Outdated government
The other day I was talking to someone I work with. In the past this person has been a lecturer and used to teach students from the USA when they came to Britain to study. He told me the following:
"I used to say to them imagine this. There is a country where there are two house of government. One, the higher house, is not elected and many of the posts are hereditary. The other house is elected but the person in charge could get there by only having a minority of the overall votes. Both houses are accountable to an unelected head of state who is also the head of the nation's church."
The students were then asked which country they thought this was. Many would answer that they believed it was somewhere in the Middle East or Africa. The reality is that this is modern day Britain. Yes, in 2015 we have an unelected monarch with half our Government (The House of Lords) unelected too.
This has been the system for hundreds of years. Most of our system owes a lot to Victorian times so this is roughly 100 - 200 years ago now! Parts of our system are older than that. Take the Privy Council for an example.
The Privy Council ceremony dates back to the Tudor era (so roughly 500 years ago). Part of the ceremony to become a member is to bend on one knee and kiss the monarch's hand. You also have to recite an oath about protecting the monarch and all about secrecy, etc. Recently, a republican by the name of Jeremy Corbyn was elected as leader of the Labour Party. All the party leaders are allowed to become members of the Privy Council but the idea of bending on one knee and kissing a monarch's hand is too much for any republican.
It turns out that Corbyn has taken his place in the Privy Council but he hasn't had to bend on one knee or any of that rubbish. There are other ways to join. You can be nominated through the Council. This is unusual for a leader to have to do though. The Palace says that it doesn't want any of the Council members to have to do something they are not comfortable doing so Corbyn won't have been forced into this protocol.
All of this is proof that our system needs a serious update. I am a republican myself and I believe that we need a total overhaul of our Government. The House of Lords should be abolished and there should be one house that is fairly elected with a proportional representation system of voting. Yes, this carries the risk of more extremist parties coming in but then it makes the public more responsible and accountable for their voting habits. This is a truly fair democracy.
Obviously to have a truly fair democracy you would have a referendum on every decision made. This may not be entirely possible but PR would at least make the elected Government fair and accountable.
We do pomp and circumstance better than any other country in the world. Heck, we invented pomp and circumstance! We have a rich and diverse history and as a student of history I celebrate this. We should not let the past dictate the present though. Just because we have always done something a certain way does not mean we should continue this. As it is the 21st Century it may be time to have a dramatic overhaul. Pomp and circumstance is great for entertainment and display, but it is not practical in the modern world.
"I used to say to them imagine this. There is a country where there are two house of government. One, the higher house, is not elected and many of the posts are hereditary. The other house is elected but the person in charge could get there by only having a minority of the overall votes. Both houses are accountable to an unelected head of state who is also the head of the nation's church."
The students were then asked which country they thought this was. Many would answer that they believed it was somewhere in the Middle East or Africa. The reality is that this is modern day Britain. Yes, in 2015 we have an unelected monarch with half our Government (The House of Lords) unelected too.
This has been the system for hundreds of years. Most of our system owes a lot to Victorian times so this is roughly 100 - 200 years ago now! Parts of our system are older than that. Take the Privy Council for an example.
The Privy Council ceremony dates back to the Tudor era (so roughly 500 years ago). Part of the ceremony to become a member is to bend on one knee and kiss the monarch's hand. You also have to recite an oath about protecting the monarch and all about secrecy, etc. Recently, a republican by the name of Jeremy Corbyn was elected as leader of the Labour Party. All the party leaders are allowed to become members of the Privy Council but the idea of bending on one knee and kissing a monarch's hand is too much for any republican.
It turns out that Corbyn has taken his place in the Privy Council but he hasn't had to bend on one knee or any of that rubbish. There are other ways to join. You can be nominated through the Council. This is unusual for a leader to have to do though. The Palace says that it doesn't want any of the Council members to have to do something they are not comfortable doing so Corbyn won't have been forced into this protocol.
All of this is proof that our system needs a serious update. I am a republican myself and I believe that we need a total overhaul of our Government. The House of Lords should be abolished and there should be one house that is fairly elected with a proportional representation system of voting. Yes, this carries the risk of more extremist parties coming in but then it makes the public more responsible and accountable for their voting habits. This is a truly fair democracy.
Obviously to have a truly fair democracy you would have a referendum on every decision made. This may not be entirely possible but PR would at least make the elected Government fair and accountable.
We do pomp and circumstance better than any other country in the world. Heck, we invented pomp and circumstance! We have a rich and diverse history and as a student of history I celebrate this. We should not let the past dictate the present though. Just because we have always done something a certain way does not mean we should continue this. As it is the 21st Century it may be time to have a dramatic overhaul. Pomp and circumstance is great for entertainment and display, but it is not practical in the modern world.
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