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Devolution in the south-west

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    mooxmoox Posts: 18,880
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    jjwales wrote: »
    EVEL can only be a short-term measure. It doesn't solve the inequalities in the system and creates other problems.

    An English Parliament doesn't resolve them either, though.
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    angarrackangarrack Posts: 5,493
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    moox wrote: »
    I think you're the only person who actually thinks the unitary was a good idea - everyone else thinks it was forced on the population and not a good decision overall



    The people who wouldn't like being lumped in with Devon would also not like being lumped in with "England".



    But we're trying to adopt something that is closer to what Scotland/Wales have, whether it's the rubbish English Parliament idea, or something smaller

    I beg to differ.

    It is true that the Unitary Authority was more or less forced on the population by the LIbdem majority Council without any proper mandate. The Libdems expected, of course, to be the majority party in the Unitary Authority with additional powers. The electorate, remembering the fact that they hadn't been consulted properly, and noticing the poor record of the LIbdems when in power, chose to put them in the minority at the following election.

    But that was then. The Unitary Authority, after a few hiccups at the outset, has streamlined local government in Cornwall. Some people will still be bitter over the way it was introduced, and some people will never be satisfied anyway. You only have to listen to the local phone-in radio programme to know that.

    The movement for a Cornish Assembly is mostly hot air. Oddly enough, it is the Libdems who are pushing themselves once again to the fore. Same motives perhaps? They see themselves as getting more power?

    A Cornish Assembly will only get marginally more power. Nothing of any importance. It would be a condescending sop in the unlikely event that most people in Cornwall favoured an Assembly. I wonder how many of the proponents of an Assembly would be prepared to tell the truth about exactly what material difference it would make to the citizens of Cornwall. Do you know?

    As for the alternative of a Regional Assembly, I wonder why you think Cornish people would feel bad about a link with Devon specifically, and why that might equate to feeling bad about an English Parliament. I don't recognise these sentiments except from what I would call the Cornish Nationalist fringe, many of whom are not even genuine Cornish..
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    MeepersMeepers Posts: 5,502
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    moox wrote: »
    Why not ask them. I'm hardly a Labour supporter if that's what you're trying to say

    No thats not what I'm saying.
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    Old Man 43Old Man 43 Posts: 6,214
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    Perhaps in any future referendums on the subject of regional governments should give two choices.

    1) An English Parliament.

    2) A regional Parliament broadly based on the existing regions

    http://www.ibyd.com/lifestyle/backup1/08_rbank/rbank.html

    I suspect given the choice many in the South West, North East, North West and Yorkshire would vote for the regional option rather than an English Parliament heavily dominated by MEngP's from London the South East and the Eastern regions.

    I am not sure what the two midlands regions would do in these circumstances.
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    angarrackangarrack Posts: 5,493
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    Old Man 43 wrote: »
    Perhaps in any future referendums on the subject of regional governments should give two choices.

    1) An English Parliament.

    2) A regional Parliament broadly based on the existing regions

    http://www.ibyd.com/lifestyle/backup1/08_rbank/rbank.html

    I suspect given the choice many in the South West, North East, North West and Yorkshire would vote for the regional option rather than an English Parliament heavily dominated by MEngP's from London the South East and the Eastern regions.

    I am not sure what the two midlands regions would do in these circumstances.


    Just as a matter of interest, why would an English Parliament be dominated by EMPs from London and the South East?

    I haven't looked at the distribution of population, but I would have thought London and the South East together would be in a minority against the rest of England.

    I'm not sure why you link the Eastern regions with London and the South East. It seems somewhat arbitrary. If you can do that why not link all of the North EMPs together, all of the West and South West EMPs together?

    In any case why would EMPs wish to gang up on a regional basis as a matter of course. Surely they will act as they do presently in the UK Parliament.
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    deptfordbakerdeptfordbaker Posts: 22,368
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    The BBC did a road trip for devolution I think or was it Channel 4 News, anyway they stopped in Cornwall to test the water. There were a group of nationalists, but others felt that it would not be economically viable.

    One thing that did stand out is people identified far more with their town, then they did with a region, or even other towns in the region.

    I'm from London but don't feel any affinity with North London never mind the South East.
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    Old Man 43Old Man 43 Posts: 6,214
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    angarrack wrote: »
    Just as a matter of interest, why would an English Parliament be dominated by EMPs from London and the South East?

    I haven't looked at the distribution of population, but I would have thought London and the South East together would be in a minority against the rest of England.

    I'm not sure why you link the Eastern regions with London and the South East. It seems somewhat arbitrary. If you can do that why not link all of the North EMPs together, all of the West and South West EMPs together?

