The 2010 Power Pledge poll is over and the five issues have been selected. I wonder should I support it? I think I won't bother. Here they are:
1) Introduce a proportional voting system.
What does this matter, if our sovereignty has been handed over to the EU, WTO etc? Unless our sovereignty is re-asserted, then Parliament and its inhabitants are of no more consequence than me and my mates arguing down the pub. Besides, a PR system will give us what? Most likely a coalition of either Lib and Lab or Lib and Con or all three for all I know. All this means is business as usual.
2) Scrap ID cards and roll back the database state.
Totally agree.
3) Replace the House of Lords with an elected chamber.
As number 1 above, this is no guarantee of positive change. In reality, the hereditary peers have served this country far better than the washed-up party hacks and donors who bought their peerage from Levy and Blair. The power of the second chamber has been undermined considerably, because it was too effective a check on the government - exactly what it is supposed to do!
4) Allow only English MPs to vote on English laws.
I agree, but without sovereignty, this will achieve little.
5) Draw up a written constitution.
My views on this have changed over recent times. The reality is that we have a constitution, and a very fine one, with guarantees of individual liberty. The problem is that it has been neglected and obscured by the proliferation of bad laws and is despised by the political class. If these same politicians are now to write up a new constitution, it would be a disaster.
So, all in all, I won't support this pledge. It would be different if there was an EU referendum included in the list. I gather from James Higham that there may have been some dirty tricks involved to keep it out, which I can well believe.
1) Introduce a proportional voting system.
What does this matter, if our sovereignty has been handed over to the EU, WTO etc? Unless our sovereignty is re-asserted, then Parliament and its inhabitants are of no more consequence than me and my mates arguing down the pub. Besides, a PR system will give us what? Most likely a coalition of either Lib and Lab or Lib and Con or all three for all I know. All this means is business as usual.
2) Scrap ID cards and roll back the database state.
Totally agree.
3) Replace the House of Lords with an elected chamber.
As number 1 above, this is no guarantee of positive change. In reality, the hereditary peers have served this country far better than the washed-up party hacks and donors who bought their peerage from Levy and Blair. The power of the second chamber has been undermined considerably, because it was too effective a check on the government - exactly what it is supposed to do!
4) Allow only English MPs to vote on English laws.
I agree, but without sovereignty, this will achieve little.
5) Draw up a written constitution.
My views on this have changed over recent times. The reality is that we have a constitution, and a very fine one, with guarantees of individual liberty. The problem is that it has been neglected and obscured by the proliferation of bad laws and is despised by the political class. If these same politicians are now to write up a new constitution, it would be a disaster.
So, all in all, I won't support this pledge. It would be different if there was an EU referendum included in the list. I gather from James Higham that there may have been some dirty tricks involved to keep it out, which I can well believe.
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