tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6606798.post3458254426664602715..comments2024-03-28T22:32:50.562+00:00Comments on Liberal England: After the Scottish electionsJonathan Calderhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00730157683743989696noreply@blogger.comBlogger3125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6606798.post-81740114295310177132007-05-06T14:18:00.000+01:002007-05-06T14:18:00.000+01:00Basically, I agree with Paul Griffiths. I can't r...Basically, I agree with Paul Griffiths. I can't really see why the Lib Dems should be bullied into backing a referendum on ANY policy they disagree with. However, I equally would support a general policy of backing CIs.<BR/><BR/>In Ming's defence, his argument that joining a government with an independence-obsessed main party would be a mistake is a sound one - we have other priorities, so why should we join an executive that will spend so much time concentrating on this issue?Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6606798.post-66955477625517157422007-05-06T14:07:00.000+01:002007-05-06T14:07:00.000+01:00There are, or should be, two routes to a referendu...There are, or should be, two routes to a referendum on an issue. Top-down, from a government seeking a specific mandate for an action, and bottom-up, via a citizens’ initiative (CI).<BR/><BR/>Exactly on what issues. and in what circumstances, a government needs an explicit mandate is a tricky question, although constitutional change is an obvious candidate. But as I understand it, the Scottish Lib Dem leadership are arguing that it would be perverse to seek a mandate for inaction, in this case by initiating a referendum on a move to independence that they did not support. Once the precedent had been established, the argument goes, there could be calls for referendums on all sorts of issues, merely on the basis of opinion polls.<BR/><BR/>It strikes me that the CI route may be a way out of the impasse. Lib Dem party policy has approved of CIs in the past. And I think I’m right in saying the Scottish citizens can already petition the parliament. The Lib Dems could agree with the SNP to extend the idea of CIs such that if a significant percentage of the people supported a referendum, one would have to be held.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6606798.post-6884868136827325652007-05-05T23:21:00.000+01:002007-05-05T23:21:00.000+01:00It's not the Scots Lib Dems who are acting illiber...It's not the Scots Lib Dems who are acting illiberally over a referendum, it's Ming who's put his foot down.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com