Friday, September 19, 2014

Now Scotland's staying, there's a coup afoot in England

No, you daft bugger, this is not how devolution works.

The English question, long buried, has rushed to the centre of British politics as David Cameron announced that devolution of further powers to Scotland will be dependent on a broader agreement that, in future, English MPs alone will vote on English issues.
[...]
The implications of Scottish MPs being excluded from the Commons on an array of issues is not just a constitutional thicket, but also a crude political nightmare for Miliband, the Labour leader, since he is likely to have rely on a phalanx of Scottish MPs to secure an overall majority for much legislation.

From The Guardian.

Devolution for England means that England gets its own parliament, preferably well away from London. Obviously I'd prefer the North, but Exeter is fine by me too. (Assuming Devon doesn't want its own parliament. It's just Cornwall that's pushing for independence, right?)

Cameron's plan, throwing the Scottish MPs out of the UK parliament on "English days" doesn't make an "English" parliament, it's just a form of coup, since almost all Scottish MPs are from the opposition party. I can see why Cameron wants it, but the man's a douche and should be restrained from doing anything involving constitutions.

In future, is someone from the majority English party going to be "English Prime Minister" on English-only days at Westminster and someone else from the majority UK party going to be "UK Prime Minister" on other days, relegating the English Prime Minister to the position of leader of the loyal opposition on those days? What a lot of codswallop.

How can you possibly have the same MPs voting for UK interests on one day and English-only interests the next day while sitting on the same benches in the same building? That's madness. And all of them soaking up exactly the same Murdoch/Square Mile largesse and favor because they are exactly the same people? Nope.

Miliband isn't falling for it, but he's not exactly King Arthur Redux either so I don't hold out much hope.

Devolve powers to an English parliament, and preferably devolve England for tax and policy purposes into Mercia, Northumbria, Wessex, East Anglia, London and Home Counties, and Devon and Cornwall. (I may have missed someone out. Soz.)

If Cameron gets his way, maybe I can get a Scottish passport based on my (presumed) grandfather's domicile when they finally do secede.



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