The United Kingdom has never looked so frail.
For the first time, there is the very real possibility that it may even come to an end in the foreseeable future. The Scottish National Party (SNP) is in power with an overall majority at Hollyrood, and a referendum is planned for either 2013 or 2014 on whether the Kingdom of Scotland wishes to remain united with the Kingdom of England, a union that has lasted for over 300 years. The largest party in the Coalition government in London, the Conservative and Unionist Party, is actively despised in Scotland and the Liberal Democrats, their coalition partners, have seen a sharp fall in their vote from being the second most popular Scottish party at the 2010 general election.
However, the United Kingdom has never been stagnant, far from it: it is a country that has evolved in its composition throughout its existence, And now, more than ever, it needs to change once again to move with the political reality. It was in 1536 that the foundations of the current State were created with the bringing together of England and Cymru (Wales) during the Tudor era of Henry VIII. This was then followed by the the Union of the Crowns and then the Act of Union in 1707 between England, Cymru and Scotland when James VI, King of the Scots became King of England, and subsequently the entire United Kingdom of Great Britain.
Less than 100 years later, in 1801, the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Kingdom of Ireland merged to create the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland. And then we only really finally arrived with the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland as we know it in 1922.
This very brief overview of the history of our current state is evidence that the union of constituent nations of the British Isles has been very fluid during its existence and open to change. It is facing another hurdle now, faced with the SNP, and is going to need courage to take the next step on its journey.
So, what needs to be done?
Well, it seems that a Federal Union of Great Britain and Northern Ireland (FUGB&NI) is the natural solution. This new structure would resolve many of the current strains being put on the union by the re-emergence of strong regional identities in the face of globalisation, and a trend towards nations wanting to distinguish themselves from each other. It would be following the direction of many other European states that had to reconstitute themselves after the Second World War - including the Federal Republic of Germany.
The new FUGB&NI would be an almost complete break from the current composition and running of the United Kingdom. It would include highly devolved regional parliaments, with the creation of a new English parliament, and the contuation of those in Edinburgh, Cardiff and Belfast. These regional parliaments would deal with all issues apart from foreign, federal-level taxation,defence and immigration policies. These policies would be reserved for the revamped House of Parliament, which would go from a bicameral to a unicameral system. The retained chamber would be dramatically reduced - to represent its changed status as an overview - upper house - chamber. The chamber would operate along almost the same principle as the Bundesrat in Germany, with a quota of seats for each constituent nation relative to its population. The seats would be decided through the results of the elections in each of the 4 constituent nations. The top 4 parties by percentage of the vote from each nation would be allocated their preset quota of seats: each of these parties from the respective nations would receive a quarter of the seats for that nation .The role of the chamber would be to debate, make sure regional laws do not confict, and in most instances to rubber stamp policies of the regional governments and to debate policy originating from the Federal executive regarding retained powers.
A federal executive would run in much the same way as the Swiss Confederacy, with an equal balance of members from each of the 5 main parties by share of the vote for the entire United Kingdom. Each of the five main parties would be allocated 4 members creating an executive of 20 members. The presidency of the executive would rotate every 6 months ensuring that every party had the opportunity to express their policies within a 5 year period. The executive would be designed in order to foster positive cooperation as opposed to division between the major parties. The intension would be make sure that parties work in the national interest not party interest. The voting system for the federal executive would use the idea of a fixed quota system for each party. Voting in the federal executive would be through unanimity and in the upper chamber through qualified majority voting. A written constitution would be adopted expressing the basic guiding principles of the state and there would be an increased use of direct democracy through referendums.
The United Kingdom needs to take the next step in its evolutionary process. The current system has created too many antagonisms, creating a feeling of 'special treatment', and fails badly to represent each nation equally. A more equal system of governance could be used to help foster a stronger sense of unity following the principle of from many come one. Britain can continue with its successful principle of unity but only if it is willing to adapt: the United Kingdom needs to become a Federal Union!
