tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3881762807913180318.post3159436312007419600..comments2024-01-23T16:53:02.428+00:00Comments on Mark Thompson: Are Tory proposals designed to fatally wound Labour?Mark Thompsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00744387583593537268noreply@blogger.comBlogger4125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3881762807913180318.post-17386496219360407732010-02-21T21:43:16.355+00:002010-02-21T21:43:16.355+00:00"the Tory proposals can be seen to be directe..."the Tory proposals can be seen to be directed at addressing in reasonably sensible and certainly intellectually defensible ways matters that need fixing in the interests of us all - which interest do not extend to saving the New Labour Party from its (largely self-made) fate."<br /><br />The 'New Labour party' is not a separate entity to the old one. You do know that, do you?<br /><br />Secondly, the Tory proposals are only seen in that light if you don't actually look at them very thoroughly. They are hardly "reasonably sensible", and "intellectually defensible" is a long way from the mark.David Webernoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3881762807913180318.post-81263714795413002212010-02-18T21:35:08.342+00:002010-02-18T21:35:08.342+00:00Your suggestion might properly be considered outra...Your suggestion might properly be considered outrageous since the Tory proposals can be seen to be directed at addressing in reasonably sensible and certainly intellectually defensible ways matters that need fixing in the interests of us all - which interest do not extend to saving the New Labour Party from its (largely self-made) fate.Cardinal Richelieu's molehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07355424371874064362noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3881762807913180318.post-91109987180208305242010-02-18T16:55:47.427+00:002010-02-18T16:55:47.427+00:00Vote here for English Votes on English Laws, at le...Vote <a href="http://www.power2010.org.uk/votes/entry/english-votes-on-english-laws/" rel="nofollow">here for English Votes on English Laws</a>, at least then we will have a chance to debate it rather than the Conservatives introducing it without debate.Garethhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10021800974251370747noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3881762807913180318.post-20688774878525081772010-02-18T15:52:11.122+00:002010-02-18T15:52:11.122+00:00"I have my concerns about the Tory proposals ..."I have my concerns about the Tory proposals on this but at least they are trying to sort the problem out."<br /><br />They are not. The only thing that can 'sort the problem out' truly is to equalise the devolution settlement in all four constituent countries of the Union.<br /><br />Every other option is flawed. Federalising devolution without delivering a separate English option would mean having a divided government in Westminster (not all legislative issues separate out into "English/British" type of concerns, and when you get down to the committee level, things become much more complicated, as Clarke indeed pointed out on The Daily Politics in 2008). The WLQ is about *representation* far more than it is about legislation -- forcing an "English votes only" on certain issues wouldn't result in an English legislative agenda, but rather a government which skirted around English issues for fear of giving way to an opposition agenda. And "English votes on English bills" would be constitutionally absurd if devolution *wasn't* federalised -- because Parliament would remain sovereign, thus meaning that there would be a constitutional deficit of representation for the devolved part of the union. This would most likely not mean much, as overruling the devolved institutions would be political suicide, but there's always the possibility that it might in the future.<br /><br />This is no-where near as simple an issue as most people seem to think, in other words.<br /><br />"I don't pretend to have any easy answers myself here except to say that I think lots of the money thrown around by the parties is wasted on silly, negative advertising campaigns and they could save money by not doing them and/or being smarter about how they spend their money."<br /><br />Negative campaigning will remain part of the status quo. It's not something that can be solved by funding reform, even if that reform were even-handed (which, from the sound of it, the Tories' idea isn't). It's a basic part of human nature.<br /><br />"Labour have to accept responsibility for the open goals they have left a putative incoming Conservative government. They behaved for many years as if they would be in power for ever and didn't need to worry about fully following through on their reform rhetoric.<br />Well it is looking like they may now pay a high price for this calculated inertia."<br /><br />True, but this is irrelevant to the wider concerns of the population *as a whole*, which is to have a fair and well-functioning democratic system. Or, in other words, Labour's mistakes do not justify granting the Conservatives any slack for their actions in office.David Weberhttp://thedailysoapbox.wordpress.comnoreply@blogger.com