Arc of Prosperity

Scottish Independence within the EU – with a Scandinavian Slant

EnglandLabourLibDemsWhigs/Democrats

Only the Whigs can save England now

Whigs' Vault
Whigs' Vault.
I don’t normally blog about English politics, but the political turmoil south of the border is creating havoc up here, too, so here are a few modest observations and a possible solution.

My observations are these:

  1. The Liberal Democrats seem to have found their mojo again, but many people will never vote for them again because of the way they sold out of their principles to enter into government with the Tories. This means that they cannot become a large party in the foreseeable future.
  2. The Labour rebels who are planning to vote against Brexit are afraid to break away from Labour because of the failure of the SDP in the 1980s.
  3. The few Tory rebels clearly don’t feel tempted to join either the Lib Dems or Rebel Labour.
  4. And yet, there is a huge need for a party to represent the 48% who voted Remain in England – in the other nations of the UK, we have plenty of parties that will stand up for us.

Surely the solution is to create a new party, based on the Liberal Democrats but with enough changes to ensure that voters won’t hold them responsible for the Coalition Government. As for the name of this new party, it would be natural to resurrect the Whigs – they were known to emphasise the supremacy of Parliament (which Theresa May and her merry Brexiteers clearly aren’t too keen on), and they were of course the Tories’ old foes.

Pro-Brexit Labour can then merge with UKIP, but I expect the Conservative embrace of Brexit means they’ll struggle electorally.

The Whigs can then become England’s natural progressive party, and hopefully it could adopt a constructive attitude towards the SNP and perhaps even start supporting the right to self-determination for all the nations of the UK.

2 thoughts on “Only the Whigs can save England now

  • Richard Wickenden

    First let me thank you for your political insight from a Danish point of view. (I have been reading your posts since before September 2014)
    What you propose is exactly what England needs. As an Englishman, living in Scotland for 11 years, I fully agree with you. So many of my friends from England say they have no party that they can vote for any more.
    Here in Scotland we have several parties that support Scotland and its people although It is the SNP that has made most impact.
    Thats all I want to say and I shall continue to follow your Arc of Prosperity.
    PS: Was a Tory member when I lived south of the border but I am now (since 2007) an SNP activist.

    Reply
  • alasdair smith

    The Whig party – refounded in late 2014.
    Interesting line on their website “The Scottish referendum revealed a desire for a better kind of politics.”
    They were also responsible for crafting the act of union in 1707- boo! but did good things as well- abolition of slavery, pro immigration, electoral reform.
    http://whigs.uk/

    Reply

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