So let’s take this back to basics. Individuals have an amount of freedom of choice, of sovereign power over their purchases, affiliations, interests, employment and so on. This choice may be used to sign up to a broadband deal, then to join social media platforms such as Facebook and Twitter, and to buy software for a laptop and smartphone.
In exercising this individual sovereign choice, agreements are entered into. These have terms and conditions. There may be penalties for further exercising that sovereign choice by ending contracts prematurely. The Ts and Cs may mean that breaking the rules - for instance, on those social media platforms - results in suspension or exclusion.
So it is if that individual sovereign choice is used to join a political party, or to become employed by a company: either or both may impose conditions on its members or staff giving them the right to penalise or even expel anyone bringing it into disrepute. The exercise of individual sovereignty brings with it the possibility of accepting rules.
Now let’s move on to the UK’s membership of the EEC, later the EC and now the EU. It was an exercise of sovereign choice that led to application for membership. It was an exercise of sovereign choice to sign the deal and accept the Ts and Cs (It was also a sovereign choice to join NATO, on which we did not, and will not get, a vote).
And it was a sovereign choice to put membership of the EU to a referendum vote, followed by the sovereign choice to invoke Article 50 of the Lisbon Treaty. Now has come the ability to exercise sovereign choice once more, by signing a trade deal. But once signed, there are Ts and Cs, just as there are with those social media platforms - or that health club.
Managing a relationship - whether it is between the individual and a supplier or organisation, or between two countries or trading blocs, like the UK and EU - is not the signing away of sovereignty. And it is inevitably the stronger party that has the greater say in what those Ts and Cs are. That is why Marr - not alone among those asking the questions of politicians - is being disingenuous, and Mil The Younger exasperated.
We may exercise national sovereignty. Having chosen, we must then follow the rules.
https://www.justgiving.com/crowdfunding/zelostreet7
7 comments:
Definitely a peerage on its way to Marr next year, for Brexit services rendered.
It's way beyond me why anybody watches The Tory Marr Show. I stopped years ago.
Why are we not seeing a rush by the so-called United Kingdom to the exit doors of other shared sovereignty organisations such as the United Nations, NATO and Council of Europe?
Marr, Kuenssberg, Robinson and Neil, all Tory stenographers..
Why has no ever asked why we are in this mess? Ah yes, the fool in No10 , spent a good part of his time in Brussels lying about the intentions of the EU and it's predecessors, from bendy bananas to outlawing the great British pint...
All bollocks of course but the Tory press amplified these lies day in day out for the next 25 years..
But the fool is now in No10, now having to fix the problems he created.
Bojo had no qualms giving away some of our sovereignty over to Trump.
Gaining 'sovereignty' will only benefit the Tory gits seeking a more authoritarian style of government.
I wish a brexiter can tell me how gaining 'sovereignty' is going to benefit my life or anyone else's?
The Royal Navy might have a problem finding foreign fishing boats.
https://www.thelondoneconomic.com/news/reminder-that-britain-handed-the-license-to-monitor-its-waters-to-a-french-firm-last-year/13/12/
A French firm part owned by the French government.
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