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Caroline Lucas: Ending the Union could be good for us all
BORIS Johnson may well have slunk away in a blaze of ugliness but he was just a symptom. The disease is something deeper. And it’s still very much here.
Seen one way, the problem is our political institutions.
The archaic and undemocratic first-past-the-post voting system, an over-centralised governance system, the unelected Lords (although it has to be acknowledged that they’re currently doing a far better job of holding government to account than the Commons), the populist abuse of sovereignty, the stuffy and outdated conventions and public school atmosphere - the whole lot of it.
It breeds a distrust which Johnson always fed off.
Seen another way, it’s about nationalisms and identities. Specifically, England has struggled to find its way in the modern world. We cling to our delusions of imperial grandeur, pretend that we’re so much more than "just English", and the devastating consequences are all around us.
English exceptionalism drove both Brexit and the government’s cavalier approach to the Covid pandemic. But we still struggle with it not being enough, in a way that nobody seems to struggle to be just Swedish or Japanese or Peruvian.
When we English do finally settle with our own identity, I suspect we’ll discover we’re much more progressive than we’re ever led to believe. Once the baggage of “British greatness” is shed, we can get on with being another northern European country.
An English parliament with proportional representation, perhaps based in York or Leeds, wouldn’t be filled with bigots from the English Defence League, and other fascists who currently exploit the lack of English institutions or representation. I suspect it would look more like the English football team – as diverse as the country itself and a real source of pride.
https://www.thenational.scot/politics/23619787.caroline-lucas-ending-union-good-us/
Seen one way, the problem is our political institutions.
The archaic and undemocratic first-past-the-post voting system, an over-centralised governance system, the unelected Lords (although it has to be acknowledged that they’re currently doing a far better job of holding government to account than the Commons), the populist abuse of sovereignty, the stuffy and outdated conventions and public school atmosphere - the whole lot of it.
It breeds a distrust which Johnson always fed off.
Seen another way, it’s about nationalisms and identities. Specifically, England has struggled to find its way in the modern world. We cling to our delusions of imperial grandeur, pretend that we’re so much more than "just English", and the devastating consequences are all around us.
English exceptionalism drove both Brexit and the government’s cavalier approach to the Covid pandemic. But we still struggle with it not being enough, in a way that nobody seems to struggle to be just Swedish or Japanese or Peruvian.
When we English do finally settle with our own identity, I suspect we’ll discover we’re much more progressive than we’re ever led to believe. Once the baggage of “British greatness” is shed, we can get on with being another northern European country.
An English parliament with proportional representation, perhaps based in York or Leeds, wouldn’t be filled with bigots from the English Defence League, and other fascists who currently exploit the lack of English institutions or representation. I suspect it would look more like the English football team – as diverse as the country itself and a real source of pride.
https://www.thenational.scot/politics/23619787.caroline-lucas-ending-union-good-us/
Published in a Scottish paper, food for thought from an English politician I've had a lot of time for over the years.