tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4411161795798360588.post8495642372054353208..comments2024-03-26T09:38:39.888+00:00Comments on Borthlas: Pigs and pokesJohn Dixonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07447224248021209852noreply@blogger.comBlogger2125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4411161795798360588.post-23391852609620583692019-10-24T13:05:26.881+01:002019-10-24T13:05:26.881+01:00I think we may simply be talking at cross purposes...I think we may simply be talking at cross purposes here - perhaps, on reflection, I didn't make the point clearly enough. The point that I was driving at was the difference between what an independent Wales might look like in constitutional terms and what it might look like in policy terms - things like the infamous and utterly stupid question about how many aircraft carriers Wales would have.<br /><br />I agree that the framework can be worked out in advance, and that a constitutional convention is a way of doing that, although I'm not so convinced that a convention with the narrow remit of defining a framework for an independent Wales can precede the desire for independence. If constituted today, I suspect it would have to conisder wider questions, such as whether and how the union could be preserved...John Dixonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07447224248021209852noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4411161795798360588.post-3586610141018270502019-10-24T12:23:16.675+01:002019-10-24T12:23:16.675+01:00"asking independentistas to provide a detaile...<br />"asking independentistas to provide a detailed picture of a post-independence Wales is a silly question, because it depends on what sort of government we then elect and what policies that government follows" I think you may have skipped a phase, Borthlas, which is why the problem looks insoluble. Let me try this...<br />Q- "what is your detailed picture of a post-independence Wales?" (Important Question, after all)<br />My Answer: "I have not got one yet. But if we hold a Wales Constitutional Convention we will get a clear FRAMEWORK." Not the elected government with its proposed laws. The Convention will, for example decide<br />- total Indy or some half-way like Dominion Status<br />- what we do with Queen, £, who will be entitled to vote<br />- Framework stuff like separation of powers, checks and balances: Elected Governor, bicameral legislature, Supreme Court of Wales. Standard off-the-peg stuff.<br />Q- "what sort of government will we get and what will be its context?"<br />My Answer - "we will agree our Framework. And they you can see what the various parties propose using the new known Wales Framework/context, and you vote to choose."<br />The point being that getting a proper framework will produce clarity and many better results. Historically, new democratic Constitutions produce a big uptick in national vitality. So a Convention is the answer to your logical and presentational difficulty, B.Jonathanhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05937342201811857738noreply@blogger.com