21-03-2019, 14:05
It will be interesting to see if MV3 fails the only way to stop no deal will be to revoke Article 50, since there is a majority in Parliament against No Deal will there therefore be a majority in Parliament to revoke? Or will they just let no deal happen? It looks like we are heading for a No Deal vs Revoke shootout at the Eleventh hour, it would make a good political thriller movie but sadly it is real life.
She kind of went full Trump with her speech last night, using the non-binding advisory and fake will of the people referendum to attack and undermine the sovereignty of Parliament (the real will of the people). I think the fortunate thing is that she is so hapless that no one will take her seriously enough but it is a very bad sign when the leader of the executive branch seeks to attack the legislative branch.
Referendums are curious things, if done right as in the case of Ireland then they can transform things for the better but if the are done badly as this one was the can be detrimental to democracy. There is this idea that democracy is just putting a cross on a piece of paper every now and again but it is so much more than that. Democracy is transparency and accountability, democracy is making an INFORMED decision, democracy is the rule of law, like the law that twice struck down the Government in the Article 50 case and democracy is about a constitution that has a set of guidelines and principles as set out in Erskine May. The Prime Minister called The Speaker's use of a rule that has been in place since 1604 to stop her WA being put for a third vote as a constitutional crisis, in reality it was the constitution doing exactly what it is designed to do, reign in the power of The Executive. Our democracy is so much more than the zeitgeist, it is centuries of rules and legislation put in place by experts and informed individuals.
It's no surprise then when you look at people who have used referendums in the past: Napoleon, Hitler, Mussolini in order to advance their agenda it is not exactly a who's who of freedom fighting leaders. Even today President Recep Tayyipp Erdogan uses Referendums to strip away the democratic rights of Turkey's institutions and citizens consolidating power at his disposal.
I guess this is why 2/3 of the most influential British Prime Minister's of the modern era, Attlee and Thatcher both said the same things with regards to referendums: "Referendums are the devices of Dictators and demagogues"
She kind of went full Trump with her speech last night, using the non-binding advisory and fake will of the people referendum to attack and undermine the sovereignty of Parliament (the real will of the people). I think the fortunate thing is that she is so hapless that no one will take her seriously enough but it is a very bad sign when the leader of the executive branch seeks to attack the legislative branch.
Referendums are curious things, if done right as in the case of Ireland then they can transform things for the better but if the are done badly as this one was the can be detrimental to democracy. There is this idea that democracy is just putting a cross on a piece of paper every now and again but it is so much more than that. Democracy is transparency and accountability, democracy is making an INFORMED decision, democracy is the rule of law, like the law that twice struck down the Government in the Article 50 case and democracy is about a constitution that has a set of guidelines and principles as set out in Erskine May. The Prime Minister called The Speaker's use of a rule that has been in place since 1604 to stop her WA being put for a third vote as a constitutional crisis, in reality it was the constitution doing exactly what it is designed to do, reign in the power of The Executive. Our democracy is so much more than the zeitgeist, it is centuries of rules and legislation put in place by experts and informed individuals.
It's no surprise then when you look at people who have used referendums in the past: Napoleon, Hitler, Mussolini in order to advance their agenda it is not exactly a who's who of freedom fighting leaders. Even today President Recep Tayyipp Erdogan uses Referendums to strip away the democratic rights of Turkey's institutions and citizens consolidating power at his disposal.
I guess this is why 2/3 of the most influential British Prime Minister's of the modern era, Attlee and Thatcher both said the same things with regards to referendums: "Referendums are the devices of Dictators and demagogues"
