Direct democracy in a new Scottish constitution?
mm at iniref.org
mm at iniref.org
Fri Aug 29 23:20:31 BST 2014
In a letter to The Scotsman newspaper, Michael Duncan wrote, "Democracy
is more than just about people voting for who governs them, it is also
about having proper institutions that provide a check on the powers that
government wields." (link)
<http://www.scotsman.com/news/opinion/letters/get-accountable-1-3524207>
'Tis rather amusing that someone, from a UK perspective, offers the
Scots advice about democracy.
Nevertheless the sentence quoted above is wise.
Certainly, a House of Lairds, as a second chamber of parliament, is not
what we want or need. Nor is a constitutional court adequate to provide
"checks and balances" in a parliamentary democracy. For constitutional
matters perhaps, but for everyday politics of state, no.
A better way to scrutinise, supervise and, from case to case, correct
our elected representatives would be to apply some methods of direct
democracy. With "the brake" the people can veto a bad or unwanted
government proposal or law -- using the optional referendum. With the
"gas" (accelerator), an agreed, large number of citizens can put forward
a proposal (citizens' initiative) which must go to binding referendum of
the whole electorate.
Recently an expert in constitution wrote, "And for big decisions there
is of course the referendum; if it is appropriate to use direst
democracy to determine the independence question why not use it for
other major decisions which Scots will make in the future?" (link)
<http://ukconstitutionallaw.org/2014/06/24/stephen-tierney-leaving-westminster-constitutional-supremacy-in-an-independent-scotland/>
Campaign for direct democracy in Britain
Citizens' Initiative and Referendum I&R ~ GB
http://www.iniref.org/ Link to site index
http://www.iniref.org/carta.htm Election campaign call
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