Should the United Kingdom break up into new nation states, I favour the retention of a shared constitutional monarchy and a continuing association between the new nations and the Irish Republic. This could be pursued through a revamped British-Irish Council (Council of the Isles), similar to the Nordic Council in which all members are treated as equals.
Representatives serving on the Council would seek areas where members could co-operate for their mutual benefit.

Based closely on the Nordic Council, this is how the Council of the Isles could operate:

To those of us who live in the region, co-operation is only natural and we give it little thought as we go about our daily business.
Our common history and culture and the English language contribute greatly to this sense of community. Cross-border networking is customary and cooperation works smoothly with a minimum of formal restrictions.
However, many of the opportunities we have for working together are the result of formal agreements between our governments.

The Council of the Isles has pursued a policy that says: we gain by acting collectively and not duplicating work. As a result, we enjoy freedom of movement across borders; we are entitled to work and study in each other's countries without a lot of red tape and we are entitled to health care if we fall ill in another country within the region. Our respective defence systems also participate in common procurement schemes and we can boast a common action plan for environmental protection.

Council of the Isles l
The Council of the Isles is the interparliamentary body involving the MPs from the parliaments of England, Scotland, Ireland and Wales, and the English crown dependencies of Jersey, Guernsey and the Isle of Man.
The Council of the Isles takes initiatives and acts in an advisory and supervisory capacity on issues and matters of interest.
The parties undertake to seek to preserve and further develop co-operation between our nations in the legal, cultural, social and financial areas as well as in matters relating to transport and protection of the environment. More recently, this definition has been expanded and now also includes a binding commitment in foreign and security policy issues.
The Council of the Isles Council of Ministers is the intergovernmental body.

The delegations
The individual national parliaments appoint the members of the Council of the Isles.
As far as possible, the political composition of the national delegations should reflect the balance of power in the national parliaments.

Party groups
The members of the Council of the Isles work together in cross-border party groups.

The committees
The Council of the Isles has five committees:

The Culture and Education and Training Committee
The Culture and Education and Training Committee is responsible for culture, teaching, education, training and research. The committee works on the following issues:
General culture and art in the member countries and abroad; film and media; languages; sports; the voluntary sector; children's and youth culture; primary and secondary schools; the education and training market; general and adult education; life-long learning; research; research training and exchange programmes.

The Welfare Committee

The Welfare Committee processes issues concerning welfare, social and health care policy. The committee works on the following issues:
Welfare and care schemes; social and health care; disability; construction and housing; family, children and young people; abuse of drugs, alcohol and other substances.

The Citizens' and Consumer Rights Committee
The Citizens' and Consumer Rights Committee deals with issues concerning the rights of citizens and consumers as well as associated matters of democracy, human rights, equality, etc. The committee works on the following issues:
Democracy; human rights; civic rights; equality; consumer affairs; food safety; combating crime, including international crime and terrorism; legislation; immigration and refugee issues; co-operation against racism.

Environment and Natural Resources Committee
The Environment and Natural Resources Committee deals with questions concerning the protection of our environment and natural resources. The committee works on the following issues:
Environment; forestry and agriculture; fishery; sustainable development; energy.

Business and Industry Committee
The Business and Industry Committee deals with frameworks and parameters for the economy, production and trade, including freedom of movement in the market and in the labour market in the region. The committee works on the following issues:
Business/industry; inner markets, freedom of movement, removal of border obstacles; commerce; regional and structural aid; employment and the labour market; working environment; infrastructure/transport; communications; IT.

Control Committee and the Budget
The Control Committee exercises the parliamentary control over work financed by joint Council funds.
The budget for the Council is financed by contributions from the parliaments. The budget for the work of the Council of the Isles Council of Ministers is financed by the national governments. National contributions are calculated according to a formula based on GDP.

The Presidium
The Presidium of the Council of the Isles is the governing body of the Council.
It consists of a president and ordinary members. The president is elected for one year and the presidency rotates among the member countries.
The main task of the Presidium is to discuss overriding political and administrative issues, foreign and security policy issues and the budget and to function as the primary point of contact with the Adjacent Areas as well as regional and international organisations.
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Northumbrian> Yes I certainly think something as you have stated above would be good. Maintaining trade and free movement of goods should be a prime concern to a newly independent England, and since the days of Empire and conquest are firmly in the past having a policy of mutual cooperation with our immediate neighbours makes sense.

Ea of dune
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That is pretty much what I want Northumbrian except ideally I'd like Britain split into regions like Cornwall, Wessex, Lochaber etc and I'd severely limit the powers of any such council.
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I'd love to know why Cornwall gets to go it alone, but Somerset, Dorset, Wiltshire and possibly even Gloucestershire get lumped under 'Wessex'.
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It's a terrific idea. :-)
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Originally Posted by Frith:
It's a terrific idea. :-)

It's cack.
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Originally Posted by Westcountryman:
I'd love to know why Cornwall gets to go it alone, but Somerset, Dorset, Wiltshire and possibly even Gloucestershire get lumped under 'Wessex'.

'Cos he's yet another Scot presuming to prescribe for England!

Who really cares what he says?


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Originally Posted by Westcountryman:
It's cack.

Yes, but English nationalists may not think so and especially Independence fans may not think so. One might expect a new age libertarian to say it's cack, but a classic one may find its alliance structure and co-operativeness appealing.

I presume you think the Nordic alliance is also "cack"? And if so, what should they have instead?
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Sorry, I was referring to BonnieDundee's idea about breaking up England into regions such as 'Wessex', not the 'Council of the Isles' idea.

Also I don't know why I keep being referred to as a 'new age libertarian'. I'm not one of the people who goes around the forum declaring everyone else to be a 'fascist'.
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Originally Posted by Westcountryman:
Sorry, I was referring to BonnieDundee's idea about breaking up England into regions such as 'Wessex', not the 'Council of the Isles' idea.

Also I don't know why I keep being referred to as a 'new age libertarian'. I'm not one of the people who goes around the forum declaring everyone else to be a 'fascist'.

Quite! The more preceptive of us realised exactly what you were saying.

If you get dragged into exchanges with 'er above [who is actually located in the Rainbow Nation and has never been to England] you'll encounter much vacuous whimsy which contributes little of value. She's best ignored.

BD, born and raised in North Britain, apparently has Cornish connections but, nevertheless, has expressly said he does not regard himself as English. It is a characteristic that, on any pretext, he insinuates his corney Cornish nonsense! You know - special treatment for the Cornish 'cos they're allegedly different, especially if born out of nation in North Britain!


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