Freedom!?!

Last Wednesday day was incredibly awesome. We got to see the Queen's progression as she made her way to the House of Lords to give her speech which officially opens this new Parliment. After we viewed this and had some lunch we sat in on the debate which opens the House of Commons. I wish our government had something like this. It was very funny and allowed the members of Parliment to question, insult, and call out each other with a lighter air around it. The prime minister David Cameron really proved himself. He was a great orator and quick on his feet to criticism.

The next day we left for Scotland. I love trains! Between the train ride to Scotland and the tube system in London, trains are an amazing method of transportation. I would like to see them implemented more in the U.S.

The past couple of days in Edinburgh have been amazing. I have learned a lot about the history here and have had the opportunity to interview many people on the way they voted last fall. If you didn't know, last fall the Scottish population voted on a referendum on whether to become an independent state from the UK. The vote failed, but the percentage was only 55 to 45, with 85% of the voting population participating. This was an unprecedented display of political involvement. Not only were there record highs in voter turnout, but this was also the first time 16-17 year olds were extended into the voting population.

Most of the people I've spoken with and that we have meet with votes No on the referendum. But the reactions I have experienced is what really surprises me. All the people that voted No seem to believe Scotland will be independent in 5-10 years. They voted No the first time around because they felt the Scottish government and the SNP were not prepared to run a country. The risks did not justify the change and they needed more certainty and hard numbers, rather than a strong sense of identity and destiny. Almost all the No voters seem to think these issues will be solved in the near future, with the SNP having a better idea as to what must be done before another referendum is proposed.

On the opposite side, those who voted Yea have a bleaker look for the future. Most believe that the push for independence has lost its drive since the failure of the first referendum. They think Scotland will be free one day, but not for another 50 or so years. I was kind of taken aback when I heard this. How could those who were so passionately for independence seem to just give it up over night? The answer is the Tories! Well, not just the Tories, but the UK parties as a whole. Literally right before the vote the UK parties all got together and presented the "Vow" to Scotland. Essentially it was a last ditch effort to keep the union, which was successfully achieved through a half assed letter promising greater devolution in the future. Unfortunately Scotland fell for it. And it is this belief in greater self autonomy within the union that has quelled much of the nationalist flame.

Luckily for Scotland they voted the SNP into the Westminster parliament. As it was put by the historical reenact or at the William Wallace monument, "Hoe can they (the UK) have any claim over Scotland when we control 56/59? What control do they have?" By this he was referring to the seats in parliament. Scotland holds 59 seats in the UK parliament. In the last election the Scottish Nationalist Party took 56 of those seats, an increase of 50 seats! They got a total of 50% of the Scottish population vote, almost in imaginable in a multi party system. With the three largest UK parties only holding three seats in Scotland it really is hard to see what claim the union has on Scotland.

All of the opinions and outlooks for the future have me really confused and intrigued. I don't think Scotland is ready to be its own nation, but they do need more representation, as do the other sections of the union. I think the introduction of a generalized system, much like the U.S., is the only way to preserve the union. But it will take a lot of work and a very strong leader to move the UK through this process.

Tomorrow we get to meet with memebers of this current scotish parliament. I'm interested to see what their opinion is of Scotland's future, and what the time line for either a referendum or devolution is.

Matthew

Empire to Democracy - The Role of Expertise in Government

Today we started in the imperial war musuem. I really enjoyed being there but felt we spent too much time there. While it was interesting to see the progression of war matietials and the effects of war throughout history I already knew a lot about the subject so I had a hard time staying involved.

The highlight for today was visiting with Lord Puttnam, this was freaking awesome! He had some really cool views on government and I learned a lot more about the House of Lords. He talked about the level of expertise in the House of Lords, and how this allows them to act as an advisor body to the House of Commons. I had never considered the application this might have on government. It means bills are written better with more consideration for previously laws and the implementation stage of law making. Lord Puttnam also had a very interesting view on education policy. He said we should never rely solely on experts in education. Experts in education are people who were successful with the current education system, you need to bring in those that failed to learn what parts of your system caused them to fail. If you don't fix the fundamental discrepancies then you can't expect your exterior improvements to make any difference. I really enjoyed talking with the lord, he opened my mind to the effectiveness of advisatory bodies and the way laws are implemented.

Tomorrow will be hectic and crazy! We start with seeing the queens precession down to Parliment. Then we will see her speach at the opening of Parliment. After a short lunch break we will then witness the opening debate at the opening of the House of Commons. After that we will meet with the shadow foreign secretary from the Labour Party. Post business we head of to west London for Jamie Oliver's Italian and a spot of theater. I'm dead excited for the day!

Night!

Matthew

Crazy weekend!

This weekend has been crazy fun and crazy exhausting. We toured the Parliment building, the Churchill war rooms, Windsor castle, and the London night life. This weekend also included lots of traditional British food, my first time clubbing, and an homage to the greatest band ever. Good food, lots of dancing, and mastering the tube system were some of the highlights.

Insights into this weekend-

I had a very interesting conversation with some of the other students about the division in the Republican Party back home. After asking my teacher what his opinion was he introduced the idea of a ideological split in party. A literal split, as in two new parties with a new dominate opponent of the Democratic Party coming out of the wood work. Very interesting. We then related this to British politics by bringing up the Labour Party. They face similar divisions in policy and image, and they seem to be headed toward either a split or the need for a massive overhaul of image. Very hard work lies ahead for them.

I'm noticing that the group is getting a little clickish. It's kind of annoying, but i also get the feeling it won't last long. I think most of us are just tired and need to catch up on sleep. Also, the UK is freaking expensive! Not only has food been more expensive then originally planned we also had to pay for train tickets and entrance fees I didn't expect. Also, for some reason rules on the road don't really exist here. Everyone j walks, like EVERYONE!

As a personal note, I'm reaching that point where I'm ready to move on from London. I've really enjoyed it here but I'm starting to feel myself become too used to the place. Also I don't really like my hotel room. It's small and incredibly hot! I'm also really tired and need to stay on top of these posting more.

Hopefully tomorrow!

History and empire pics

H