Rationale: In this most important general election for decades, the UK voters have several stark choices: do we want to leave the EU or not ? Do we accept Scottish independence and all that will follow from that ? Do we accept the right of Northern Ireland and Scotland to decide their own democratic futures inside or outside the UK and the EU ? It is our belief that only a reforming progressive alliance of parties all pledged to reverse and prevent Brexit can defeat the Conservative Party, who have taken us to the very brink of leaving the EU. This in turn has pushed forward the momentum of Scottish independence that is now almost unstoppable. Only an entirely new written constitution for the whole UK might persuade the Scottish voters to remain inside the UK. Brexit has shocked the normally quiescent British voters into unrivalled activism and anger. Years of Tory austerities have awakened the liberal and social democratic and socialist conscience of our nation and millions and millions of voters throughout the Uk are determined to stop Brexit, hold a second democratic referendum on this issue, and to end years of Tory austerity, and to prioritise a Green New Deal where we readjust our relationship to nature as a whole and prevent further environmental catastrophes. This Manifesto, if adopted by all reformist and Bremain parties, would lead to their not standing against each other in the forthcoming general election and would lead to a Tory defeat and the coming into power of a reformist alliance of progressive parties who could stop Brexit (democratically), see justice done against law breakers (in the 2016 referendum), write and agree a written constitution for the UK, let Scotland have her second independence referendum, and prioritise peace and justice for the UK’s foreign and domestic policy agenda, and insist on the veracity of parliamentarians henceforth by law. These are momentous proposals for momentous times. To demand anything less is foolish in these end-full times. SUGGESTED GOVERNING PRINCIPLES FOR THE BREMAIN PACT OF PROGRESSIVE REFORMIST PARTIES IN THE UK GENERAL ELECTION DECEMBER 12, 2019 1.Suggestion that Bremain parties and election candidates form a Bremain Alliance and agree to stand only one authorised candidate in each constituency, this would (could) include candidates from the Liberal Democrats, the Greens, the Labour Party, SNP Plaid Cymru, Change UK, the Alliance Party of Northern Ireland, and the Social Democratic and Labour Party (SDLP). Even some unionist candidates in Northern Ireland might back the Bremain Alliance, along with some more moderate Conservatives. Might have to be negotiated at grass roots level in some cases. If individual MP candidates agree to back this Manifesto, and more than one per constituency does, then the official Bremain Alliance candidate would be the one whose party won most votes last general election in 2017 (or the last time the seat was fought for). Easy to work out. 2. Whichever of these parties came first at the last general election, their candidate would be endorsed by the Bremain Alliance, and all Bremain supporters would be asked to vote for them (providing they were actually genuine Bremain candidates, pledged to either a second referendum and /or revocation of article 50.) Websites to calculate this include: https://tacticalvote.co.uk/ 3. All candidates elected to the House of Commons, would pledge to enact legislation for a second referendum and /or to simply revoke article 50 immediately 4. All Bremain candidates would pledge, if elected to authorise the creation of a Royal Commission For A Written Constitution For The UK. If Scotland votes for independence in 2020, the Commission would have two sections, and one would concern solely a written constitution for Scotland. 5. All Bremain candidates would pledge to fast-track legal and Police Enquiries into all illegal actions undertaken by leave campaigners during the 2016 EU referendum. 6. All Bremain candidates would pledge to introduce new legislation before the second referendum:- a) No offshore money from persons not entitled to vote in the referendum permitted for advertising and promotion in any shape of form. b) All UK citizens, wherever domiciled, entitled to vote, and whatever age. c) 16 and 17 year-old UK citizens also entitled to vote. d) All EU citizens resident in UK for more than 6 months entitled to vote. 7. Bremain Alliance to pledge an end to austerity and to scrap immediately Universal Credit and replace it with a Citizens Income Scheme, whereby all UK residents receive a basic living wage, whether in paid work, voluntary work or self-employed. 8. Bremain alliance to pledge it would authorise, if requested, a second Scottish Independence referendum and would abide by its result (all UK and EU citizens resident in Scotland for the previous 6 months to vote, all 16 and 17 years olds to vote) 9. If Scotland votes for independence, and to leave the UK, but to remain in the EU, the Bremain Alliance would pledge to honour and expedite that wish and to facilitate a swift, fair and just independence process for Scotland, and not to block Scotland becoming an independent member country of the European Union. 