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Category Archives: Other Constitutional discussion
The Monarchy is Dead …
But We’re Not Quite Sure What to Do About it So far as I am aware the only significant political party which openly opposes the monarchy in current UK politics is Alba and their ambitions are stated in orderly and … Continue reading
Posted in Comment, Other Constitutional discussion
Tagged electoral college, history, monarchy, news, Politics, republicanism, royal family
2 Comments
Outgrow the System
A DOCUMENTARY ABOUT TRANSITIONING TO A SUSTAINABLE ECONOMIC SYSTEM With thanks to Reel to Real Cinema, the Stove Network and the Climate Kitchen Dumfries for providing the opportunity to view and discuss this film. There is no argument with the … Continue reading
Sunlit uplands: a vision for the renewal of electoral and party politics
The UK parliament: the journey to a universal adult right to vote; a critique of the electoral and party system; the first draft of a reform proposal. Main article, approx 4300 words. It is a relatively recent idea that the … Continue reading
The centre cannot hold: Scotland and the future of the Union
The counting is done and it is clear that the SNP, together with the Scottish Green Party, have a mandate for a referendum on the question of Scotland’s independence from the United Kingdom. Whilst there may be some in the … Continue reading
Time up for the House of Lords, and an end to “nostalgic deference.”
In a previous post [1] I speculated on the probability of Scottish Independence and on the question of whether there was any reform which might make the Union of the United Kingdom worth saving. The answer I suggested was … Continue reading
Saving the union: A job for a superhero? Nah — there could be a fix, but is it really worth the bother?
Having “done Brexit”, the intervention of the pandemic has deflected Boris Johnston from what might be his second great project, securing the Union of the United Kingdom. The early signs are, that his political vision falls a long way short of … Continue reading
Posted in Other Constitutional discussion
Tagged "United Kingdom", electoral reform, FPTP, PR, Scottish Independence
1 Comment
The European Union and Democratic Balancing
The European Union and Democratic Balancing Revised 20th March 2016 Democratic balancing – a mechanism for creating a democratic balance between the European parliament and the member state parliaments of the European Union which would allow, in certain circumstances, an … Continue reading
Should the House of Lords be abolished, become more democratic, or be kept as is?
The house of Lords should be reformed. It should not in my opinion however be elected. There are a number of reasons for this. If it were elected, there would be a danger that it would, probably at some moment … Continue reading
Posted in Misc, Other Constitutional discussion
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Nationalism and the Rise of the SNP
Alex Salmond has pulled off a remarkable coup by leading his party to an overall majority in the new Scottish Parliament. We are told that the Labour Party designed the electoral system for the Scottish Parliament specifically to avoid this … Continue reading
Carruchan 
Brexit Revisited
The Democratic Case for Pooling Sovereignty Although I voted to remain in the European Union in the 2016 referendum, this did not reflect an entirely uncritical view of the European project and, in particular, its democratic structures. I was interested … Continue reading →