Debate 4 - The Constitution & Parliament

[davieG]

Thanks to everyone who's been contributing to these topics.

Should the Queen remain Head Of State?

Should we disestablish from the Church of England?

How should the House of Lords be maintained - Fully elected etc?

Should we have an English, Scottish, Welsh & N. Irish Parliaments with equal status and a much smaller Central Government?

Should we have a different voting system?

Should those standing for election both nationally and locally have a minimum set of 'qualifications'?

Just a few thoughts to get you in the mood - feel free to add other suggestions ideas etc.

[Webbo]

Should those standing for election both nationally and locally have a minimum set of 'qualifications'?

What kind of qualifications?

If this ever came in, you'd find that the elite would skew the qualification criteria to make sure only the the 'right type' of people got in.

Anyway most parties find it hard to find anyone to stand in local elections as it is.

[davieG]

What kind of qualifications?

If this ever came in, you'd find that the elite would skew the qualification criteria to make sure only the the 'right type' of people got in.

Anyway most parties find it hard to find anyone to stand in local elections as it is.

To be honest I don't know but maybe to have had a life outside of school and university, to have done some voluntary work, things of that ilk. Perhaps they should all be made to live on the minimum wage for a few months They just seem so removed from the realities of life something is needed to bring them back down to earth.

I'd prefer them to be Independents anyway, for me anything that encourages more of them to stand the better.

[Zingari]

Should the Queen remain Head Of State?

No an elected president

Should we disestablish from the Church of England?

Yes, a fully secular government with a proper constitution

How should the House of Lords be maintained - Fully elected etc?

Not maintained at all , replaced by the supreme court ( already done i believe ) plus elected senate

it's time all these anachronistic institutions were consigned to history books

Should we have an English, Scottish, Welsh & N. Irish Parliaments with equal status and a much smaller Central Government?

not sure ,but it sounds like it is worth thinking about

Should we have a different voting system?

i think first past the post works ok , it's got faults but so do all the others

Should those standing for election both nationally and locally have a minimum set of 'qualifications'?

can't see any problem with candidates having to demonstrate basic literacy , numeracy etc but in reality i doubt if anyone would get very far without the basics and i agree with Webbo , it would probably, be tendentious

[breadandcheese]

Should the Queen remain Head Of State?

Yes. I'm a traditionalist and believe our quirk of a monarch with an unwritten constitution is actually quite brilliant. There are few world leaders with the same gravitas as our head of state. Probably the exception is President Obama.

Should we disestablish from the Church of England?

No. This is the basis on which the country is built and can provide a compass at times.

How should the House of Lords be maintained - Fully elected etc?

I think it works quite well now with promotions to the house of lords (genuine promotions for exceptional politicians or those with exceptional knowledge, rather than cash for peerages). I would feel happier with the likes of Lord Robert Winston debating issues on fertility or abortion than I would any elected member in the house of commons (or elected official to house of lords). I like the fact that most lords are genuinely free thinking, as evident by their throwing out of the 42 day detention bill that passed through the house of commons.

Should we have an English, Scottish, Welsh & N. Irish Parliaments with equal status and a much smaller Central Government?

I think this would throw up too many questions than it answered (particularly over issues of taxation and public spending, especially joint public spending such as defence)

Should we have a different voting system?

No. First by the post may have its faults but so do the others. Proportional representation can disproportionately empower minority interest parties, in order to form a coalition, so I consider this worse than first past the post.

The only change I'd make is to make it mandatory for local MPs to be selected through primaries, whereby local party members get to vote for who they want to represent them. This would hopefully empower MPs to act more for their constituency than for their party, and hopefully neuter the party whips a bit. It would also have the added benefit of letting the public decide if an MP has abused the expenses system, by making them answer to the public rather than Mr Legg.

Should those standing for election both nationally and locally have a minimum set of 'qualifications'?

No. Absolutely not. It's for the public to decide if someone is suitably qualified.

[AjcW]

Should the Queen remain Head Of State?

No, I feel countries without a monarch seem to do just fine and the "Chief Executive" of the country should be an elected person

Should we disestablish from the Church of England?

As much as I would like to say yes, I feel there is still large numbers of the population who would disagree and i feel the majority rules the minority in this case.

How should the House of Lords be maintained - Fully elected etc?

I feel the abolition of hereditary peers was a step in the right direction... I dont feel the house of lords should be fully elected but I feel at least half of the chamber should be. Thus enabling half of the chamber to be made up of high profile elected members from the commons and the other 50 to be those awarded lordships and baroness titles.

Should we have an English, Scottish, Welsh & N. Irish Parliaments with equal status and a much smaller Central Government?

I personally would prefer to see a more split system... with each country allowed to govern their own way. We have seen in recent times that scotland and wales have made many of their own laws up anyway, and have even been pioneers of the smoking ban and other laws.

Should we have a different voting system?

The first past the post system seemed a little unfair to me when I was studying A-level politics, its obviously favours the 2 main parties... creating a 2 party system which some see as undemocratic. I feel the voting system needs to be rejigged.. however there is no chance of this happening as the two main parties both favour the system and they are the only two parties that have had power in recent times.

Should those standing for election both nationally and locally have a minimum set of 'qualifications'?

No. Absolutely not. I hate that society is governed by qualifications in all professions in modern times. Somebody can be extremely intelligent but not perform well in an examination .

I think if we look at those who are running the country today... if you took out the ones with the high end, high class degrees and replaced them with people who are clearly intelligent but not with the recognised oxbridge education the country would probably be in a better place .

[davieG]

I think people are misunderstanding my term 'qualification'. See my other post.

[DANGEROUS TIGER]

Should the Queen remain Head Of State?

Yes. I'm a traditionalist and believe our quirk of a monarch with an unwritten constitution is actually quite brilliant. There are few world leaders with the same gravitas as our head of state. Probably the exception is President Obama.

Should we disestablish from the Church of England?

No. This is the basis on which the country is built and can provide a compass at times.

How should the House of Lords be maintained - Fully elected etc?

I think it works quite well now with promotions to the house of lords (genuine promotions for exceptional politicians or those with exceptional knowledge, rather than cash for peerages). I would feel happier with the likes of Lord Robert Winston debating issues on fertility or abortion than I would any elected member in the house of commons (or elected official to house of lords). I like the fact that most lords are genuinely free thinking, as evident by their throwing out of the 42 day detention bill that passed through the house of commons.

Should we have an English, Scottish, Welsh & N. Irish Parliaments with equal status and a much smaller Central Government?

I think this would throw up too many questions than it answered (particularly over issues of taxation and public spending, especially joint public spending such as defence)

Should we have a different voting system?

No. First by the post may have its faults but so do the others. Proportional representation can disproportionately empower minority interest parties, in order to form a coalition, so I consider this worse than first past the post.

The only change I'd make is to make it mandatory for local MPs to be selected through primaries, whereby local party members get to vote for who they want to represent them. This would hopefully empower MPs to act more for their constituency than for their party, and hopefully neuter the party whips a bit. It would also have the added benefit of letting the public decide if an MP has abused the expenses system, by making them answer to the public rather than Mr Legg.

Should those standing for election both nationally and locally have a minimum set of 'qualifications'?

No. Absolutely not. It's for the public to decide if someone is suitably qualified.

Yes, I am with you one hundred per cent. I am a staunch Loyalist and do not wish to see us become a Republic.

I am proud of our great history, and see no need for change, just for the sake of it.