Saturday, August 9, 2008

Quote of the Day

"This seems to me to be an attack upon the state itself. The monarch is the one embodiment of the state which is outside the political, partisan process.

The people behind this campaign must either oppose the idea of anyone who is non-partisan having a role in the affairs of state, or they would rather be swearing allegiance to Brussels."

Lord Tebbit on the campaign to scrap the oath of allegiance which MPs must swear to the Queen.

3 comments:

Anonymous said...

Well if Sinn Fein took there seats they could have joined with those other rebels in getting change. Or, more likely, potentially clear the way for a Sinn Fein capitulation in taking their seats that they are elected to sit in.

Even if changed the wording of swearing to their constituents and nation - what nation would SF swear to? Surely it would be the UK, and at lowest common denominator Northern Ireland.

O'Neill said...

One partitionist Brit parliament looks pretty much the same as another...by standing for election within a nation you are implicitely recognising that state's authority to govern over your constituency. So they might as well join the rest of the UK's nationalists and get in there and start working the system to their and their constituents' advantage.

Hen Ferchetan said...

The monarch is the one embodiment of the state which is outside the political, partisan process.

What about the MP's constituents? That's who they'e voted to represent, not the Queen.