Do we need an English Parliament?
September 22nd, 2014 by Roger Darlington
The failure of the Scottish voters to back full independence but the promise of more powers for the Scottish Parliament has led to a whole host of constitutional questions being posed, perhaps the most controversial being the so-called West Lothian question: why should Scottish MPs be allowed to vote on English laws? Some – especially in the Conservative Party – are suggesting that we need either an English Parliament of at least English days in the UK Parliament.
In my view, this is one of those cases where all solutions are more undesirable than the problem and, in the best spirit of British pragmatism, we should just learn to live with a degree of inconsistency in our constitutional arrangements. Do we really want the cost of an extra parliament? Or do we really want two classes of MP? And can we clearly define what is an exclusively English matter with no consequences for other parts of the UK?
The idea of an English Parliament – or even English votes on English laws – has a superficial neatness about it because then the UK would become a truly federal state in with each part of the UK has a sub-national legislative forum. But, in my view, federal states only work when either the country consists of a small number of roughly even-sized geographical components (such as the six states of Australia or the 10 provinces of Canada) or the country is comprised of a large number of components of variable size (such as the 28 states of India or the 50 states of the USA).
The problem with the UK becoming a federal state is that the four nations – England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland – are very few in number and very unequal in size. England consists of 84% of the total UK population and London alone is almost twice the population of the largest of the other nations (Scotland). So almost everything that happens in England is likely to have some sort of impact on the other three nations and therefore their MPs are entitled to have some sort of say.
To illustrate this, consider a few political issues that geographically are quintessentially English issues: the expansion of Heathrow Airport or the building of the High Speed 2 (HS2) rail link or the building of a new generation of nuclear power stations in England. Decisions on these matters will have consequences direct and indirect for all parts of the UK.
There are interesting proposals by Sir William McKay, the former clerk of the House of Commons, who has suggested that only English MPs should sit on the committee stage of a parliamentary bill that related just to England. Such legislation could then only be passed through a double majority voting system, achieving support of the majority of English MPs and the majority of the Commons as a whole.
As Will Hutton put it in this article in the weekend’s “Observer”:
“The Conservative party is an important part of the national constituency, but it is not the national constituency. It has not won a national election since 1992 and has only one MP in Scotland. English MPs should certainly get differential authority on those few issues that are English concerns, but within the context of a wider constitutional settlement involving more power for our cities and a reformed House of Lords.
There needs, in short, to be a proper constitutional convention. Keeping this island together is a task for all, not the opportunity for David Cameron and the Conservative right to exclude MPs from those parts of our country where they cannot win an election.”
Posted in British current affairs | Comments (1)
A review of the film “Half Of A Yellow Sun”
September 21st, 2014 by Roger Darlington
When was the last time you saw a British movie with an African theme, African location shooting, source material from a black novelist, a black writer and director, and an almost exclusively black cast?
Check out “Half Of A Yellow Sun” which I have reviewed here.
Posted in Cultural issues | Comments (0)
After the Scottish referendum: 10 of the most pressing questions facing the union that is still the United Kingdom
September 21st, 2014 by Roger Darlington
The “Observer” newspaper today has the best part of no fewer than 22 pages devoted to this week’s referendum on Scottish independence and the implications of the ‘no’ vote for the nations, regions and cities of the UK.
What this underlines is that one question has been answered (for the time being), but a host of other questions now have to be addressed – and soon.
The newspaper helpfully identifies and speculates about 10 of these questions in this piece.
Posted in British current affairs | Comments (0)
Thank you, Scotland
September 19th, 2014 by Roger Darlington
We’re glad that you decided to stay with us and keep the UK united.
Now we have to deliver on the promise to devolve significant extra powers to the Scottish Parliament, but we also have to rethink the whole distribution of power in our four nations – including England – and how the Westminster parliament will work in the future.
You had a great debate and a fantastic turnout – and fortunately a clear decision. Now let’s spread that invigoration of democratic debate to the whole of the UK and be radical and fair in our political reforms.
