Sunday 17 April 2016

An Alternative Blueprint for Britain’s Future, by Tom Fowdy

The British state we know today, the “United Kingdom” is in a terminal state of unrest and decline.

Its best days are behind it, its identity is rejected and broken and its economy is unconvincing at best, not to mention unjust.

Successive Conservative governments since the 1980s, and the legacy of New Labour, have effectively destroyed the country by pursuing a corporatist programme that has destroyed the British working class, lead to a surge in divisive individualism, hurt communities, and eroded national identity.

Far from being the “protectors” of British interests, these governments sold off the British economy, assets, foreign policy and sovereignty to foreign and elitist interests.

Modern Britain is now a distorted, oligarchic state with an elite governing in the name of financial interests alone, contrary to the interests of ordinary people.

With British communities fragmenting, the country is now plagued with seperatist movements in Scotland and Wales, left-wing unrest, radicalized communities who have no loyalty to the nation, and record levels of distrust in politicians as whole.

I myself am deeply disillusioned with what Britain has become. It has lost not only its identity, but its community, cohesion, mission and purpose.

The country is fast losing political stability as the government is propped up an unjust electoral system that renders rule by a tiny plurality of voters.

I mourn how young people seem to resent their country and hold no affiliation to it, in contrast to East Asian nations where even the young have such a powerful sense of national belonging and drive which has made those countries extremely successful.

I believe Britain should start again from scratch or otherwise it will face total collapse.

The current regime does not rule in the people’s interest, and in the past 30 years has made catastrophic mistakes and decisions.

Britain should start again, it should rebuild itself as a unified community orientated state built solely on  the will of the people, national values, citizenship, and a more open democracy. 

It should not ruled as it is today, by corporations, big banks and foreign interests that govern only in the name of money. Without identity and without purpose, we cannot exist.

Therefore, in this article I set out my theoretical vision and blueprint for what I call “The New British State”, a new Britain, a better Britain, one which has discarded all of the horrible flaws of the regime that is bringing us on the verge of national collapse.

This alternative is not “Socialist”, but a left-wing nationalist, populist and Republican state infused with many of the ideals expressed in Clement Attlee’s post-war Britain.

Effectively, it is a populist social-democracy with a patriotic character and a set of ideals very similar to revolutionary France. 

It likewise involves an attempt to reconcile discontented groups against the status quo (on the populist left and right) into one unified umbrella.

How this “nation” would come about is of course, open to popular imagination and I make no reference to how, but nonetheless I offer this as a recommendation as to what Britain ought to be. 

I have based this on simple four principles which ought to be remembered, 1) “The People’s Sovereignty” 2) “The People’s Patriotism” 3) “The People’s Economy” and 4) “International Neutrality”.

The People’s Sovereignty and Democracy 

Sovereignty ought to be held by the people and for the people, and by nobody else; bound only by the people themselves and answerable to nobody else.

Representatives in the elected body ought to represent nobody but the people.

Upon election, they ought to resign all “other jobs”, renounce all other forms of income and forfeit any interests which would bring them into conflict with the fundamental priority of representation.

All forms of corporate association, lobbying, “media friendships” and “connections” in government must be banned outright.

As much as banks and businesses have a right to exist, they must be subordinate to democracy and subordinate to the people.

The elected body must be bound by nothing but the people themselves and the independent judiciary; although power may be devolved downwards to the grassroots in various respects, power must not be developed upwards to institutions unaccountable to the people.

This includes bodies such as the European Union, multinational corporations or anything else. 

Political power and decision making must be forever in the people’s reach, it cannot be taken to dark and sinister places where it cannot be seen.

Therefore, the new state is owned by the people, sovereignty reflects the power of the people and any attempt to diminish the sovereignty of the state is a diminishment of the sovereignty of the people.

The state must not fall into the hands of banks, corporations, media moguls, landed aristocracies or expansionist powers such as the European Union.

Moving, on in order to bring political balance to this nation, all constituent countries of Britain ought to be treat as equal partners, than the failed model of England dominating the rest and fuelling separatist movements.

