Professor Vernon Bogdanor on Britain's stability

Professor Vernon Bogdanor 

Professor Vernon Bogdanor from King's College London told FPA members however unpredictable the outcome of the General Election, Britain was much less unstable than many countries. There's no far right or far left political parties and no great economic instability. It was important to retain a sense of perspective.

The EU had caused nothing but problems for all Prime Ministers since the 1950's and currently it was immigration at the top of the agenda. There will be no Treaty changes and David Cameron, he said, was raising expectations about renegotiation which he could not meet. 

One scenario after May the 8th was the SNP supporting a minority Labour Government which they would not wish to destabilise before the Scottish Elections in Spring 2016. Professor Bogdanor said the current electoral system exacerbated and exaggerated the differences that increased the pressure for Scottish separation from the United Kingdom. 

A full house at FPA this morning

The politics of ideology was being replaced by the politics of identity. The question was no longer capitalism or socialism, it was, what is British? Can you be British and Scottish? Can you be British and European? 

In a globalized economy people with low skills were losing out and felt left out by the main political parties; hence the rise of UKIP and the Greens. UKIP was the first popular insurgent mass movement since the Second World War, he said.

Professor Bogdanor said he was personally in favour of electoral reform with the introduction of the Single Transferable Vote; in favour of a written constitution; and in favour of lowering the voting age to sixteen. It might help young people pick up the habit of voting.