    In any case why would EMPs wish to gang up on a regional basis as a matter of course. Surely they will act as they do presently in the UK Parliament.

    The reason that I have put the Eastern region together with London and the South East is because Much of the population of the Eastern Region like the South East Region is heavily dominated by London.

    Large sections of the population of both the Eastern Region and the South East Region commute to London for work. Also both regions are dominated by the Conservative party.

    So all in all politically they are similar and there economies are dependent on London.

    As for population all three regions together have a population of 22.5 million. Also these three regions are by a long way the three richest parts of the country. So they will all have a lot of clout in an English Parliament.

    Finally it is not a case of these three regions ganging up against the rest. It is about perception.

    Already the regions in the North and South West feel ignored by the Westminster Parliament which they believe favours London and the Home Counties.

    I just think that they will also believe that an English Parliament will be even more slated towards London and the Home Counties. Even if that is not true.
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    jjwalesjjwales Posts: 48,654
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    moox wrote: »
    An English Parliament doesn't resolve them either, though.

    It would certainly resolve some of the problems, and could only be an improvement on what we have now. EVEL really isn't the answer.
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    BRITLANDBRITLAND Posts: 3,443
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    The best way is to have a Federal UK, with Scotland, Wales, Northern Ireland and England, but England split into regions:
    - Greater London
    - Sussex
    - Cornwall
    - South East England
    - East Anglia
    - The Midlands
    - Yorkshire
    - Northumbria
    - North West England
    Then of course Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland, problem solved
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    jjwalesjjwales Posts: 48,654
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    BRITLAND wrote: »
    The best way is to have a Federal UK, with Scotland, Wales, Northern Ireland and England, but England split into regions:
    - Greater London
    - Sussex
    - Cornwall
    - South East England
    - East Anglia
    - The Midlands
    - Yorkshire
    - Northumbria
    - North West England
    Then of course Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland, problem solved

    Rather odd that you put Sussex as a region! It's far too small. As is Cornwall probably.
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    deptfordbakerdeptfordbaker Posts: 22,368
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    jjwales wrote: »
    It would certainly resolve some of the problems, and could only be an improvement on what we have now. EVEL really isn't the answer.

    Yes, I thought EVEL at first was the solution, but now I am convinced by the need for an English parliament under PR and a first minister. I see no reason why it can't be exactly modelled on the Scottish parliament, except perhaps we have a nicer looking building. Why have a Spanish design? Couldn't they have made it look more like a castle or something.

    Anyway that's up to them. My point is why do we need Ed Milibands kicked in to the long grass, consultation thing drifting on for years? They have already done that for the Scottish parliament.

    I'm am totally not convinced by regional government, but I think cities such as London and Manchester could have more powers.
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    BRITLANDBRITLAND Posts: 3,443
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    jjwales wrote: »
    Rather odd that you put Sussex as a region! It's far too small. As is Cornwall probably.

    Oh shit typo, I meant to say Wessex but then South East Region is prob the best, trying to use unique state/county names than just the typical geographical names ie South East for variety, also got the idea from this map
    http://smg.photobucket.com/user/blackraj/media/BlankMap-EnglandAdministrativeCount.png.html

    Cornwall is small, but is like to think of it as a UK version of Vermont/Rhode Island type region if you get my meaning, I heard they also support devolution for their bit so why not imo, population is just a number in my eyes, if they want it, do be it

    None of this will happen as we all know of course
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    TelevisionUserTelevisionUser Posts: 41,456
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    moox wrote: »
    I think you're the only person who actually thinks the unitary was a good idea - everyone else thinks it was forced on the population and not a good decision overall.

    Look at all the villages lining up to create neighbourhood plans in an attempt to stop the council deciding what's best for them on planning issues (the council's opinion is that houses should be built everywhere regardless of suitability or quality of local infrastructure).

    I wouldn't want to see a Cornish Assembly either, but there's no reason why there couldn't be one for Cornwall/Devon/Somerset, or something along those lines.

    The people who wouldn't like being lumped in with Devon would also not like being lumped in with "England" - and it's totally idiotic to have a superiority complex over those on the other side of the Tamar

    But we're trying to adopt something that is closer to what Scotland/Wales have, whether it's the rubbish English Parliament idea, or something smaller

    Yesterday, I mentioned my opposition to an English assembly (London rule for everyone - again!) and to a huge, artificial south west region.

