My opposition to this Bill and to this Prime Minister are equal in being absolute. And it is true that Tony Blair forced the withdrawal of Tam Dalyell's Bill on Iraq by making it clear that it would not be presented for Royal Assent, while Harold Wilson killed two Bills by the same means, one on peerages and the other on Rhodesia.
But none of those Bills had been passed by both Houses of Parliament. It would be an entirely different matter if Boris Johnson were to refuse to present the Queen with a Bill that had been passed. In fact, since the Queen is 93, it would probably mean the end of the monarchy within the next 10 years, certainly within the next 15, and possibly within the next five.
Not that Dominic Cummings would care. Under him, yet without his having condescended to join it, the Conservative and Unionist Party no longer exists to conserve anything, including the Union. Classically Conservative and Unionist politicians ought to welcome the withdrawal of its whip, even as the rest of us kept in mind that that was what they were.
Cummings and his supporters are happy to see the Union go, and would doubtless be happy to see the monarchy go as well. A more interesting question is why the people who invest such emotional energy in the monarchy would not be. Germany and Britain are very, very alike. One retains a near-total ban on Sunday trading, and a near-total ban on abortion after the first trimester. The other retains a monarchy.
Contrast the number of people who go so far as to pay a tax to belong to an Evangelical Church of Germany that is still headquartered in Hanover, with the number of people who ever so much as darken the door of the Church of England (which still ridiculously claims to have 26 million members, making it the single largest Protestant denomination the world; I mean, come on), or the Church of Scotland, or the Church of Denmark, or the Church of Sweden, or the Church of Norway, or the Dutch Reformed Church.
What might replace the monarchy? We need to be on our guard. Appointment by the Prime Minister, nomination by the Prime Minister with the approval of the House of Commons, election by the House of Commons, election by First Past the Post, election by the Alternative Vote, and election by a runoff ballot, would all guarantee the victory of the media-hyped and corporate-sponsored candidate of the liberal "centre".
Instead, we need to insist that all exercises of the Royal Prerogative, including Royal Assent, be transferred to six, seven, eight or nine of nine Co-Presidents, depending on the power in question. It should be nine for the prorogation of Parliament, at least unless the House of Commons had voted for it. Each of us would vote or one candidate, with the top nine elected to hold office for eight years.
Candidates would not be nominees of political parties, but any party of which a candidate happened to be a member would be listed next to his or her name on the ballot paper. There would have to be nomination by, say, 10 registered voters in each constituency, or 60 in each region, or eight thousand in the entire country. That could be arranged practically for free in this age of email and of social media.
But there must be no deposit. Candidates are not frivolous merely because they are not rich. The five hundred pound deposit to stand for Parliament is outrageous enough. The five thousand pound deposit to stand for the European Parliament, and the staggering £10,000 deposit to stand for Mayor of London or for Police and Crime Commissioner, amount to a latter-day property qualification for voting. They should all be abolished.
We need to be clear about all of this. The monarchy itself could continue to exist, inexplicably keeping sweet the people whom it keeps sweet, even though it has never done the slightest thing for them.
Another hung Parliament is coming, and we need our people to hold the balance of power in it. A new party is now in the process of registration. After nearly 30 years of suggestion, speculation, and even a sort of preparation, I will stand for Parliament here at North West Durham. The crowdfunding page is here, and buy the book here. Please email davidaslindsay@hotmail.com. Very many thanks.
Instead, we need to insist that all exercises of the Royal Prerogative, including Royal Assent, be transferred to six, seven, eight or nine of nine Co-Presidents, depending on the power in question. It should be nine for the prorogation of Parliament, at least unless the House of Commons had voted for it. Each of us would vote or one candidate, with the top nine elected to hold office for eight years.
Candidates would not be nominees of political parties, but any party of which a candidate happened to be a member would be listed next to his or her name on the ballot paper. There would have to be nomination by, say, 10 registered voters in each constituency, or 60 in each region, or eight thousand in the entire country. That could be arranged practically for free in this age of email and of social media.
But there must be no deposit. Candidates are not frivolous merely because they are not rich. The five hundred pound deposit to stand for Parliament is outrageous enough. The five thousand pound deposit to stand for the European Parliament, and the staggering £10,000 deposit to stand for Mayor of London or for Police and Crime Commissioner, amount to a latter-day property qualification for voting. They should all be abolished.
We need to be clear about all of this. The monarchy itself could continue to exist, inexplicably keeping sweet the people whom it keeps sweet, even though it has never done the slightest thing for them.
Another hung Parliament is coming, and we need our people to hold the balance of power in it. A new party is now in the process of registration. After nearly 30 years of suggestion, speculation, and even a sort of preparation, I will stand for Parliament here at North West Durham. The crowdfunding page is here, and buy the book here. Please email davidaslindsay@hotmail.com. Very many thanks.
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