Bill Cash and his contradictory ‘Parliamentary Sovereignty’ bill.
Bill Cash MP introduces a UK Parliament Sovereignty Bill today to the house.
I don’t believe in National referendums, because amongst other things it undermines the responsibility of the elected government and parliament for its legislative programme, creates a two-tier legal system and – and I’ll admit this isn’t strictly an issue of democracy – creates a system of populist legislating rather than a considered, debated and accountable one.
I include the third of my objections because democracy, to me at least, means more than giving people the say on issues. Take the medical world: consent is not enough, what is required is informed consent. I believe referendums, particularly on such a complex issue, lack the ‘informed’ aspect required to make something democratic.
Treaties like Lisbon have been passed in a democratic fashion, having been debated by both houses for a long period of time and given assent by the monarch. Is it not a contratiction in terms to try and retain parliamentry sovereignty by arguing for a referendum?
There is a reason why we have proportionality. Is Bill Cash seriously suggesting every British county become independent (Considering he is a part of ‘Better Off Out) or at the very least have have a referendum every time Westminister embarks constitutional reform? Because unless he concede that other principles are at work here, that’s exactly what the argument implies.
Conservatives and the EU.
David Cameron has managed created a real opposition within the European Parliament before even before becoming PM, quite the amazing feat, and one of the promises he has been able to deliver on. An anti federalist solution that the Eurosceptics and the few Europhiles within the party (Yes, Daniel Hannan we still exist.) can rally around and fly the flag for – localism and free trade within the European Union, we don’t need Nationalist claptrap to achieve that, we need to put our opposition into action so that we can achieve the change we want
I am firmly of the belief that many with the party are not true Eurosceptics, just anti-Brussels, by that I mean against the policies of the EU rather than the idea of a European union itself. The EUSSR meme is in full flow, I’m not even sure if the people who use it actually do wear timn foil hats or whether they actually people it’s an effective way to make people anti EU. Cameron and his team are not Euro-secessionists, and will never cave into pressure from that fringe of the party.
What we should be doing is working constructively with the EU, not giving into pressure from other member states like the current Government have done for the past 12 years. It’s funny that we have jibes from the Labour benches that our so called ‘isolation’ within Europe will hinder us from having any influence, considering that the only thing that springs to my mind about what they have done in the EU is to release Britains rebate, and for what exactly? That’s where that sort of ‘influence’ gets us.A conservative government must stand up for the interests of Britain, as well as the EU as a whole.
But to have that the party must engage. We already have hard working MEP’s like Charles Tannock that attempt to follow the party policy of a European Union that devolves as much power as possible, but when they go to the grassroots to draw from them they’re met with this sort of drivel.
“Charles let me direct. You are a hardline europhile. You are advocating, indeed exhorting submission to the undemocratic EU.
You must know as well as the rest of us that our ability to ‘influence the Union’s policy in our national interest as much as possible’ is minimal. Minimal.
You write ‘in recent months William Hague has put more flesh on the bones of Conservative foreign policy’ and then admit that there are 26 other countries contributing to the EU’s foreign policy.
We all admire your stamina in returning time after time to ConHome and taking these brickbats but …and it is a big but…when will reality hit?”
I could ask (If I were to be so rude): When will the reality hit that you’re talking out of your arse?
If we’re going to win the election, the Conservative party need to stop whining about Lisbon,(When it comes down to the nitty gritty, I usually find there’s few things they would object to and the EU seccessionalists must admit to themselves it is never going to happe.n I don’t much like how many Eurosceptics use the referendum campaign just to try and stuff the EU altogether, and frankly neither does the electorate.