Future Echo

Ask a group of British people about their constitution and you will receive a wide variety of responses. It is clear that the UK doesn't have a single codified document as a constitution like, for instance, the USA or France. The implementation process for Brexit is changing the way that the British constitution works, tearing up some of the principles upon which the UK constitution functions and allowing Parliamentary sovereignty to do whatever it likes with only a modicum of oversight from the Supreme Court. British citizens or subjects can, therefore, rely on nothing to protect them from a future, or maybe current, imperious government. Lawyers in training will often point to UK constitutional law as being the thickest book they need to study for their examinations. One retired lawyer, though not a specialist in constitutional law, pointed to constitutional lawyers such as TB Smith, JDB Mitchell and Neil MacCormack as being the people he would reference: 'all argu

When I grew up as a teenager there was almost constant talk about the ‘generation gap’ and about how young people were so different to previous generations. Then when it got our turn to have kids my wife and I joked that the only think our kids could do to shock us was to wear suits and like classical music. Which strangely they did! But I was almost more shocked when my oldest son asked for a CD for Christmas that I had listened to as a gramophone record while doing my A levels when it first came out. There was respect for the older generations who were the ‘wise’ people of the family In centuries gone by people tended to live in extended families, where generations lived together for their entire lives. There was respect for the older generations who were the ‘wise’ people of the family, because they had accumulated knowledge over their years. Sometimes generational respect became inverted. I remember visiting Oman about a quarter of a century ago. Before 1970 it had be

Since early days mankind has grouped together in families and families together as tribes. These tribes came into being formed from historic wider family groups and within each tribe a culture and often a hierarchical structure evolved. One of the things that defined these tribes were the myths and stories told from generation to generation, parent to child. In this context by myth  I mean a story that is not necessarily true but is believed to be true within that tribe. Different tribes would have different myths and so different cultures and expectations arose between them. Though capable of tremendous good and compassion, people have    proved to be brutal to each other At a basic level all people have the need for food, shelter and security. The myths help to define both how these needs were understood and how to attain them. Though capable of tremendous good and compassion, people have, over the centuries, proved to be brutal to each other dividing into 'us' a

When we consider what the 'shared society' values are, we should bear in mind what Churchill said, 'Is the only lesson of history to be that mankind is unteachable? Let there be justice, mercy and freedom.' As Europeans born in the UK I believe we see these as our Common Goals: 1/ A country that values justice and truth and doesn't allow politicians to legally and knowingly lie in parliament and thus mislead people; that demands truth and honesty from it's media and politicia ns in all circumstances and severely punishes those who lie; that elects through a proportional representation system that is fair and never relies on a simple 'first past the post' system for anything but seeks consensus rather than mere majority rule. 2/ A country that values mercy and seeks the welfare of all people, providing healthcare and education for everyone and support for the disabled and disadvantaged; that sees business serving the community rather than the commun