10. If an independent Scotland insists, all UK nuclear weapons are to leave Scotland, and the Bremain Alliance would expedite this ASAP and hold a referendum on whether the remainder of the UK still wishes to be a nuclear weapons state. If that referendum declines the continuing membership of the UK in the nuclear weapons club, then both Scotland and the rest of the UK would expedite the transformation of the Armed Forces into Non-Nuclear weapons status, and organise a Universal Nuclear Disarmament conference and sign the United Nations Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons (TPNW), becoming the first UN Security Council member to do so. 11. The Bremain Alliance would also pledge to establish an Institute of Peace in London, with branches in Edinburgh, Cardiff and Belfast whose purpose would be to marshal the most accurate up-to-date and visionary scholarship and scientific research into all aspects of peace, conflict resolution, mediation, arbitration and international peace law, non violence, disarmament and arms control, inter-faith and ethical peacebuilding, inter-disciplinary peace research etc. IOP would also house a postgraduate research institute and grant higher academic degrees. It would have the statutory duty of proving advice to the FCO on peacebuilding and peace-making strategy, peace diplomacy and mediation and in the run up to any combat involving the UK would be consulted as to non-violent alternatives. It would be funded with 1% of the budget of the MOD in any given year. Its academic independence from the UK government would be assured and guaranteed by law. 12 The Bremain Alliance would pledge to work with our EU partners for a gradual process for EU reform, e.g. Freedom of Information legislation, more democratic participation in decision making, and a more positive role for Europe in global problem solving -- e.g. environmental challenges such as climate change and global warming, social and political challenges. 13. The Bremain Alliance would pledge to work with the European Union to create a new statutory body to be called the European Union Mediation Service. This body would be tasked with mediating conflicts in countries bordering on the European Union (e.g. Ukraine, Syria and Libya) and also conflicts occurring within European Union member states [ e.g. Spain / Catalonia.] Eu member states would bid where it was to be headquartered (eg Edinburgh). 14. Bremain Alliance candidates would pledge to introduce in the first week of parliament a Parliamentary Duty of Veracity Bill, whereby any MP or Lord found to have lied on matters discussed parliament would automatically lose office. The legal right of parliamentarians to claim matters are sub-judice or subject to legal privilege would be overruled by the Duty of Veracity. 15. Bremain candidates would pledge to overhaul the UK National Curriculum and to increase the moral philosophical and inter-religious content of the curriculum so that young minds are led to realise that the moral distinctions between lies and truth, harm and harmlessness, violence and non-violence, and good and evil are at least as important to human civilisation as mathematical equations or IT. As much time and funding therefore would go to Religion and Philosophy teaching in UK schools as to mathematics. Religious and moral education centres would be established in each SACRE nationwide. The arts and humanities would also be increased in schools with music drama, poetry, literature and languages, history and geography also given equal status to natural science and technology subjects and all pupils would be given a fully rounded education to equip them for life’s complex moral, spiritual and intellectual challenges. Sex education would include love education. 16 The Bremain Alliance would pledge to bring in a Gifted And Talented Scheme for all Universities throughout the UK and try to and persuade our EU colleagues to adopt it throughout the European Union once we had established it successfully. 17. Bremain candidates would pledge to implement a Green New Deal, so all unemployed graduates and qualified candidates would be offered launch funding, to contribute creatively to the economic advancement of the UK in a way conforming to environmental needs. Living “off grid” in eco-homes would be encouraged.; Planning restricting on eco-homes would be much relaxed. Forest gardens and similar agricultural experiments would be encouraged. 18 Bremain candidates if elected would pledge to introduce strict regulations for the offshore banking and financial services industry. Such funds would all be taxed fairly and properly henceforth. Tax avoidance schemes would be deal with rigorously and the law tightened up and enforced effectively against major corporations. A penny would be taxed on every single email exchanged on the internet passing through the UK and the money raised would be in the billions. It would also stop spam in its tracks. 