The hare of of the Union

Sortition and public policy

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Labour After Brown

From Milibland to Johnson land?: Jeremy Gilbert argues for Labour without neo-liberalism.

Magical thinking on Britishness: Anthony Barnett critiques Liam Byrne on fraternity.

Rule of law at risk: Geoffrey Bindman calls for a turn away from the marketisation of government.

A new Bill of Rights for Britain?: Guy Aitchison analyses Parliament's proposed new Bill of Rights.

Miliband - by our rights we will know you: Claire O'Brien puts forward a new progressive vision for Labour.

Recapturing liberal Britain: David Marquand challenges Labour's constitutional orthodoxy.

Miliband and the Liberal Democrats: James Graham on the case for realignment.

What is Labour's British story?: Writing from Scotland, Gerry Hassan widens the OurKingdom debate on Labour's future.

This is not Brown's crisis but Britain's: David Marquand says social democracy is bust and Britain may be too.

The Challenges for Miliband's Progressive Fusion: Fabian Society head Sunder Katwala responds to David Miliband.

NOT A DAY LONGER

What do we do now?: Anthony Barnett assesses the stakes for for liberals and radicals in David Davis's campaign against the erosion of rights and liberties

The Abundance of Caution: an authoritative essay by Anthony Barnett sets out the case against 42 Days

England Awakes?

England, Britain and multiculturalism: an OurKingdom exchange

A mild awakening?, England's turn? by David Goodhart

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7 - 05 - 2008

Anthony Barnett (London, OK): This argument by Tim Luckhurst in the Times is a hare that is going to run: any referendum on whether Scotland should leave the Union impacts on everyone in the Union and therefore everyone in the UK should have a vote, that's self-determination for you! It's a "We can't divorce unless we both agree" argument. You used to find this approach it in religious courts that gave men the power the decide if their wives were divorced whatever the civil courts might say. Despite himself Luckhurst flashes the primitivism that lies within his apparent reasonableness:

The people of this nation state, who stood united against Nazism, are entitled to know what will be lost if Britain is obliterated.

Of course a UK wide referendum that included the question, should England have its own parliament so that we become a democratic federation, would be a different matter.

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