Citizens United by Henry McLeish sampler
The future of Scotland is at a crossroads as Brexit creates more complexity and confusion. The SNP has lost momentum and a window of opportunity has emerged for a wider and deeper debate about the current political situation both in Scotland and the UK. What’s the matter with democracy in Britain and how can we make citizenship meaningful in such turbulent times? How is populism changing how we view politics, political parties and democracy? Europe is our future – how can we stay in the EU? How can we address the anger, mistrust and fear currently dominating the public discourse and bitterly dividing Britain? What is Scotland’s future role within the UK? How do we develop a more inspired politics where the citizen is valued and taken seriously? This book examines the most pressing issues facing us today in the context of the political and constitutional upheaval that is coursing throughout Western democracies. The shock politics of Trump and Brexit demonstrate that the political landscape has changed and we face an uncertain future. Henry McLeish offers a new approach to get us out of the mess we’re in.
The future of Scotland is at a crossroads as Brexit creates more complexity and confusion. The SNP has lost momentum and a window of opportunity has emerged for a wider and deeper debate about the current political situation both in Scotland and the UK.
What’s the matter with democracy in Britain and how can we make citizenship meaningful in such turbulent times?
How is populism changing how we view politics, political parties and democracy?
Europe is our future – how can we stay in the EU?
How can we address the anger, mistrust and fear currently dominating the public discourse and bitterly dividing Britain?
What is Scotland’s future role within the UK?
How do we develop a more inspired politics where the citizen is valued and taken seriously?
This book examines the most pressing issues facing us today in the context of the political and constitutional upheaval that is coursing throughout Western democracies. The shock politics of Trump and Brexit demonstrate that the political landscape has changed and we face an uncertain future. Henry McLeish offers a new approach to get us out of the mess we’re in.
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citizens united<br />
Our politics and our electoral system are not coping. Proportional<br />
representation voting, votes for 16-year-olds to give them a greater<br />
say in the intergenerational debate and transferring power to the<br />
people in a written constitution, are long overdue. Voters are serious<br />
people. As citizens, not consumers, they recognise the fact that politics,<br />
democracy, and governance have profound consequences for their lives.<br />
Abandoning first past the post for Westminster elections is the next step<br />
in the struggle for voting rights. Let’s learn from Europe.<br />
The worth of a vote should never be underestimated or abused.<br />
<strong>Citizens</strong> and citizenship have become a convenient administrative<br />
label. For many people, their experience of democracy and politics<br />
is relegated to an outing to the polling station, at least for the 60 to<br />
70 per cent of the public who use their vote in general elections. It is<br />
remarkable that our Parliament at Westminster seems unconcerned<br />
that 30 to 40 per cent of the population never vote. Maybe people have<br />
woken up to the notion that nothing will change.<br />
The struggle for the universal franchise was a tough battle with the<br />
Whigs and Tories in Westminster. For many people, voting at the polling<br />
station seems more like a validation of the process than a real opportunity<br />
to shape the future of the country. Politics has become an end, rather than<br />
a means to a much wider set of social and economic objectives.<br />
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