Useful Links
Current Political Issues:
The Public Demands a Referendum on the EU Constitution Treaty.
The Government Loses Everybody's Personal Data - and Their Trust.
House of Lords Reform: The Federalist Papers written as America established a constitutional balance of powers offers possible answers to the UK's assymetric federalism:
The United Kingdom currently has an imperfect system of government that can be described as a system of asymmetric semi-federalism in which England, with 80% of the population, dominates the Westminster parliament but has no separate national political assembly. Whereas, the other members of the United Kingdom: Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland all do have their own political assemblies, with different powers and responsibilities, but no distinctive voice in the UK government at Westminster.
With House of Lords reform on the agenda at Westminster, the time is ripe for a British constitutional debate about giving each state in the UK an equal voice.The Federalist Papers were written by the architects of the American Constitution. They gave considerable thought to the mechanisms needed to protecting the rights of the small states against the larger states in the union, and to ensuring that each state would have an equal voice in the government of the country.
Click here to view all The Federalist Papers -
Click here to view Federalist Paper 62 - on the Senate as an institution that safeguards the sovereignty of the individual states and ensures that they each have an equal vote.
Government Accountability Links:
About the Scottish Parliament:
The Scottish Parliament:Click here to check which Scottish Parliament constituency you live in.
Parliamentary Expenses:
The average MSP now spends £75,700 per year on expenses. Click the link below to check your MSP'sexpenses: http://mspallowances.scottish.parliament.uk/MSPAllowances/Default.aspxPowers of the Scottish Parliament:
The Scotland Act 1998 For a brief description of the powers of Holyrood see: http://www.scottish.parliament.uk/corporate/powers/index.htm Edinburgh Community Councils play a vital role in local democracy in Edinburgh by representing the views of local people. Click here to find your local community council.Commonsense Policies for Scotland:
There are a lot of policy resources and examples of good state government around the world that Scotland can draw on to bring some common sense back to our government. Here are some websites with useful ideas: http://www.policyinstitute.info/The Scottish Chambers of Commerce - "Delivering for Scotland" Citistat: An accountability tool for common sense government pioneered in New York and Baltimore. The US National Governor's Association Best Practice Guide
Cracking Down on Government Waste, Fraud and Abuse:
There are several sites dedicated to highlighting government waste & with public hotlines:Wastewatch The Taxpayers Alliance Waste Blog Audit Scotland - The government agency charged with oversight of the 200 public bodies in Scotland which spend over £29 billion each year.
Fiona
Houston
