L'Ombre de l'Olivier

The Shadow of the Olive Tree

being the maunderings of an Englishman on the Côte d'Azur

26 August 2008 Blog Home : August 2008 : Permalink

UKIP sense on the UK

Thanks to kev, I took a look at UKIP's proposal for UK parliamentary reform. The solution to the West Lothian problem is elegant:

[C]reat[e] four national assemblies including a new English Parliament in Westminster, but replacing all national level politicians with Westminster MPs – MSPs with MPs etc – meeting one week a month nationally. There would be English departments and an English First Minister.

Not only does this cause a significant saving in salaries to politicians it also means that it is quite feasible to have different parties ruling the UK and any or all of its constituent parts. One week in four sounds about right for UK affairs vs local affairs and it would also force the government(s) to clearly delineate equal devolution to all parts of the UK.

Some of the other ideas such as Swiss style referenda and the House of Lords reform also seem good, although the devil is in the details and I confess I haven't read them all to see if there are some nasties that I've missed. Still overall this seems to be the sort of policy that UKIP needs. In addition to being "right" it also has the benefit of being simple to explain/understand, obviously fair and (thanks to the referenda bit) a way to let the UK electorate actually have their say in things that they care about.

Finally I can't help agreeing with David Campbell Bannerman though when he says:

David Campbell Bannerman, UKIP Deputy Leader and Head of Policy, added: "There is only room for one union – the British Union or the European Union. The EU is undermining the UK, and the two are incompatible. UKIP strongly supports the British Union.

"Devolution isn't working. The SNP with their bogus independence claims are running rings round Labour. It's time for radical reform of devolution.

"It is about time England was treated fairly. UKIP will create an English Parliament, insist on fair treatment for all UK citizens, scrap regional government and end the unfair Barnett funding formula. We'd end the messy divisiveness and bind the UK back together."

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