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Let's hope the UK is a leading indicator. From the Guardian:
Brown hands key powers to parliament
[New Prime Minister Gordon] Brown's route map for constitutional reform was unveiled in his first Commons statement as prime minister. It was intended as a clear rupture with the Blair administration, and a shock to critics who fear he is a centralising autocrat.
Ridiculous! Just show me one country happening, for heaven's sake!
Setting out a series of initiatives that could fundamentally change the balance of power in the UK, he also launched a cross-party debate on a new bill of rights that could for the first time enshrine the rights and responsibilities of the citizen. The age of voting could also be reduced to 16 and elections held on Sundays.
Mr Brown announced his government was surrendering or limiting the executive's powers over the right to declare war. He set out proposals that would also block the government's ability to recall parliament and choose bishops.
There could also be limits on the executive's power to ratify international treaties, grant pardons and make key public appointments. He proposed that MPs hold US-style pre-appointment hearings initially for senior public officials such as the chief inspector of prisons.
The contrast between "The Mother of Parliaments" moving toward the separation of powers and a Bill of Rights, while the criminal Bush regime tramples on them, couldn't be more obvious.
But it looks like in this country, unlike the UK, impeachment now is the only good option to get our Constitution back, eh?
Funny we're not seeing any of this mentioned in the pages of Pravda
on the Potomac or Izvestia
on the Hudson. I wonder why?
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UK Prime minister to surrender Powers
The powers that are spoken of in the Queen's speech are the powers a Government Minister uses known as the Royal Prerogative for Treaty and War Making Powers. These powers are used on behalf of the Crown and Prime Minister Brown has suggested that these war-making powers should be given to our Parliamentarians to make it more "democratic". It is not in the “Government’s gift’ to transfer the Royal Prerogative to any other body of people, especially to foreigners, yet I note that Article 32 of the Reform Treaty states that, “The Union shall have legal Personality. It is this very same Royal Prerogative that this Government is giving to the European Union. To give this extraordinary Constitutional change away to the EU, the people should have a say along with Her majesty Queen Elizabeth II-the Crown. Irf the EU Reform Treaty is ratified, the British Parliament will not have the the use of the Royal Prerogative for very long, will it. Lose the title to the treacherous act and the handing over of the Royal Prerogative may not sound so bad. Will it?
As for a Bill of Rights? The people have had their own Bill of Rights since 1688 and Magna Carta long before that. They have been ignored for a little while.