Posted on 28 July 2009 by David
Introduction: Deliberations on British-constitutional reform must factor in the national questions
I recently signed up to ‘Real Change‘. This is a grassroots movement that aims to set in motion a nationwide debate, at local level, about fundamental constitutional reform, culminating ultimately in a citizens’ convention to collate and deliberate on all the options, and to come [...]
Filed under: Britain, British parliament, England, English Grand Committee, English Parliament, English governance, English nationhood, Gordon Brown, MPs, MPs' expenses, New Labour, Real Change, Scottish Claim of Right, Scottish independence, Scottish nationhood, UK governance, United Kingdom, West Lothian Question, asymmetric devolution, constitutional convention, constitutional reform, democracy, denial of England, devolution, national identity, nations and regions, parliament, parliamentary sovereignty, politics, popular sovereignty, representative democracy, republicanism, sovereignty, the English Question, unionism | 3 Comments »
Posted on 3 March 2009 by David
I’ve been thinking and reading quite a bit recently on the subject of liberty and the national question. This was the topic of a debate at the Convention On Modern Liberty event in London at the weekend. I wasn’t there but I’ve read the interestingly divergent accounts by Gareth Young (who was speaking on behalf [...]
Filed under: Britain, British identity, Convention on Modern Liberty, Downing Street petition, England, English governance, English identity, English nationalism, English nationhood, Englishness, Scotland, Scottish Claim of Right, Scottish independence, UK governance, United Kingdom, Wales, anglophobia, constitutional reform, denial of England, devolution, liberty, national identity, nationalism, politics, popular sovereignty, sovereignty, the English Question | 3 Comments »
Posted on 2 December 2008 by David
The trouble with the UK is ‘Great Britain’. The future of the UK, if it has one, will be settled by coming to a more stable, mature and equitable relationship between the different nations that currently make up that state. Great Britain, and its even more ill-defined cognate ‘Britain’, is the great interloper that stands [...]
Filed under: Britain, British identity, Britishness, Cornwall, England, English Parliament, English governance, English identity, English independence, English nationalism, English nationhood, Englishness, First Past the Post, Gordon Brown, Great Britain, New Labour, Northern Ireland, PR, Scotland, Scottish Claim of Right, Scottish independence, Scottish nationhood, Single Transferable Vote (STV), UK governance, United Kingdom, Wales, West Lothian Question, constitutional reform, denial of England, devolution, federal UK, federalism, national identity, nationalism, parliament, parliamentary sovereignty, political vision, politics, popular sovereignty, proportional representation, referendum, representative democracy, say England, sovereignty, the English Question, unionism | 23 Comments »
Posted on 16 August 2008 by David
Below is the text of a post of mine published on the OurKingdom site last week. It stimulated a lively debate, which has led me to think further about the fundamental issues involved. I discuss these below after the copy of the OurKingdom post:
Giving only Scotland a say on independence negates the existence of Britain
[...]
Filed under: England, Scotland, Scottish Claim of Right, Scottish independence, United Kingdom, Wales, constitutional reform, federal UK, nationalism, parliament, politics, referendum, sovereignty | 5 Comments »
Posted on 18 July 2008 by David
Here’s how I see the asymmetric devolution settlement brought in by New Labour in 1998. This may not be terribly original; but it could serve as a useful guide to the cynical politics that has brought us to our present pass.
Scotland-side, there’s the view that devolution, rather than being merely a nationalistic movement for greater [...]
Filed under: Conservative Party, David Cameron, England, English independence, First Past the Post, Labour Party, PR, Scotland, Scottish independence, Wales, Welsh independence, constitutional reform, devolution, parliament, politics, proportional representation, sovereignty | 9 Comments »
Posted on 9 June 2008 by David
The Sunday Times reported yesterday that Frank Field has urged Gordon Brown to hold an immediate UK-wide referendum on the future of the Union. The Labour MP is quoted as saying, “Unless Gordon Brown wrongfoots [Alex Salmond] by addressing the English question and by holding a UK-wide referendum before he has the chance to build [...]
Filed under: England, English independence, Frank Field, Gordon Brown, Labour Party, Scotland, Scottish Claim of Right, Scottish independence, United Kingdom, constitutional convention, constitutional reform, parliament, politics, referendum, sovereignty, the English Question | 2 Comments »
Posted on 1 June 2008 by David
Just signed the Downing Street petition for a referendum on English independence I came across today. This actually calls for a referendum on English independence irrespective of whether the Scots are offered a referendum on independence for Scotland, or if they go ahead and have one anyway whether the British government, or the Scottish First Minister for England, [...]
Filed under: Britain, Downing Street petition, England, English independence, Northern Ireland, Scotland, Scottish independence, Wales, Welsh independence, constitutional reform, devolution, federal UK, nationalism, parliament, politics, referendum, sovereignty, unionism | 3 Comments »
Posted on 30 May 2008 by David
This is the first of a new mini-series in which I’ll be putting the argument for a referendum on new constitutional arrangements between the nations of the UK, which should be offered to all those nations not just one or two (e.g. Scotland and Wales).
Below is a copy of a comment I made the other [...]
Filed under: Britain, Cornish independence, Cornwall, England, English independence, Gordon Brown, Northern Ireland, Scotland, Scottish independence, Wales, Welsh independence, constitutional reform, devolution, federal UK, nationalism, politics, referendum, unionism | 2 Comments »
Posted on 11 May 2008 by David
At some point in the next few years (maybe as early as 2010; or 2011, 2012 or later), the people of Scotland will be offered a referendum on whether to become an independent country. In my view, it’s highly likely they’ll vote ‘yes’.
At the same time as this Scottish vote, the people of England (and, [...]
Filed under: Cornish independence, Cornwall, England, English independence, Northern Ireland, Scotland, Scottish independence, Wales, Welsh independence, referendum | 7 Comments »
