Will the UK ever regain it's sovereignty.

[DiscoDancer]

Definition of Sovreignity according to Wiki:

For centuries past, the idea that a state could be sovereign was always connected to its ability to guarantee the best interests of its own citizens. Thus, if a state could not act in the best interests of its own citizens, it could not be thought of as a “sovereign” state.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sovereignty

Has the British Parliament, especially recently, been acting in the "best interests of its own citizens"?

If we can determine some point in the recent (or distant) past when Parliament ceased acting in our best interests, then perhaps we can determine a point when we lost our sovreignity and why. It may not have been for external causes or to external influences.

It may have been for the inherent selfishness of our politicians.

 

[JBR]

The Oxford English Dictionary defines it slightly differently:

"noun (plural sovereignties)
[mass noun]

supreme power or authority:the sovereignty of Parliament
the authority of a state to govern itself or another state:national sovereignty
[count noun] a self-governing state."

So I suppose we effectively lost our sovereignty when our government sold us down the river and Brussels began dictating what we should do, how we should live, and over-ruling the decisions of our courts.

As none of the major parties show any interest in leaving the EU, the only way Britain will ever regain its sovereignty is if the electorate were to vote for a political party that will pull us out of the EU.

So, once again, it is the fault of the electorate. If we are too stupid to see that, we are destined to remain a non-sovereign territory.

 

[Dextraneous]

I fear that all this posturing by our political leaders and would-be leaders is too late. I'm reminded of this story, witht the obvious difference that at least he knew his limitations.

 

[vinty]

I would have thought any nation that loses control of its borders is no longer a soveriegn state.
The UK is now an offshore labour station for big business and a corrupt EU.

 

[JBR]

I would have thought any nation that loses control of its borders is no longer a soveriegn state.
The UK is now an offshore labour station for big business and a corrupt EU.

I think it would be better described as a dumping ground for the EU.

 

[DiscoDancer]

The Oxford English Dictionary defines it slightly differently:

"noun (plural sovereignties)
[mass noun]

supreme power or authority:the sovereignty of Parliament
the authority of a state to govern itself or another state:national sovereignty
[count noun] a self-governing state."

So I suppose we effectively lost our sovereignty when our government sold us down the river and Brussels began dictating what we should do, how we should live,

The use of your emotive language leaves us with no doubt about your feelings on this.
But, even using your dictionary definition, it simply means that we have surrendered some legislative power to a higher authority. Even this European Parliament can only form legislation after protracted negotiations with its member states.
Some power has not been surrendered, eg. monetary policy, including taxation and budgetary responsibilities, which are the big items of disappointment.
But even the power that we have surrendered is to a parliament that is partly elected by us. So we have a two-tier sovereign authority.
We always have had a multi-tier government.

and over-ruling the decisions of our courts.

The European Commission of Human Rights is totally separate and disconected form the European Parliament.

As none of the major parties show any interest in leaving the EU, the only way Britain will ever regain its sovereignty is if the electorate were to vote for a political party that will pull us out of the EU.

Who in their right mind would vote for a single-issue party?

So, once again, it is the fault of the electorate. If we are too stupid to see that, we are destined to remain a non-sovereign territory.

For the reasons given above, your assertion that we are a non-sovereign state is fallacious.

 

[Micilin]

I fear that all this posturing by our political leaders and would-be leaders is too late. I'm reminded of this story, witht the obvious difference that at least he knew his limitations.

A lot of people miss the point of this story.

He never tried to hold back the tide, but said it was pointless trying.

So probably it supports the EU ?

 

[JBR]

I fear that all this posturing by our political leaders and would-be leaders is too late. I'm reminded of this story, witht the obvious difference that at least he knew his limitations.

A lot of people miss the point of this story.

He never tried to hold back the tide, but said it was pointless trying.

So probably it supports the EU ?

I agree, the tide being everyone and his son on their way here!

 

[Micilin]

To start with, do we ask this lot to go home?


http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/shared/spl/hi/in_depth/brits_abroad/html/default.stm

 

[JBR]

To start with, do we ask this lot to go home?


http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/shared/spl/hi/in_depth/brits_abroad/html/default.stm[/QUOTE]

Ah, 'white flight'.

We have only a few friends who have joined the exodus, in these cases Australia and France. I was aware, of course, of the large number of Brits who have emigrated to Spain, but was surprised that so many have gone to South America. Also, it seems that many have gone to the US, yet I thought they (unlike us) were very particular about who they let in.

The people we know who have emigrated have done so because they sought a better life. However, they at least took with them valued skills and their own financial backing.

This reflects my opinion about immigration into Britain: I welcome all who come here who bring skills that are of value to our country and, of course, they should be self-sufficient. Others are not needed and, in an ideal world, we should be able to exchange immigrants one-for-one for our criminals and other dross! Not going to happen, of course.

 

[DiscoDancer]

If "net migration" is the target, why don't the government provide more encouragement for emmigration?
For instance, they could rescind the promise to stop the winter fuel payments to ex-pats.
They could pay the Disability Allowance to european ex-pats as the EU has told them they should.
They could allow pensions to rise with the nominated criteria to ex-pats who currently receive a frozen pension.
They could allow ex-pats to save with Premium Bonds.
I suspect there are a myriad of other inducements available to encourage emmigration.


(Now wait for the flak)