In a similar model to the U.S senate, one chamber of the parliament can be represented in proportion to population, but the other (replacing the House of Lords) ought to return an equal number of representatives for every constituent country: England, Scotland, Northern Ireland, and Wale.

Although this is a massive power-based concession for England, it is the only means to ensure a much fairer and more equal British Union, rather than to lose it altogether to separatist movements.

Thus, instead of the currently fragile kingdom model, the new British State would be a republican model with a constitutional union between the involved states.

What would be the fate of the monarchy? After the death of Queen Elizabeth II, it ought simply to be discontinued.

It is little more than a distant memory of a regime that now fails to capture the people’s beliefs, imaginations and hopes. It long ceased to be a symbol of national unity.

The People’s Patriotism 

Any state or organization that does not believe in itself or its guiding mission effectively ceases to exist.

The new British state must believe in itself and must have pride in its own identity, otherwise it cannot be cohesive.

It’s values can only flourish if there is a common brotherhood, solidarity and unity; rather than being based on hatred, blood or racial prejudice, this patriotism ought to be based purely on values, citizenship, mission and culture.

Right now, Britain does not believe itself and the population is rapidly fragmenting into multiple identities, cultures and directions, which is hastening the dissolution of this historic state and leading to separatist movements.

British identity has been effectively binned as prejudice, and dismissed without a consideration as to how it could be reinvented.

It ought to be reinvented, separate from the controversial legacy of the empire; complete with a new mission, solidarity and sense of shared heritage. 

It ought to be an inclusive one that transcends ethnic origin. 

The state must take an active role in promoting these values in all areas of life for the cause of citizenship from the cradle to the grave. 

The People’s Patriotism is a motivator and a drive which can spur the economic and political success of the new state. It need not pursue an antagonistic foreign policy. 

It is the only the states that have the most cohesive identities and social order that become the most successful. 

The onset of liberal individualism and anti-patriotic politics has effectively destroyed Western unity, morale and economic prosperity. Our has become a civilization divided against itself.

It has failed. Only a common identity, a common morality and common community can ensure our prosperity. 

The People’s Economy 

The new British economy must be run for the prosperity of the people and nobody else.

Whilst it is essential that private enterprise exists, as competition is mandatory for progress, this should be an economy with leadership, direction and unity.

A mixed economic model is the way forwards with market and state initiatives.

Britain must resurrect its industrial and manufacturing base, it must re-create and nurture its traditional industries such as coal and steel, for there was never any mandate for their destruction. 

Likewise, to prevent financial disaster, collapse as well as subjection to sinister interests, the state ought to own all banks in the country and govern them prudently, nonetheless allowing them to pursue their own semi-autonomous initiatives. 

The state ought repeatedly to invest in the economy to pursue development and sustain public services for the people’s wellbeing. 

It should be prepared to significantly reconstruct the areas of the country that have suffered from economic devastation, neglect, stagnation and deprivation, such as North East England, Yorkshire, Lancashire, South Wales, and the Clyde region of Scotland. 

The economy of Britain is lopsided and is largely centred in London. This is not right. These regions must again become the powerhouses of the British state. 

International Neutrality 

The new British State ought to be neutral and step aside from great power alignments. Rather, it must to act impartially on behalf of the entire international community as an influential broker state. 

It must not pursue a hostile policy towards the United States or China, but rather continually seek a middle ground and a reconciliation of interests in the name of peace.

As a regime that values its own sovereignty, the new British State ought to value and respect the sovereign equality of all recognized states around the world, and offer an unconditional objection to all forms of interventionist foreign policy save there is an overwhelmingly and unbiased moral case in favour of such.

It must seek continually to counter the propaganda of great powers (including the United States) and offer a variety of alternative, open minded perspectives in all situations.

Neutrality and impartiality in the cause of peace.

Britain must keep its nuclear weapons programme, to maintain its global influence, and to prevent subjection to hostile nations.

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