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5 comments:
Anonymous
said...
O'Neill
The text of the House of Lords debate outlined in the link Sinn Fein: Parliamentary Oath of Allegiance — Question is very revealing. It shows just how archaic and undemocratic the UK constitution is. One must be a Royalist to sit in the House of Commons.
Is it for this that all your heros in The New Model Army died?
O'Neill, I distinctly remember you suggesting that the Coalition's austerity measures would probably lessen English resentment at the profligacy of the devolved Administrations.
"It shows just how archaic and undemocratic the UK constitution is. One must be a Royalist to sit in the House of Commons."
Well, we don't have a constitution so in that regard you could argue procedures are archaic (or traditional). But "undemocratic" only of the majority of MPs voted against them and there are many non-royalists sitting in the HOC. There are even one or two Unionist non-royalists, the commentator Alex Kane being one example.
It's not the perfect system (my own loyalty is first and foremost to the United Kingdom not it's monarch), but the alternatives are even worse (to misquote Churchill)
You've won the first round certainly but only the first. The three separate devolved budgets are not infinite, quite the opposite- others sectors are going to suffer on the students' behalf.
Having said that for a supposed Unionist like Leighton Philips to come straight out with "we'll get the English to pay" was extremely idiotic and damaging.
5 comments:
O'Neill
The text of the House of Lords debate outlined in the link Sinn Fein: Parliamentary Oath of Allegiance — Question is very revealing. It shows just how archaic and undemocratic the UK constitution is. One must be a Royalist to sit in the House of Commons.
Is it for this that all your heros in The New Model Army died?
Rory
O'Neill, I distinctly remember you suggesting that the Coalition's austerity measures would probably lessen English resentment at the profligacy of the devolved Administrations.
I demurred at the time.
I think I have already been proved right.
There is an “English backlash” against devolution, with growing resentment south of the border over the amount of money spent in Scotland.
Rory,
"It shows just how archaic and undemocratic the UK constitution is. One must be a Royalist to sit in the House of Commons."
Well, we don't have a constitution so in that regard you could argue procedures are archaic (or traditional). But "undemocratic" only of the majority of MPs voted against them and there are many non-royalists sitting in the HOC.
There are even one or two Unionist non-royalists, the commentator Alex Kane being one example.
It's not the perfect system (my own loyalty is first and foremost to the United Kingdom not it's monarch), but the alternatives are even worse (to misquote Churchill)
David,
"I think I have already been proved right."
You've won the first round certainly but only the first. The three separate devolved budgets are not infinite, quite the opposite- others sectors are going to suffer on the students' behalf.
Having said that for a supposed Unionist like Leighton Philips to come straight out with "we'll get the English to pay" was extremely idiotic and damaging.
Leighton Andrews
O'Neill,
How could the majority of M.P.s ever vote againt the rule when no honest anti-monarchist is allowed sit in the house of commons?
Rory
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