We seem to be re-fighting the 2016 campaign ... again ... which is more than a little tiresome.
A sovereign independent nation decides its laws via electoral processes and representatives within its borders. It does not have legislation forced upon it by supranational institutions, and the fig leaf of democracy which we are graciously allowed to have a small share in is no recompense. For me, that really is the beginning and the end of the Brexit debate. Whatever the supposed benefits of EU membership, the cost is far too high.
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Originally Posted by jonbxx
So cultural differences negate the fact that the representatives that were elected by the population and is therefore undemocratic? What level of cultural, political of historical granularity is democratic? Is, for example, Belgium as a nation democratic when there are clear historical and cultural differences between Wallonia and Flanders? How about Germany that was federalised in 1871? How about the UK in 1707? in Does devolution in the UK make this country more or less democratic?
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Not cultural differences, no. There are cultural differences between the nations of the UK and even within the nations.
The question within the UK and across Europe is whether or not there is a single demos - a single political consciousness. Within the UK, there is. A general election campaign is visibly similar in Glasgow and in London, even despite regional differences such as the SNP, which for all its pretensions is a very British political party that operates in just the same way as, for example, Labour. Spend a few minutes watching First Minister’s Questions in Holyrood and you are left in no doubt that you’re observing exactly the same political culture as Westminster, no matter how much they might hate to admit it.
There is an identifiable British political consciousness which allows political parties to operate across the country (with the notable exception of Northern Ireland) that is not replicated at the EU level. There are no pan-EU parties; there will be no pan-EU manifestos or coordinated campaigns this May. There is no coherent programme for governance that we can vote for, and which electors in Cologne, Cardiff and Caen may understand and judge in the same way.
That is why the British Parliament is a legitimate democratic institution, fit to legislate for the whole British population, and the European Parliament is not.