8/13/2019 Two come along at once

http://slidepdf.com/reader/full/two-come-along-at-once 1/1

5

N E W S

2-8 DECEMBER 2013 · THE BIG ISSUE IN THE NORTH 5

POPE ON CAPITALISMPope Francis has launched an attackon capitalism in his first publisheddocument since he was electedearlier this year. The pontiff calledfor global leaders to fight povertyand inequality, describing capitalismas “a new tyranny”. The 84-pagedocument expressed dismay at howit makes the news when a stockmarket loses two points, “but notwhen an elderly homeless person

dies of exposure”.

ECO-FRIENDLY DATAUnited Utilities is investing£10 million to build the UK’sfirst human waste-powered datacentre in Greater Manchester.The water company’s Davyhulmesewage treatment centre digestswaste from across the regionand converts some of it intobiogas to make the centre self-sufficient. The company cameup with the idea after realisinghow much extra power was being

generated.

NORTHERN DEBTPeople in northern England havemore personal debt than anywhereelse in the UK, according to a newreport. The Money Advice Servicestudy said around nine millionpeople in the UK had “serious debtproblems”. In five urban areas,more than 40 per cent of peopleadmitted they had serious financialproblems. Four of the areas – Hull,Manchester, Knowsley and Liverpool– were in northern England, with

Nottingham taking the fifth spot.

CUTS HITTING POORThe poorest areas of the UK arefacing £100 per head greaterbudget cuts than their moreaffluent counterparts, a study bythe Joseph Rowntree Foundationreveals. It shows the scale of cutsin spending on local governmentin England and Scotland since2010. It says cuts have beengreater in more deprived localauthorities than in more affluentones, with a difference of around

£100 per head.

NEWS IN BRIEF

member of the European Unionor leave the European Union?”

And then there is the timingof the vote. After MP AdamAfriyie tried and failed to get thedate brought forward to 2014,David Cameron seems to havegot his way with a deadline of2017. The intervening time, hesays, will be used to renegotiate

the UK’s relationship withBrussels.

Either way the vote will notcoincide with a general election,where turnout would be higher,and thus campaign groups mayhave a greater opportunity toaffect the outcome.

Nationalistic fervourThe Scottish referendumfalls just 12 weeks after thecommemoration of the Battleof Bannockburn, Scotland’sfamous victory against invadingEnglish forces, and SNP leader

Alex Salmond will be keento capitalise on nationalisticfervour.

Cameron meanwhile iskeen to offer the promise of adefinitive vote on Europe toneutralise the electoral threat ofUKIP. In this respect referendaare perhaps not so differentfrom the traditional politicalprocess. It is still politicianswho decide what issue is put tothe public – and when.

MICHAEL BONNET

(passed), to a national smoking ban (rejected).

The US frequently usesreferenda at a federal level – acustom that has led to theapproval of same-sex marriagein California and the legalisationof marijuana in Colorado.

But the device is notwithout its detractors. German

chancellor Angela Merkel’sCDU party recently ruled outthe possibility of giving voterstheir own opportunity to decideon Europe, stating “we opposeundermining parliamentary law-making”.

Political controversyThe wording of a referendumquestion frequently causespolitical controversy.

The Electoral Commission hascriticised the proposal in JamesWharton’s EU Referendum Billto ask voters “Do you think that

the United Kingdom should be a member of the EuropeanUnion?”

It says research has shownsome prospective voters wereconfused by this question asthey did not know that the UKwas currently a member of theEU and thus it “presented a riskof misunderstanding”.

Instead it recommend thegovernment uses a versionthat research participantsfound most neutral: “Shouldthe United Kingdom remain a

David Cameron will attemptto woo Eurosceptic votersin the general election withthe promise of an in/out EUreferendum in 2017.

The move comes after theefforts of one Tory backbencherto bring forward the vote to2014 were soundly defeated inthe Commons last week.

If it goes ahead thereferendum will be only thethird such occasion whenUK voters have been asked

to decide on national policydirectly – following the 2011referendum on the alternativevote, and the 1975 balloton Britain’s membershipof the European EconomicCommunity.

Public vetoA number of hurdles remainthat may prevent the Britishpublic from having their sayon Europe second time around.Curiously, one of these isthe outcome of a precedingreferendum, which could

render the notion of “the Britishpublic” itself obsolete.

Earlier this month Membersof the Scottish Parliament gavethe Scottish Referendum Bill itsfinal rubber stamp. The vote onScottish independence is nowconfirmed for 18 September2014, when those over 16 livingnorth of the border will beasked “Should Scotland be anindependent country?”

Referenda are the mostexplicit example of participatorydemocracy, which contrastswith the UK’s usual model

of representative democracy,whereby elected officials act onthe public’s behalf.

Although still rare in theUK, they are much morecommon elsewhere. UnderSwitzerland’s system of directrepresentation, for example, thepublic effectively retains a vetoon all new laws proposed byparliament. Last year there wereno fewer than 12 referendumsheld in the country, oneverything from restrictingthe number of second-homes

Alex Salmond promotes independence. Photo: Reuters/Francois Lenoir

Two come along at once

BITN 1007_04,05 (News).indd 5 28/11/2013 18:55