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Or should I really write, three symptoms of a single theme ? Allow me to start this piece with a question: What to Derek Conway & all MPs, Sharia Law and the EU Constitution have in common with King Canute ? The answer is that all three are trying to hold back unstoppable change to a world where their current powers will be restricted in future times just as King Canute commanded the tide to stop and was powerless to do so.

In fact we should not be unkind to King Canute because he was a pretty smart chap who actually for both religious and political reasons, carried out this pantomime to prove a point: “Let all men know how empty and worthless is the power of kings. For there is none worthy of the name but God, whom heaven, earth and sea obey”.

Perhaps I am being unkind but just like a newly acclaimed Pope has a Devil’s Advocate whispering in his ear, all politicians should have these words of King Canute, shouted in their ears daily ! But still let me move on to make my point concerning the similarity behind all three of these things starting with the “Conway Affair”.

Parliament in Trouble

Some time ago, what Derek Conway did with regard to paying his sons money may well have only led to to some satirical remarks, jokes about “doing a Conway”, cartoons and not so much public outrage but times have changed and the amount of money paid considered obscene. The main tool behind this has been the Internet, people are more informed, better connected and able to get their voice heard because even the “media” has been undermined by it.

Parliament, even if it didn’t insist on giving all it’s powers to Brussels, has been in serious trouble for some time with general elections getting a below 60% turnout and the government being formed by a party with only 25% of the potential popular vote – not good. However, it also reflects not just how Blair and co have undermined belief in Parliament by their foolish behaviour not just in their policies but also how they have treated the institution itself – Anybody remember Blair’s afternoon decision to abolish the position of Lord Chancellor ?

It is an unfortunate cocktail of events: A weak Brown Government which will not be re-elected and will therefore keep us in Limbo for a further 2 years. A European Constitution that means Parliament with 80% of Laws already coming from Brussels, is signing away the last fig leafs of British sovereignty and therefore the institution has become irrelevant because it has no power. Even the current Speaker being a hopeless old fool with a voice that has earned him the title of “Mr Squeaker”, is as powerless as he is useless to rescue Parliament. The stage is now set for a new Cromwell to set things to rights and that is not necessarily a good thing.

Sharia Law

There is much in the average British Asian background that speaks of the teachings of the Prophet and what is actually in the Koran, but as the majority come from rural areas in Pakistan or Bangladesh, their view of Islam is mainly coloured by tribal customs that would be as common with their Hindu or Sikh neighbours in similar areas of these countries.

Tribal societies are male dominated as logically, they would have to be but such patterns of behaviour do not transplant well to an industrialised urban and secular society such as the UK and must be very difficult for second and third generation people to deal with. Sharia Law has no agreed or universal code of conduct and is lacking in a constitutional model which imposes any kind of standards on those running such “courts”. The reality is that what are called “Shiria Courts” in the UK are little better than local community village or tribal elders. This is further reinforced by the fact that the original waves of immigrants collected in specific areas or ghettos from which few and only the better educated have ever strayed from.

The imposition of harsh versions of Sharia Law by people such as the Taliban is for one reason only, to turn the clock back in time and ensure the continued subjugation of women. The reality for such Muslim countries is the same as it is in Africa, unless and until women are treated with respect, equality and given their proper place in society, there will be no chance of economic growth and national prosperity.

Oddly, Islam as a religion can benefit greatly from what the Internet can do to connect communities, militants of course have long since “discovered” the potential for spreading their particular evil but in the end, this two edge sword cuts both ways and in using it for evil purposes, they are undone because they cannot deny people access to it and cannot control the information they find.

The EU Constitution

This too is an attempt to control an incoming tide and entrench bureaucratic rule by an “elite governing class” to the exclusion of democracy right across Europe at a time when the way forward is by devolving power and not concentrating it. That Britain will leave this mess is I believe a certainty but that is not the main problem.

I am concerned that unless the people of Europe are given their voice and Brussels made subservient to the electorate, extreme civil unrest, even war is a possibility. The who or how is not important but the awful possibility exists as the break up of the former Yugoslavia clearly demonstrated. The EU model of trading this concession or that behind closed doors is totally a “yesterday” way of doing things that has its origins in trade union bargaining, the results will never please anyone and sooner or later will lead to a major problem.

The EU is a stumbling, bumbling copy of the Hapsburg Empire and like it, doomed. It needs major reform a reduction in size, powers and budget. To start with it should only concentrate on common interests and all agreements shall be country by country and binding although considering the current performance by France and Germany in their NATO commitments in Afghanistan, how reliable they will ever be, is an open question.

The Internet could be used on “issue basis” to establish common views but any actions must be agreed by national governments that can be changed by their electorates only, all 27 or hopefully in due course, all 26.