The Conservatives today vowed to publish online every item of government spending over £25,000.
Comment & Analysis
Canada recently dropped a proposal to change the country’s national anthem by making it more gender-inclusive (read the BBC report). This has inevitably prompted many Brits to ask if our national anthem should be changed, or even replaced.
It is has been confirmed that the leaders of the three main political parties in Westminster will hold three debates during the course of the forthcoming election campaign. Each debate will have a number of themes and issues to deal with, including “Constitution; Trust in politics; Political reform”.
Last night, the Constitutional Reform and Governance bill received its second reading in Parliament. It passed easily and is now on its way to the Lords.
Last week, the House of Commons Science and Technology Select Committee finally said what most of us have been thinking in a vociferous report on homeopathy.
One of the key issues for Republic is sovereignty – in other words, the source of supreme legal and political power. In the UK it is the Crown and parliament that are sovereign (through an odd concept of “Crown in parliament”, which simply means the monarch retains constitutional authority but does the bidding of MPs).
Fairly frequently during the course of this debate I’m asked: “Do we need a head of state at all?” My answer is an unequivocal “Well, yes and no”. While theoretically it is not essential, I believe it’s a job that needs to be done and which can play an important role in our political system.


