Dear Mr Davies,
I would like to start by expressing my happiness at the
Scottish peoples decision to remain part of the union – I strongly believe that
we are better off together and that the best way to get the political, social
and democratic change the Union needs is with their help and support.
Which takes me on to my main point. The outcome of the
Scottish independence referendum is not the end, it is only the beginning. We now have a once
in a lifetime opportunity to have an open and full discussion in England as to
the future of our political and democratic system and how we want it to work.
David Cameron said in his speech on Friday morning following
the referendum result “We now have a chance - a great
opportunity - to change the way the British people are governed, and change it
for the better... We have heard the voice of Scotland - and now the
millions of voices of England must not go ignored”. For once, I agree
with him.
During the independence debate, the leaders of
all three main parties in Westminster all agreed to give more powers to the
Scottish Parliament in the event of a ‘No’ vote – one of the first things we
need to do is make sure this promise is kept, without condition. Yes, the West
Lothian question needs addressing, that is a separate issue and needs resolving
separately – we need to make sure our party leaders (for once at least!) keep
their promises.
Then, alongside this we need to have a nationwide
discussion about the future of politics and democracy throughout the UK.
Nothing can be left off the table, we need to debate whether we want more
regional devolution, whether we want a totally unelected, undemocratic,
unaccountable House of Lords or do we want another type of second chamber, what
do we see as the future of the Monarchy in the 21st Century, should
we have more legally binding referenda
on important issues, like EU membership, selling off publicly owned assets or
privatising public services, or TTIP, What recall powers should we have etc.
Then whatever consensus comes out of this, the decisions on the future of
democracy have to be made, not by the Prime Minister, or MP’s or Civil Servants
or any other type of politicians, the decisions must be made by the people, for
the people. This has to be beyond party politics, we have a real chance to give
the people a real say in the future of this country.
“We now have a chance - a great
opportunity - to change the way the British people are governed, and change it
for the better.” We do, but that opportunity must lie in the hands of
the people, not the politicians. Give them the opportunity to have their say
and then follow through on what they say
– that is democracy. The electoral turnout in Scotland shows that when you give
people a say and the power to make decisions, they will turn out. We also need
to address the voting age, it would be a little hypocritical to tell 16 year
olds in Scotland ‘We trust you to make a massive decision on the future of this
country’ but then come general election time ‘but we don’t trust you to pick
who you want to represent you in Parliament’.
We must seize this opportunity with both hands
and start the debate as soon as possible and let it be led by the people, we
have a once in a lifetime chance to redistribute power from the few and give it
back to the many – it is an opportunity that we cannot afford to miss.
Your sincerely,
David Slaney
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