 29th May 2005. An online registration form will be added to our website around the end of August. The next initiatives will include the creation of a Mercian legal system and a vision of day-to-day life in independent Mercia.

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The Acting Witan of Mercia met in Stourbridge on 14th November 2005, immediately following the failed attempt by the U.K. Government to impose a regional assembly in North-East England. It was agreed that whilst this result may show a lack of interest in regionalisation, it was felt that this had more to do with it being a U.K., top-down initiative rather than the truly democratic approach taken by the movement for English regions; and it was proposed that we should be instrumental in developing interest in a network of English regions.

The current 'Acting Witan' website www.acting-witan-of-mercia.org was felt to be a misnomer and another domain name more reflective of the broader Mercia movement was felt to be more in keeping. It was agreed that www.independentmercia.org would be suitable as a domain name and this was subsequently expedited.

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The Acting Witan of Mercia met at Stourbridge on 13th February 2005. A representative from Devolve! argued that the 'thrashing' of of the official North-East region and the creative thinking around the continuing Commission on the South (for example, on confederated functional sub-regions) have changed the landscape. He said that there is a divergence between long-term visionary cultural thinking and immediate pragmatic ideas and believes that the two are not ready to converge for 20 years. The response from the Acting Witan was unanimous disagreement with his stance.

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The Acting Witan of Mercia met at Stourbridge on 8th May 2005. Further discussion took place on the 'Vision' of day-to-day life in the future Mercia. This is intended to give the citizens of Mercia a practical vision with which they can identify themselves. This would at all times reflect the Constitution of Mercia.

Mercian Independence Day took place in Nottingham on Friday 27th May. Several dozen people registered as citizens, and it was clear that there is no shortage of people willing to register.

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At an event, the Mercian Heathen Hearth, held in Wolverhampton on 15th October 2005, two members of the Acting Witan of Mercia attended as guests and gave a talk about the Acting Witan and the Constitution of Mercia. 20 - 25 people attended the event, of which 8 registered as citizens of Mercia. The moot brought together heathens from across the Midlands and is intended to be a quarterly event.

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The Acting Witan of Mercia met at Stourbridge on 6th November 2005. The two organisers of the Mercian Heathen Hearth were welcomed to the meeting. It was agreed that more effort should be put into registering citizens of Mercia in the next year in order to reach the target of 1000 citizens by the anniversary of Mercian Independence Day on 29th May 2007. Mercia citizens will be invited to become law-speakers on the Mercian Regional Court. This is a critical component of the apparatus of independent Mercia and is also a vital ingredient in the Mercian Independence Day and so needs to be progressed forthwith.

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The Acting Witan of Mercia met at Stourbridge on 29th January 2006. There were five new citizens in attendance who had registered at the Mercian Heathen Hearth in October.

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The Acting Witan of Mercia met at Stourbridge on 7th May 2006 and discussed arrangements for the forthcoming second anniversary of the Mercian Declaration of Independence. In view of the initiative to register at least 1,000 citizens of Mercia in the coming year it was decided to visit both Banbury and Northampton on that day in order to register at least 50 citizens in each of Oxfordshire and Northamptonshire. It was also decided to create a Mercia discussion forum at http://uk.groups.yahoo.com/group/mercia.

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The Acting Witan of Mercia met at Stourbridge on 30 September 2006. Having successfully registered over 50 citizens of Mercia in both Oxfordshire and Northamptonshire, the initiative to register at least 50 citizens in each of the 20 shires of Mercia was continuing, and over 50 citizens have now also been registered in Cheshire, Staffordshire, Shropshire and Warwickshire. It was agreed that the minutes of previous meetings of the Acting Witan of Mercia should be published on this website at www.independentmercia.org/minutes.htm

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The Acting Witan of Mercia met at Stourbridge on 19th November 2006. It was agreed that a public Conference on the Future of Mercia should be held as soon as possible. More people had registered as citizens of Mercia. A Mercian Regional Court will be established as soon as possible. Key UK political agents will be indicted.

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The Acting Witan of Mercia met in Stourbridge on 14th January 2007. The proposed conference on the future of Mercia has been titled: The Future of the Midlands: A Blueprint for the Future inspired by the Past. The date for this will be Saturday 15th March 2008, venue to be decided. Another 70 people had registered as citizens of Mercia.

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The Acting Witan of Mercia met in Stourbridge on 13th May 2007. The indictment of key UK political agents was expedited. Citizens of Mercia are to be asked to apply to be speakers on the Mercia Regional Court. A concerted programme of registration of at least 50 citizens of Mercia in each of the 20 shires was drawn up.

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