19. The National Health Service will be reaffirmed as an important service to the people of the UK, and proper funding will be guaranteed long term; a new emphasis however will be put on preventing illness and a wider range of medical regimes made available including alternative and complementary medicine such as Homeopathy, acupuncture, Chinese medicine, Ayurvedic medicine, therapeutic massage, clinical hypnotherapy, psychotherapy, naturopathy, herbal medicine, spiritual and other parallel healing systems with proven capacity to heal patients with particular conditions. Patients using the NHS would be entitled to request such healing regimens. The NHS would be renamed the National Healing Service with the greater emphasis on the dynamics of healing, and an acknowledgement of the importance of doctor/healer/patient relationships. Medical training for doctors and nurses would include options to include these healing practices in their tuition and clinical experiences. 20. A new law guaranteeing safety to whistle-blowers and truth-tellers reporting illegal and mendacious and malevolent actions in any part of the Uk state apparatus, or among nations with whom we are in supposed alliance: this new law would guarantee freedom from prosecution int eh event of reporting wrongdoing, such as Katherine Gunn, and would cover all branches of the police, intelligence services, judiciary, parliament, local and regional councils etc. The same law would guarantee freedom of sanctuary to whistle-blowers from other nations reporting on illegal and actions actions by other governments or their state apparatuses. Any foreign whistle-blowers seeking sanctuary in the UK, provided their caser was genuine, would be guaranteed sanctuary and not deported. Julian Assange would be released under this legislation immediately the Bremain Reform Alliance come into office following December 12th election victory. 21. It will be made a criminal offence for lawyers to lie or act mendaciously, on behalf of clients, or at their bidding, in any court or judicial process in the UK. Ethical education and instruction in the history and the philosophy of law will also be made mandatory for all trainee lawyers (solicitors and barristers) in the UK. 22. The silencing of discussion in parliament of cases and issues which are being investigated legally as sub-judice will be ended. Parliamentary discussion will supercede and take precedence over all legal procedures underway, and free and unfettered discussion of all issues, with truth telling being mandatory, will be resumed to the mother of parliaments. Likewise, the Parliamentary Protocol that does not permit MP’s to take on cases for people who live outside their constituencies will be ended. All MP’s can respond (if they wish) to communications from any UK Citizen and deal with their issues as they see fit. It might be an issue they are personally interest in, in which case they would work with the citizen’s local MP to get some forward movement on the issue. 23. State pensions will be increased 100% in size by the Bremain Reform alliance as a way of giving thanks to the elderly people of Britain who have sacrificed so much for the current generation. Women and men will be treated equally in all pension matters. The pension age will be set at 65 and kept there indefinitely, for both men and women. If people want to go on working after that age they can of course. 24. UK foreign policy will shift 100% towards a peace oriented policy, with emphasis on resolving and healing conflicts in nations around the world, with a priority on Commonwealth countries, but also throughout the Middle East and wherever countries are experiencing civil wars or violent conflicts The UK will make available its 3 centuries of experience in building and maintaining the largest Empire the world has ever known, and give advice and help and assistance to all countries who ask for mediation and peace-making assistance. The UK will support the coming into being of the European Union Mediation Service and make its expertise in conflict resolution and mediation available to it also. The UK will also support and advance peace-making and mediation structures inside the United Nations, and help bring into being a UN Intra-National Mediation Service. The UK will double it contributions to the UN and towards UNESCO and help set up an Education Aid programme through UNESCO whereby all children in participating country’s are given a special day off per year for fundraising (“Education Aid”) on the model of Live Aid. 25. The legalisation of soft recreational drugs (cannabis, ayahuasca, magic mushrooms, and similar) will end the criminalisation of millions of people and enable the medical and social benefits of their judicious use to benefit the treasury, as in the Canadian model brought in by the Canadian Liberal Party of Justin Trudeau. This will bring millions of pounds to the exchequer through taxes and stimulate a legal cannabis industry in the UK. Cannabis would be available for sale in special shops nationwide to over 18 year olds, with their contents and quality carefully monitored for excellence, but would come with due health warnings, just as alcohol and tobacco do, and not be sold to minors. Intelligent drugs education programmes would give the people the knowledge on which to base lifestyle choices and proper help would be given for all addiction and mental health problems. The war on drugs would be ended and peace declared instead. Parliament to play the Beatles All You Need is Love on the loudspeakers on day one of the Bremain Reform Alliance taking office. 