Posted by Bob Seely
For those who have five minutes to spare, please watch Dan Hannan’s fascinating exposition about the benefits of leaving the European Union. (Daniel Hannan: The TaxPayers' Alliance Great EU Debate)
I don’t want to repeat his arguments, but Dan makes one incredibly important point that some euroskeptics miss: that there is no point in repealing powers from an undemocratic state in Brussels only to keep that power within a flawed system in Whitehall.
To bring, as Hannan says, “honour and purpose to the act of voting, dignity to our legislature and freedom to our citizens,” exit from the European Union, if it were ever to be achieved, would only be the start of the type of revolution arguably last seen in Britain during the Glorious Revolution in the second half of the 17th century.
At a national level reform measures could/should include an elected second chamber, a directly elected post of Prime Minister, and open primaries for all members of Parliament, giving the people the power to apply their own checks and balances to the system as well as allowing individuals to chose their Parliamentary representatives free of party machines.
At a local level, Hannan mentions self-financing councils (and we know that often councillors’ most important relationships now are with central Government, not the people), local referendums and elected local sheriffs - the mind boggles at the extent to which we could revive the fortunes of our democracy and our nation.
In the American psyche is the story of settler John Winthorp, who spoke in a famous 1630 sermon about New England being a ‘city on the hill,’ with the eyes of the world upon it. Wouldn’t it be wonderful to build something like that in Britain? To have politics as a respected civic/patriotic duty rather than a fringe activity for a caste separate from the people, and held in contempt by them? To build something seen by Europeans as a model for a New Europe and a new style of democratic accountability? To revive and dignify our political parties by giving them a mandate that, let’s be honest, their falling membership numbers show they lack?
Please can we have another Glorious Revolution!
