This is not just any old political opinion, @Andrew_Adonis sets out exactly what May has been doing to remove the sovereignty of Parliament with the sovereignty of Govt. It's why Grieve's battle is so crucial. 1/
theguardian.com/commentisfree/…
theguardian.com/commentisfree/…
We are in the middle of a constitutional crisis. My view is this has been building for years.
1. We have no codified constitution. As a result there is no clear separation between the Executive & the Legislature
2. We have no framework for the use of plebiscites. 2/
1. We have no codified constitution. As a result there is no clear separation between the Executive & the Legislature
2. We have no framework for the use of plebiscites. 2/
3. The will of people can only be a power in the context of a constitutional sovereign Parliament - a lesson learned in Germany and thus to the whole world when fascism is used to subvert the Constitutional Parliament
4. We have a fundamentally undemocratic electoral system 3/
4. We have a fundamentally undemocratic electoral system 3/
That system of FPTP produces majority Govts on minority votes and gives a fundamentally untrue picture of the democratic opinion of the people.
5. All of that has lead to the arrogance of a Govt who argues a Referendum Bill through Parliament on the basis its "advisory" only. 4/
5. All of that has lead to the arrogance of a Govt who argues a Referendum Bill through Parliament on the basis its "advisory" only. 4/
It stood against any super majority requirement - one of which could have required a majority in all of the nations that make up the UK. (Which itself has created at best constitutional tensions fueling the drive for independence in Scotland and possibly elsewhere.) 5/
6. Having agreed an "advisory" referendum, Cameron & Co then recklessly told the public that they would act on the verdict of the people implying the referendum was binding. It was not. 6/
7. The current Govt then in its neo fascist approach decided that the will of the people overrides Parliamentary authority. They tried to use the Royal Prerogative and then to deny MPs a meaningful vote. That was stopped. Now they are seeking to ignore it again. 7/
Grieve and those who back him across the House have to succeed. The future of Parliamentary sovereignty is at stake. Once the dust settles there needs to be a drains up on our constitution and how it can be brought into the modern world 8/