Posted in British current affairs | Comments (2)
Good food news (1): the bioreactive bump
September 18th, 2014 by Roger Darlington
A recent United Nations food report estimates that 100 million tonnes of food is wasted every year globally, with British households throwing away 7 million tonnes. In value terms, the average UK family throws away food worth £700 each year. Studies suggest more than half the jettisoned food could have been eaten.
But a solution may be at hand – invented in Britain by 23-year-old design graduate called Solveiga Pakstaite. It’s called the bioreactive bump. You can read about it here.
Posted in Consumer matters | Comments (0)
Good food news (2): the wonder of baobab
September 18th, 2014 by Roger Darlington
It has been proclaimed a superfood to rival quinoa, blueberries and kale. Its yellow-green, suede-soft pods contain a dry pulp that has more vitamin C than oranges, more calcium than milk, more potassium than a banana, more magnesium than spinach, and more iron than red meat.
What is it? Its called baobab. And where is it grown? Well, Malawi for a start. You can learn more here.
Posted in Consumer matters | Comments (0)
Today’s the day that the Scots decide whether the 300 year old United Kingdom will continue
September 18th, 2014 by Roger Darlington
Some key facts about today’s referendum:
- The single question is simply: “Should Scotland be an independent country?”
- 4,285,323 people – 97% of the electorate – are registered to vote.
- 789,024 postal vote applications have been submitted.
- Voting takes place from 7 am until 10 pm today (Thursday).
- Votes will be cast at 2,608 polling locations at 5,579 polling stations.
- Ballot papers will be counted in each of Scotland’s 32 local authority areas.
- The result is most likely to be between 6:30 am and 7:30 am tomorrow (Friday) morning.
You can read my thoughts on the vote here.
Posted in British current affairs | Comments (0)
How a Soviet duty officer may have saved the world from nuclear war
September 17th, 2014 by Roger Darlington
You’ve probably never heard of the man or the incident. Either I never knew about it or I had forgottob until I started reading a book this week: “War: What Is It Good For”? The author of the book is Ian Morris and I attended a talk he gave at the House of Commons upon the release of the book [see my blog posting here].
The book opens with an account of an incident on 26 September 1983 when the nuclear early warning system of the Soviet Union twice reported the launch of American Minuteman intercontinental ballistic missiles (ICBMs) from bases in the United States. These missile attack warnings were correctly identified as a false alarm by Stanislav Yevgrafovich Petrov, an officer of the Soviet Air Defence Forces.
This decision is seen as having prevented an erroneous data for decision about retaliatory nuclear attack on the United States and its NATO allies, which would have probably resulted in nuclear war and the potential deaths of millions and millions of people. Investigation of the satellite warning system later confirmed that the system had malfunctioned.
You can read more about the incident here.
Posted in History | Comments (0)
At last – some good news about the planet
September 16th, 2014 by Roger Darlington
The British media is currently dominated by the Scottish referendum on independence and the ISIS threat in Syria and Iraq. In truth though, the biggest problem facing both Britain and the world remains climate change. But consider this:
“The global economy is undergoing a remarkable transformation which is altering our ability to deal with climate change. The growth of emerging economies, rapid urbanisation and new technological advances are making possible a new path of low-carbon growth in ways that were not apparent even five years ago.
We know that if left unchecked, greenhouse gas emissions will cause devastating climate change. What is now becoming clear is that reducing emissions is not only compatible with economic growth and development; if done well, it can actually generate better growth than the old high-carbon model.”
Who says so? Angel Gurria, secretary-general of the OECD, and Nicholas Stern,chair of the Grantham Institute for Climate Change and the Environment at the London School of Economics. You can read their short piece here.
Posted in Environment | Comments (0)
The real story behind the hit movie “Pride”
September 16th, 2014 by Roger Darlington
Last weekend, I saw the new British film “Pride” which tells the true story of how, during the miners’ strike of 1984-85, a South Wales community received substantial support from a London-based group called Lesbians and Gays Support the Miners. I loved the movie and you can read my review here.
Today, the “Mirror” newspaper has an informative piece about how this interaction took place and quotes from some of those personally involved including Mike Jackson whom I have met. You can read the article here.
Now, please go and see the film.
Posted in Cultural issues, History | Comments (0)