26. The people of Northern Ireland would be asked again at a second referendum if they wish to a) leave the European Union as part of the UK or if they b) wish to stay as part of the European Union as a continuing part of the UK or c) if they wish to remain as part of the EU but as an integral part of the Irish republic. This three way referendum would be unique to the people of Northern Ireland and would be held at the same as the overall UK referendum on the EU. 27. The workings of the Privy Council would be televised and recorded in Hansard, and subject to freedom of information legislation and would also be subject to the Parliamentary Duty of Veracity Bill. Lying would lead to instant dismissal of any member of the Privy Council up to and including the Monarch. 28. The written constitution would include a new definition of treason, encompassing not only acts injurious to well-being of the monarch but also acts injurious to the well-being of the people of the UK as a whole (Genuine lawful democratic independence movements (such as the SNP) would be excluded from this bill.). The Supreme Court would have responsibility for cases of treason brought under this act and the Supreme Court would also act as the Constitutional Court of the UK henceforth for all disputes concerning interpretation of the new written Constitution. 29. The ancient monasteries and Abbeys of the UK which were destroyed previously and are now in ruined state, would be restored as Spiritual Retreat Centres, run loosely and conscientiously by the Church of England / Church of Scotland / Church of Wales / Church of Ireland on behalf of the well being of all the people of the UK, and set up as ecumenical open retreat centres for spiritual pilgrims throughout the UK. Young unemployed people would learn craft skills to rebuild these monasteries throughout the land, taking pride in their work, and architects and skilled craftsmen would all be invited to play a role in rebuilding such sacred places as Glastonbury, Rievaulx, Lewes Priory, Abbey Cwm Hyr, Reading, and many more. Each restored Spiritual Pilgrimage Centre would have a library, scriptoria, bookshop, healing clinic, herbal garden, dormitory, refectory, chapter house, prayer chapel and meditation spaces, and would be open to Christians of all denominations, and also to people of all other faiths, to come on retreat, and stay and help with tasks on a voluntary basis. Daily prayers for peace and healing would form the core of their renewed mission in the life of the nation. Author, Dr Thomas Clough Daffern, PhD, PCGE, B.A. (Hons) D.Sc (Hon) Director, international Institute of Peace Studies and Global Philosophy (IIPSGP) Director, Centre for Bremain Studies and Action, UK and France. www.educationaid.net https://centreforbremainstudies.weebly.com/blog Please send any comments or suggestions for improvements or extra clauses you wish to see added, and also any reports of successful use of this MANIFESTO FOR A REFORM BREMAIN ALLIANCE in inter-party negotiations to: [email protected] or [email protected]
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorDr. Thomas Clough Daffern B.A. (Hons.) PGCE. D.SC. (Hon), PhD. is a philosopher, historian, teacher, poet, author, lecturer, musician, thinker, educator, consultant and peace studies specialist. His academic background includes degrees in European and world history (with political philosophy) and religious education, plus a long period of intense personal study in philosophy, religion and the history of ideas – together with over 30 years teaching experience in the same fields. He has also trained and practised in conflict management within communities and schools, specialising in multifaith and multicultural mediation. He is also a trained and experienced teacher in secondary schools, specialising in philosophy, religious education, history and citizenship studies. He was awarded his PhD from the University of London for a thesis which explores the history of the search for peace from 1945-2001 and which proposes a new field of historiography, Transpersonal History, as the best way to establish a rigorous discourse on peace among rival and contending spiritual and intellectual traditions, currently battling for hegemony on the planet. He is an expert in research techniques and methodologies on all aspects of history, religious studies, the history of world philosophy and transpersonal psychology. He has lectured in peace studies, philosophy and religious studies for many years at the Universities of London and Oxford, and has spoken twice at the UN Headquarters about the role of Universities in changing the climate of fear and violence on the planet to one of trust and wisdom-seeking. He is a founder and coordinator of International Philosophers and Historians for Peace and has worked with philosophers and intellectuals from many countries worldwide to help establish intellectual and spiritual networks for peace and goodwill. In 1990 he was elected in Moscow as Coordinator of International Philosophers for Peace, a specialist body of philosophers worldwide searching for peace and international understanding. ArchivesCategories |