Sovereignty.

Willie Drennan

For the upcoming EU Referendum sovereignty will be a major issue for many voters. The problem is, as is common in the modern world of politics, terms like sovereignty can mean different things to different people. For our Prime Minister, David Cameron it means, “being able to get things done”. I’m pretty sure that was what he said in the House of Commons recently.   His old friend Boris Johnson: party colleague, and Mayor of London, however asked if the Prime Minister’s deal with the EU would benefit our sovereignty.

It is the nature of politicians to play the political game as it is crucial for their political survival and elevation of personal wealth and power. We shouldn’t really be too sore on them, on a personal basis: as it’s just the reality of their line of work and somebody has to do it.

 What David Cameron has done is to promote the goals of his friends in charge of the EU and the big transnational corporations. He can’t lose really, no matter how the EU Referendum turns out.  If he fails in his attempt to solidify the status quo for his wealthy friends he will have to step down as leader of the Conservative Party sooner than previously anticipated. But that won’t bother David as he will be ensured benefits and opportunities, similar to those enjoyed by his predecessor, Tony Blair. David has learned from Tony that being a prime minister should be viewed as just a step towards promotion: rich reward is there for those who display loyalty to their friends in higher places
.

 The Mayor of London, Boris Johnson, on the other hand has gone down the road of representing the common folk in a bid to enhance his popularity with the voters. If the vote is in favour of Brexit he will be a hero for many. If the Remain side wins the day on June 23^rd Boris will still be a hero among the many who cherish the glorious memory of the once upon a time sovereign United Kingdom.
.

So what does the term ‘sovereignty’ actually mean to us common folk. For me it means the freedom of an independent nation to have full control over all of its laws and its borders. It is the ability of the elected government of a nation to deliver democracy as commonly understood. It also the ability of the people to have fair, transparent governance and the ability to hold their politicians to account: in other words to have the ability to vote them out of office.

If my understanding of the meaning of the term sovereignty is correct we certainly do not have true sovereignty in the UK at present. It does seem beyond doubt that we cannot presently hold the Eurocrats, who currently dictate many of our laws, to account.

Our structure of government at Westminster and the UK electoral system have many short comings that need to be addressed and fixed: but at least we do have the opportunity to challenge these faults and expect that they will eventually be remedied. We simply cannot do anything at all about the laws made in Brussels except moan about the ones we don’t like.

Granted we do currently have a slightly higher level of sovereignty than countries such as Ireland, who are part of the Euro monetary system, and the majority of other EU nations who have opened up their borders for the Schengen Agreement. But we still do not have true full blown sovereignty and if we do not vote to get out of the EU it seems inevitable that our sovereignty will continue to erode. The EU will march onwards towards signing TTIP.  TTIP is the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership designed to give more wealth, power and privilege to those who already greatly influence the economies and laws of the EU and USA. 

We should be publicly challenging those politicians, and those affiliated with the transnational corporations, who are currently busy promoting the cause of the EU and TTIP. For the sake of future generations we should be asking them to explain what TTIP is really all about and how it would impinge upon the sovereignty of our nation. We should urgently ask them to address how our democratic rights and freedoms will be threatened by this monstrosity of a ‘partnership’.

If I am missing something or have my facts wrong can someone please tell me and enlighten me?  I would hate to make a big mistake on June 23^rd.

See also my blog on Economy and the EU Referendum.