6 Reasons for enjoying the General Election 2010: Pt.4

Reason 4: A Democratic Parliament for the UK and England

Devolution in Wales and in Scotland seems to be working with growing confidence and self - esteem on the increase in both Celtic nations. Why this has come about can be traced back to a few by-elections in the 1970's and growing pressure from within both nations. Now that Northern Ireland has secured its own form of devolution only one part of the jigsaw remians to be put in place to give consistency to our nations formal title of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, no less than devolution for England.

Why did England miss out? Could it have been that Labour Governments have in the past owed so much to these nations constituencies to secure and retain power? Could it also be that the English have not only forgotten much of their traditional culture but have become rather shy in reasserting it. Thankfully no such inhibitions seem to be found in the English folk music community or among enthusiasts for English classical music. Sadly the nationalist lack of inhibition is also found in large measure at the mid to far right bearings of the political compass with more flag waving than even I feel is tasteful.

Nevertheless it is now a good time for the centre ground to start shedding these inhibitions. Firstly the lame attempt at a form of devolution for England, the Regional Assemblies, have now been abolished. The name was a misnomer if you think that they came into being by local elections. They were just another product of the nomination culture that brought us the Quango and the Regulators of the Offtrack variety. I wonder what they achieved
and at what cost? Present plans to have another go still look like a new fudge of the old culture which would leave voters cold should they be given a look in.

While Wales and Scotland were gaining control of their affairs the English were seeing their once proud local authorities being starved of funds while having to act more and more as mere agents of central government. Add to that a range of new decision making processes, different from one authority to the other, the import of the modern corporate manager with salary to match, and a huge consultancy dependency, and it is no wonder that the average elector is alienated from Town or County Hall. So much so that local election turn outs are way down among the 30 per cents. I am sure I am not alone in concluding from my own dealing with local government officers that they no longer seem to regard themselves as servants of the local community but slaves to the financial constraints created by central government imposing more and more work but without the funding. All this adds up to a loss of local control and a demeaning of function. Without adequate funding local authorities seem to spend much of their time explaining why they cannot act.

It is therefore time to bring some real power to the people. At a national level English MP's alone should decide English matters. I was surprised how attractive the English Democrats election broadcast was since it defined the problem very graphically. I had several reservations about their claims regarding the funding of Welsh and Scottish affairs and the inevitable objections to EU membership but the central argument makes sense. I cannot say that their website inspired with confidence with so many emotive symbols which made me feel rather uncomfortable, but why should Welsh and Scottish MP's ,who have an Assembly or Parliament back home dealing with devolved matters, be able to poke their noses in and vote on purely English issues.

There is still nothing in it for Labour but with the possibility of a new type of Parliament the time for the fudging to end has arrived. Many of the changes and reforms that Labour are proposing sound a lot like asking for a chance to clear up the mistakes they themselves have made or ignored in preference to some pet or half baked projects like the now abolished Regional Assemblies : an unnecessary extra layer between incompetent central government and emasculated, sometimes also incompetent, local government. A distinct English component within the Westminster Parliament would have a legitimacy which would give credibility to the delegation of real powers and duties and budgets to local authorities which could start to rebuild their local commitment and in return start to earn local loyalty and appreciation. This would be more about democracy and what you do with it than the business development that the Regional Assemblies seemed to be limited to. To think that they would bring decisions nearer to the people now looks like a conclusion promoted by the misguided for consumption by the gullible.

So, as the results come in on Election Night it will be interesting to see whether the figures will show how far England has been the poor relation in the culture of bringing powers back home. If Labour survive by the skin of their teeth due to their Welsh and Scottish victories the question of English Devolution will be buried and those protesting at the graveside dismissed as the eccentrics of the flag waving right.

Dacier

The Case for English Devolution

I raised this issue in company a few months back. The discussion was brief as it was clear that the idea was seen as rather eccentric, even coming from me. Devolution for every other national part of the United Kingdom is now seen as common place, but for England, it is seen by many who live there as somewhat comic. This all comes back to the ‘West Lothian Question’. Why should Scottish and Welsh MPs be allowed to vote on issues which are already dealt with within their devolved powers for their own national area. In other words, why should they votes on matters which apply only to England? Its no longer any of their business. I suspect its all to do with the distribution of MPs from across the borders. If that’s the case then it looks like vote rigging.

As a starting point why not replicate a bundle of devolved powers for England, the English Assembly could see Parliament at Westminster revert to an English Parliament for such measures. There would have to be some adjustments with regard to the Cabinet for English matters, whilst non-devolved powers (these still vary as between Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland) could be dealt with by the Westminster Parliament acting as the Parliament of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland. Foreign policy and defence would be the principle among these. For the English regions the Regional Assemblies, (whatever they do) could be scrapped, and the role of Local Government revised to give it more local meaning.

Surely to stake a claim for English Devolution is not eccentric? To have the British Cabinet heavily influenced by non-English MP’s and a second chamber that is neither one thing nor the other, is far dafter. The problem with ‘Englishness’, whatever that is, is that the ‘English’, whoever they are, are too embarrassed to discuss such matters. This of course, is very English.

Dacier