    Since 2010, six local enterprise partnerships have come into being (please see http://www.centreforcities.org/assets/images/charts/12-03-13-LEP-Map-stand-alone-39-(NS).png) and, since they are much smaller and already in existence, I'd like to see central government departmental spending money passed on to those six bodies for spending locally not only to promote business but also to improve local infrastructure too.
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    mooxmoox Posts: 18,880
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    angarrack wrote: »

    A Cornish Assembly will only get marginally more power. Nothing of any importance. It would be a condescending sop in the unlikely event that most people in Cornwall favoured an Assembly. I wonder how many of the proponents of an Assembly would be prepared to tell the truth about exactly what material difference it would make to the citizens of Cornwall. Do you know?

    I'm not pushing for a Cornish Assembly, I'd be just as happy with a "far south west one" - for example Somerset/Devon/Cornwall/Plymouth/Torbay

    I think that such an assembly would be much more minded of local issues and needs than an English Parliament that would once again concentrate on the area roughly connecting London and Manchester, but mostly London
    angarrack wrote: »
    As for the alternative of a Regional Assembly, I wonder why you think Cornish people would feel bad about a link with Devon specifically, and why that might equate to feeling bad about an English Parliament. I don't recognise these sentiments except from what I would call the Cornish Nationalist fringe, many of whom are not even genuine Cornish..

    Because there was gaskets being blown when those plans to change the constituency boundaries might have meant that parts of North Cornwall were lumped in with bits of Devon - because apparently it's a totally different world east of the Tamar
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    mooxmoox Posts: 18,880
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    Yesterday, I mentioned my opposition to an English assembly (London rule for everyone - again!) and to a huge, artificial south west region.

    Since 2010, six local enterprise partnerships have come into being (please see http://www.centreforcities.org/assets/images/charts/12-03-13-LEP-Map-stand-alone-39-(NS).png) and, since they are much smaller and already in existence, I'd like to see central government departmental spending money passed on to those six bodies for spending locally not only to promote business but also to improve local infrastructure too.

    I'm not sure how well that would work. Cornwall simply isn't big or authoritative enough to have its own assembly or to compete for funding or power. That's why you'd have larger regions. I fail to see what is really so "artificial" about it - it's not as if Cornwall, Devon and Somerset are dramatically different.

    You could probably say the same for the other counties on your map that would have to go it alone, like Dorset
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    angarrackangarrack Posts: 5,493
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    moox wrote: »


    Because there was gaskets being blown when those plans to change the constituency boundaries might have meant that parts of North Cornwall were lumped in with bits of Devon - because apparently it's a totally different world east of the Tamar

    That has nothing to do with being anti-Devon. Those in the area just didn't want to be Cornish one day and Devonshire the next. If you have an ancestry, an identification, and an affinity with one County you are not likely to welcome being informed by bureaucrats that tomorrow you will be part of another County.

    It doesn't mean you dislike your neighbours. On the borders of East Cornwall/West Devon there is bound to be mixed heritage and the blurring of differences. The popular image of two vastly different and traditionally rival communities is nothing more than traditional local humour. You will find it throughout the far south west (and no doubt elsewhere as well).
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    mooxmoox Posts: 18,880
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    angarrack wrote: »
    That has nothing to do with being anti-Devon. Those in the area just didn't want to be Cornish one day and Devonshire the next. If you have an ancestry, an identification, and an affinity with one County you are not likely to welcome being informed by bureaucrats that tomorrow you will be part of another County.

    Changing the parliamentary boundaries wasn't going to change the county you lived in. It would have been one constituency straddling two counties, but for some reason such a "Devonwall" constituency was a big deal.

    It was never "you are in Devon" now, it was "you now share an MP with people from Devon" and vice versa. Hardly any different to those constituencies that have multiple boroughs or districts in them, or constituencies like Rutland and Melton which includes parts of Leicestershire
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    angarrackangarrack Posts: 5,493
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    moox wrote: »
    Changing the parliamentary boundaries wasn't going to change the county you lived in. It would have been one constituency straddling two counties, but for some reason such a "Devonwall" constituency was a big deal.

    It was never "you are in Devon" now, it was "you now share an MP with people from Devon" and vice versa

    I really don't know how you can cite this storm in a tea cup as evidence of anything at all.

    People don't like change. They were probably suspicious of bureaucratic interference with the constituency boundaries, especially when it ignored the long established border between Cornwall and Devon. If I remember correctly some thought that this might be a prelude to adjusting the county boundaries.

    Nothing more than that.

    You are trying to perpetuate a myth that Cornwall and Devon don't get on. I was born and brought up in Cornwall near the border with Devon. In my experience it is a myth.
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    deptfordbakerdeptfordbaker Posts: 22,368
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    Yesterday, I mentioned my opposition to an English assembly (London rule for everyone - again!) and to a huge, artificial south west region.

