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June 23, 2004
An attack on democracy? I think not!
According to Mr Chris Patten, sometime governor of Hong Kong (where he was known as Fatty Pang), demoraliser, and destroyer of the Royal Ulster Constabulary and now EU Commissioner, the holding of a Referendum on the new EU constitution is an attack on the sovereignty of Parliament and an undermining of democracy. Excuse me? Since when was our Parliament a body independent of the electorate? Surely they sit in that place as our representatives , our servants, and not as our overlords?
"Fatty Pang" is possibly the only man who could have come up with that complete distortion of the truth. Maybe his spell in Hong Kong where he succeeded in alienating just about everybody, coupled with his attack on the majority of people's sentiments in Northern Ireland, and his subsequent spell in the rarified and totally detached atmosphere of Brussels has given him a superior understanding of democracy. I would strenuously refute his charge. Parliament represents the people of this island, it is our voice and our authority that it wields - not theirs. If ever there was a powerful argument for its total reform and the rejection of the current "party" based democratic process, this is it.
I would remind Mr Patten that the last man to declare Parliament to be "sovereign" was a fellow called Cromwell - sometime Lord Protector of England - to quote the tablet in Westminster Abbey which supposedly covers his remains. It does, but only his head - all that could be found of him after the mob removed the rest of him from his grave and dismembered it. It was Cromwell, too, who used the Army to quell dissenters and to impose his Puritanical views of religion - and, when Parliament stood up to him - had them expelled by force from the chamber.
No, Mr Patten, a Referendum on the future of this Kingdom and upon the Sovereignty of these isles is not an attack on democracy, it is democracy at work. It is in exercising our right to say no to you and your bloated and corrupt friends who have destroyed our freedoms, dismantled our nation, and disgraced our democratic institutions that we uphold democracy. This is about our determination to be heard in the debate about how and by whom we are governed in future.
If that threatens the nice little earner you and your power hungry elite have got going for you - tough luck. Accept it, we are not going to allow the Party elites of Labour, Conservative, and Lib Dem to sell our history, our traditions, our sovereignty down the river for their own advantage and benefit.
Get used to the idea. This is democracy.
Posted by The Gray Monk at June 23, 2004 05:09 PM
Comments
So I gather that you're not a big fan of a European Constitution? Or am I reading this wrong?
Speaking as an American, I'm not too fond of the idea, either, but that's for the purely selfish reason that it's in our best interests to be the superpower (or hyperpower - pick your word). :D
More seriously, though, as much as I think it's a pretty decent idea for Europe to come together under one democratic government (if it could really be pulled off, I think it would be good for the world, but the UN sure isn't going to get us there), I don't think Europe is at all ready for it. The continent is still far too divided by political, cultural, and even linguistic forces for it to really work well. That and from what I've seen it looks very little like a good republic like we've got over on this side of the pond and quite a bit like a little club where France and Germany get to boss everybody else around - which from a purely abstract basis isn't a good thing for anybody else in Europe.
Hmm... And for some reason, after reading about this and some of your other recent posts, I find myself wondering what a Discworld version of the UN or the European Union would look like... And how Lord Vetinari would interact with it... I'm not sure how it would come off, but I'm positive it would be hilarious.
Posted by: Russell Newquist at June 23, 2004 07:35 PM
I wish I had your faith Mr Grey Monk! "We are not going to allow the party elites.... to sell our history, our traditions, our sovereignty down the river for their own advantage and benefit". Well they have already done it, and continue to do it.It seems our history is no longer taught, and they even managed to abolish England (except for football) The left-liberal ruling political matrix has the reins, and is spreading via Europe to the world.
Those two British Commissioners are excellent representatives of the arrogance of office. One wants no interference from the electorate, the other no interference from anti-fraud authorities.They stand aloof from reality and responsibility, like Gog and Magog.
Meanwhile in Britain the matrix of the political elite holds all the elected positions, and all the political patronage. Not content with plundering the treasury they control the considerable wealth of the lottery funds, which they confiscate and use to supplement tax funds, or disburse to approved left-liberal causes as they see fit. The party functionaries run our country without reference to the electorate. None of us votes for an individual, we have necessarily no choice but to vote for a party. All with one accord despise the people and their simple honest ideas. It was unbelievable that within days, if not hours, of the strong anti-European vote a week ago, the party leaders were all saying that the vote was because of the uneducated state of the proles, and that a jolly good re-education would correct their ill informed ideas! The arrogance of office again.
From Heath to Blair the speaking heads of the matrix want to seize the material spoils for the themselves and theirs. He who owns the "Democracy" controls the treasury, lottery and all wealth in effect. Their personal rewards are incalculable, and not all are visible..
Posted by: harryj at June 24, 2004 12:42 PM