Call for Welsh and Scottish parliaments to be ‘forbidden by statute’ from challenging Westminster sovereignty
A prominent Conservative pundit has called for the Welsh and Scottish parliaments to be “forbidden by statute” from challenging Westminster’s sovereignty.
Writing in the Spectator, Stephen Daisley said that power in the UK “resides exclusively at Westminster” but that the Scottish parliament, in particular, had become a “vehicle for achieving secession”.
“This entitles the Tories to reframe it on their own terms, as a mere administrative policy to make government more efficient and responsive,” he said.
“Not a constitutional equal to Westminster or a rival source of political legitimacy but a subordinate body much more limited in legislative and executive scope.”
Ministers should treat Wales and Scotland exactly as they might Yorkshire, the former STV political journalist added.
“Liz Truss needs to put someone in charge of constitutional policy who believes instinctively and intrinsically in the United Kingdom,” he said. “Someone who understands Scottish political sensitivities (and those of Northern Ireland and Wales) but isn’t petrified by them.
“Someone who grasps that the current devolution settlements are flawed in ways injurious and potentially destructive to the UK and so must be reformed.”
In the article he sets out three principles by which the UK Government should proceed:
- The United Kingdom should continue to exist as currently constituted.
- In the UK, sovereignty resides exclusively at Westminster, or ‘the crown-in-parliament under God’.
- The devolved institutions in Scotland and Wales operate within a framework defined by principles 1) and 2) and should be forbidden, by statute if necessary, from any actions contrary to these principles.
Stephen Daisley had previously called for a new Act of Union, warning that Scotland leaving the Union could lead to Northern Ireland and Wales following.
But Scotland leaving the Union would cause “indignity, if not humiliation, on the world stage,” he said.
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‘Under God’? Nobody should be living under any governance which uses such terms as these. If this anti democratic bullying dictatorship continues, we must all stand together and refuse to recognise its’ authority.
Pwy yn saif gyda mi ?
It is time for the pompous and the arrogant amongst the CITIZENS of England to realise thankfully, you no longer brutalise your serfs but we serfs no longer wish to be abused by your kind so toddle off and build yourself a sand castle then you can play pretend. For goodness sake don’t for one moment believe there is a tooth fairy and a father Xmas. Sorry to disappoint you young man GOD is also a figment of the imagination of those who rule.
Clearly the independence movement is getting the establishment rattled. How long before we have a Defence of the Realm Act (mark 2) to quash the dissenters!
Perhaps Boris would give the same financial support to Wales and Scotland to free themselves from the oppressive English government that he is giving to the Ukraine to free themselves from the oppressive Russian government
The Tories are behaving just as Putin.
Both Wales and the Ukraine have a bully to their East !
We must make this clear to the EU and NATO.
Now we know why the UK regime wanted to leave the EU – They wanted to crush the European Human rights charters.
The God of perverts ,bullies greedy is Westminster
The union that English Tory domination is nothing more than rape always has been!
On the same day they announce “devolution” for Birmingham.
and a Scottish Independence group has just read out the Edinburgh proclamation, echoing the 1916 proclamation of the Irish Republic
https://eurofree3.wordpress.com/2022/09/01/the-scottish-proclamation-1st-september-2022/
Take Back Control…of Wales and Scotland…now do you see why it was a bad idea…
“Westminster’s sovereignty”? Our sovereignty which the People of Wales currently graciously allow Westminster to wield via the UK Govt. But since the UK Govt has delivered Wales into poverty, perhaps we ought to take it back and put it in the hands of our democratically elected Senedd and Welsh Government.
Why is “ injurious and potentially destructive to the UK” a bad thing?
Unfortunately, at Westminster there are 533 MPs representing English voters, and only 40 representing us in Wales, 59 for Scotland and 18 for Northern Ireland (although 7 of those representing Sinn Fein don’t attend). So it is vital to retain and increase our own Senedd so decisions can be made in Wales by our own representatives. We are a distinctive and separate country, as is Scotland and are not an English Region like Yorkshire. It is absurd, when the so called parliament of the UK is overwhelmingly English centric as the article shows, There should be a parliament for England,… Read more »
What an ignoramus. What a way to inflame passion and spur on insurrection. It truly is a supreme example of arroganceand ignorance that is pathetically crass. However, good for Plaid and SNP!….keep it up!
Whenever Westminster tries to stop a country becoming independent – they become independent anyway and usually quicker. This bully boy attitude will not stop the break up of the UK.
Its interesting that he didn’t include the Northern Ireland Assembly in his proposal. So much for consistency.
Mr. “Daisey” deserve a great deal more than indignity and humiliation. The right to self determination is a human right that cannot be taken or legislated away.
Once again the opinions of Conservative/right-wing British nationalists towards Welsh and Scottish autonomy resembling closely those of Putinist Russian nationalists towards Ukraine.
I simply want to call myself Welsh, I have never considered myself British, never have, never will. If Wales or Scotland are not nations, then England aren’t either. Or are they new Russia?
Well done Stephen- a reward in
the Lords awaits im sure and perhaps if you keep this up a post as Under Secretary for the internal Colonies for General Truss ?
We wish you well my friend – 👍🏼