Democracy UK - Yorkshire Post

[mm at iniref.org]

Yorkshire Post wrote: "For how much longer must such questions be posed 
before our politicians answer them? When matters relating to our 
democracy are at stake, these years of inaction become even more 
unforgivable."

INIREF I&R ~ GB replies:
Democratic government as we know it does not allow fine tuning of public 
affairs. On the contrary, our only option as voters is to choose an MP 
and hope that "manifesto" promises will be kept. If new challenges arise 
during the life of a parliament, the electorate has no way to intervene 
with a good proposal or a veto of unwanted policy.

There are some issues which the "political class" cannot seem to manage. 
In order to improve the way our government works we could introduce the 
citizens' initiative (such as a law proposal) and the voters' right to 
demand a binding referendum on any public matter. Proposals about how to 
achieve this sort of reform are to be found via http://www.iniref.org/

-----------------
QUOTE Yorkshire Post
Time for action


Published on Friday 9 September 2011

IT was almost 34 years ago that Labour MP Tam Dalyell first highlighted 
one of the most marked discrepancies in British politics – that Scottish 
MPs can vote on matters pertaining solely to England, but not vice-versa.

The so-called West Lothian question, named after Mr Dalyell’s Scottish 
constituency, has vexed politicians for more than three decades since, 
but no definitive response has been forthcoming.

Yesterday’s announcement that a new commission will consider the issue 
may mark a step in the right direction, but this is the second such 
commission set up by David Cameron in recent years – an earlier 
Conservative Party task force reported back in 2008. Yet 16 months into 
a Tory-led Government, all we have is yet another talking shop. The 
announcement came on the same day the Government received a 
100,000-signature petition calling for a referendum over Britain’s role 
within Europe – another debate which has raged for decades.

For how much longer must such questions be posed before our politicians 
answer them? When matters relating to our democracy are at stake, these 
years of inaction become even more unforgivable.
UNQUOTE
http://www.yorkshirepost.co.uk/news/debate/our-view/time_for_action_1_3756656