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George Peretz QC Profile picture
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23 Apr, 5 tweets, 2 min read
In the context of imaginative proposals to put the Union on a solid footing, it is worth reading this letter from Lord Salisbury to party leaders on the @ActofUnionBill proposal, here reaction.life/constitution-r…
The draft Act of Union Bill is here. constitutionreformgroup.co.uk/publications-2/
There is a lot in the Bill to chew on: but its vision of a Union between the four nations, set out on a basis that limits the powers and functions of the Westminster parliament seems to me to be along the right lines.
Without something like it, nationalists will always be able to make the point that nothing in the devolution settlement is safe from a centralising U.K. government. As we have seen over post-Brexit legislation and the UK Internal Market Act.
NB too that the Group shows that fundamental constitutional reform is not just a lefty liberal obsession: no one could accuse Lord Salisbury (or several other members of the group) of that.

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More from @GeorgePeretzQC

George Peretz QC Profile picture
21 Apr
Oh dear, more of this “EU law is code-based and inflexible, English law is flexible and pragmatic” trope. It’s poor stuff. telegraph.co.uk/business/2021/…
This is a re-hash of a paper published by @PoliteiaUK a couple of months ago, accompanied by an equally poor Express article. Brief reasons why it’s hopeless here.
As I explain, what this is really about, to the extent that it makes any real sense, is moving to a US rather than an EU model of regulation. But one can see why, forensically, that call is dressed up as a “common law” (English) v. “civil law” (foreign) issue.
Read 4 tweets
George Peretz QC Profile picture
20 Apr
A good summary. But it misses a point that, I think, has caused a lot of trouble: the smoke-and-mirrors drafting of the Protocol.
The problem (to use Stephen Weatherill’s terminology) is the disconnect between what the Protocol *says* (at least on a casual reading) and what it *does* (on a detailed reading that looks carefully at the whole text).
This, on customs, the Protocol *says* that NI remains part of the UK customs territory, but what it actually *does* is to apply the whole of the EU Customs Code to imports into NI (incl. imports from GB), with a carve-out for the level of tariffs (but not checks) on some goods.
Read 10 tweets
George Peretz QC Profile picture
18 Apr
England is not Castile. ft.com/content/48c70d…
The problem with the current government’s threatened “just say no” strategy is that it requires a level of support from rUK that just doesn’t seem to exist.
What an imaginative government serious about defending the Union would be doing (at least in the background pending the May election) is thinking hard about a new constitutional settlement, and about the mechanisms for getting such a settlement agreed and giving it legitimacy.
Read 4 tweets
George Peretz QC Profile picture
15 Apr
In his book “The Passage to Europe”, Luuk van Middelaar called the equivalent EU strategy to demonstrate its relevance to voters the “Roman” strategy politico.eu/article/boris-…
See also “Life of Brian”: “What have the Romans done for us?” ImageImageImage
The strategy does not always work. The Jews rose against the Romans and almost threw them out. Wales and Cornwall voted to leave the EU despite the 🇪🇺-flagged projects.
Read 8 tweets
George Peretz QC Profile picture
13 Apr
I suspect that, despite @GoodwinMJ’s excitement, the boring truth is that “I’d be likely to vote for a party that wants to tell the truth about British history, good points, bad points, and all” would sweep all before it.
Forcing people to choose between silly alternatives is just tedious culture warmongering.
As he says: -
Read 4 tweets
George Peretz QC Profile picture
13 Apr
Important article by the U.K. government’s lead civil servant on the Edinburgh accord that paved the way for the 2014 referendum.
As he says about the Edinburgh accord.
As he says about how we have ended up in the position where it looks as if there will be a pro-independence majority in the next Scottish Parliament. Though also worth raising the U.K. Internal Market Act.
Read 4 tweets

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