It's amazing how much the
approach of an election can change
Government policy. After four years of austerity and telling us spending had to
be cut they've begun to splurge. After four years of increasing centralisation
they've suddenly discovered the joys of devolution in this over centralised
country.
More powers to Scotland, Northern Ireland and Wales and now
DEVO-Manc combining 12 local authorities into a super city with a £6
billion NHS budget and an elected Mayor.
Unfortunately it looks like just
another week in the continuous process of meddling with local government the
Tories have given us.
First. They create the Metropolitan counties under Peter Walker.
Then they abolish them under Margaret Thatcher. Now they're trying to bring em
back, along with Humberside which they also abolished.This is hokey-cokey not
local government reform and in any case it's a mistake to start building the
Northern Powerhouse on the wrong side of the Pennines!
This is tinkering not a real transfer of power. You can't have
asymmetrical devolution. It creates a patchwork quilt not a structured
hierarchy of power. It leaves huge areas and lots of smaller towns like Grimsby
York or Peterborough out in the cold:the garden sheds of power
If you're to hand powers down from London, as we should, you need
firmly based and strong structures to hand the, to and if you're to have
democratic control you can't have it through coalitions of 12 local authorities
such as the one in Greater Manchester,so Labour ,which has been wrong footed by
Osborne's opportunism should revert to
proper regional government with the planning regions as a base
Why not start with Yorkshire and Humberside with a population as
great as Scotland's? Combine Leeds and Sheffield the old rivals in a Yorkshire
region with its own elected government and give it control over local
government budgets, transport, housing and the NHS give it a proper budget and
tax raising powers and let the people decide their own spending and what weight
they want to give to each function.
Don't force this on anyone else. They can watch and wait but when
it succeeds they'll be wanting their own I'll bet.
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