Is having the revocation of article 50 in a manifesto undemocratic?
Democracy is the rule of the masses. A while ago we - the great unwashed masses of the UK decided in our mass wisdom to direct our leaders to leave the EU. Our leaders have "Ummed" and "Ahhhed" a bit since then, but the action has not been carried out.
Now the Liberal Democrats have put in their Manifesto that they intend to call the whole thing off should they be elected. Some have vocalised that this action is undemocratic. The Liberal Democratic Party have always opposed the result of the Brexit referendum, and have made no secret that they are opposed to removing ourselves from the EU.
The nature of "Democracy" means that the the great unwashed masses are beholden to nobody. Our representatives produce a proposal of what they intend to do, and send them into represent our interests. There is an upper chamber who generally check that our representatives are generally staying in line with their proposal and procedures to ensure things are argued about properly. In the end the country generally steers its way towards some compromise. we get to judge our representatives on their delivery and proposals, and if we get really peeved we can drag our representatives out of office. Well done on that one by Peterborough. Most impressive!
The electorate have their own reasons for choosing people and teams, and indeed probably do choose their representatives on many basis. Possibly based on their proposal, possibly based on the smell of their breath, or the presence of various genes. Equally we can be offered anything in the manifestoes. Offering us a opportunity to change our minds is a brave move and should be applauded as such.
Conversely what seems to be dangerous here is the Tories insistence that we can be removed with a deal. If they win with a culled party and a sufficient margin then this seems doable. I'm sure we will all be reminded often enough that we got a good deal. "No deal" may also be a great deal if we can get away with it. But what happens if they win with a slim majority and we get the same level of paralysis and bluster? Will we get any assurance that if a deal can't be done in N months then Brexit will put on the back burner for the next parliament to decide?
Labours line seems to be "Don't like to sign a deal with the oppositions name on it". Which is fair enough, They have presented a plan simple enough to confuse everyone, including themselves. Cue lots of eye rolling followed by the line "It's quite simple...". Complexities aside they have laid out a full plan. Although the six month timeline seems a little ambitious given the rigmarole of getting nowhere for the last three years.
It could be argued that the lack of government is no bad thing. Northern Ireland hasn't had one for a while, they haven't exploded. Belgium also went without a government for a while and no-one noticed. Maybe another like the current flustered indecisive mess is exactly what we need. For a while at least.
Now the Liberal Democrats have put in their Manifesto that they intend to call the whole thing off should they be elected. Some have vocalised that this action is undemocratic. The Liberal Democratic Party have always opposed the result of the Brexit referendum, and have made no secret that they are opposed to removing ourselves from the EU.
The nature of "Democracy" means that the the great unwashed masses are beholden to nobody. Our representatives produce a proposal of what they intend to do, and send them into represent our interests. There is an upper chamber who generally check that our representatives are generally staying in line with their proposal and procedures to ensure things are argued about properly. In the end the country generally steers its way towards some compromise. we get to judge our representatives on their delivery and proposals, and if we get really peeved we can drag our representatives out of office. Well done on that one by Peterborough. Most impressive!
The electorate have their own reasons for choosing people and teams, and indeed probably do choose their representatives on many basis. Possibly based on their proposal, possibly based on the smell of their breath, or the presence of various genes. Equally we can be offered anything in the manifestoes. Offering us a opportunity to change our minds is a brave move and should be applauded as such.
Conversely what seems to be dangerous here is the Tories insistence that we can be removed with a deal. If they win with a culled party and a sufficient margin then this seems doable. I'm sure we will all be reminded often enough that we got a good deal. "No deal" may also be a great deal if we can get away with it. But what happens if they win with a slim majority and we get the same level of paralysis and bluster? Will we get any assurance that if a deal can't be done in N months then Brexit will put on the back burner for the next parliament to decide?
Labours line seems to be "Don't like to sign a deal with the oppositions name on it". Which is fair enough, They have presented a plan simple enough to confuse everyone, including themselves. Cue lots of eye rolling followed by the line "It's quite simple...". Complexities aside they have laid out a full plan. Although the six month timeline seems a little ambitious given the rigmarole of getting nowhere for the last three years.
It could be argued that the lack of government is no bad thing. Northern Ireland hasn't had one for a while, they haven't exploded. Belgium also went without a government for a while and no-one noticed. Maybe another like the current flustered indecisive mess is exactly what we need. For a while at least.
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