    Since 2010, six local enterprise partnerships have come into being (please see http://www.centreforcities.org/assets/images/charts/12-03-13-LEP-Map-stand-alone-39-(NS).png) and, since they are much smaller and already in existence, I'd like to see central government departmental spending money passed on to those six bodies for spending locally not only to promote business but also to improve local infrastructure too.

    Why should an English parliament be in London, why not York or even move around the country?
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    Speak-SoftlySpeak-Softly Posts: 24,737
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    Rather than keep on going along this road of "Balkanisation" wouldn't the time and effort be better spent trying to ensure that all regions of the UK felt somewhat equal in importance?
    That people within the country felt affinity with their fellow countrymen/women?

    Or is it too late now as the PTB have got their way and the UK, as a strong protection for it's people against their meddling, has been beaten?

    Why play off the South West against London for instance, when both are comprised of people who actually want the same?
    Peace, security and a degree of contentment/happiness.
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    angarrackangarrack Posts: 5,493
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    Rather than keep on going along this road of "Balkanisation" wouldn't the time and effort be better spent trying to ensure that all regions of the UK felt somewhat equal in importance?
    That people within the country felt affinity with their fellow countrymen/women?

    Or is it too late now as the PTB have got their way and the UK, as a strong protection for it's people against their meddling, has been beaten?

    Why play off the South West against London for instance, when both are comprised of people who actually want the same?
    Peace, security and a degree of contentment/happiness.

    Exactly. The whole idea of dividing up the country into artificial regions is a recipe for petty discontentment and perpetual argument over who gets what.
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    Old Man 43Old Man 43 Posts: 6,214
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    angarrack wrote: »
    Exactly. The whole idea of dividing up the country into artificial regions is a recipe for petty discontentment and perpetual argument over who gets what.

    Not really the regional governments would have the same powers as the devolved will get Scotland. Including control of most of the tax revenue.

    All that the UK Government will have control of Foreign Policy, Defence, Immigration, the Intelligence Services, A national Police Force (Similar to the FBI) and Matters Relating to the Constitution.

    Much of the rest of the UK's powers would be devolved with the UK government departments only there to coordinate any cross boarder issues.

    There will need to be some federal redistribution of money from the richer area's to the poorer areas (Even the American's understand that concept).

    On top of that the larger metropolitan areas will have more power and there relationship to the larger region will be along similar lines New York City's relationship to New York State.
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    The TurkThe Turk Posts: 5,148
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    moox wrote: »
    I live in Cornwall and would like to see a regional assembly - fixing Westminster won't work, and the silly notion of an English Assembly will simply mean more overhead and the same issues. It's stupid to have assemblies for a few millon each and then one for 55 million, so the only way to get equality is to have the same system on the same basis.

    Cornwall/Devon/Somerset would probably be a closer fit than including Bristol/Gloucestershire/Dorset though
    It certainly makes sense. Other posters on this thread and others have suggested exactly the same. Just one question. Would those in eastern areas of Somerset prefer to be part of a Bristol city region or do they identify more strongly with their own county Somerset, Devon and Cornwall?
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    The TurkThe Turk Posts: 5,148
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    Very good points, The Turk, and my response is below (and I actually currently live in that area!):
    A pleasure!
    1. The very worst option would be an English parliament because all that would mean is yet more completely out of touch flockers ruling from London (again) and no one outside the Home Counties would be given any priority, i.e. the extremities of England would, yet again, be totally neglected.
    I sympathise with your view on this. I used to favour an English parliament but like you I realise it would just have the same problems as Westminster with regions outside London and the south-east not getting the funding and attention they need. You could move the parliament further north to somewhere like Birmingham or York but you'd probably still end up with some regions being neglected. Besides, wherever you place the parliament there's still the problem that England is just too big to be governed centrally on all domestic matters, both in terms of size of area and population.
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    thenetworkbabethenetworkbabe Posts: 45,639
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    its a silly idea - as shown by the first simmerings from the larger councils .You have to ask the basic questions whats it for. And who will pay .

    People are fed up and want more. That translates as they want more money . So northern councils are united in not wanting austerity measures. However, the economic consequence of spending more is economic crash and no money for anyone .The real world tends to intervene.

    Poor regions obviously will want more money from rich regions. Rich regions will want to send less of their money to poor regions.socialists will spend more, usually unwisely. Rich areas woill refuse to support what theys ee as socialist waste. It will just make some of the country want more independence - whichever region wins those battles. .

    its a nonsense if taxing powers are devolved. Councils that spend too much will have to be propped up by someone else - if their policies produce unemployment, inflation, or unemployment. . Raising local taxes will just exacerbate the problems in deprived regions. You can't tax yourself to prosperity - you just lose anyone you tax too heavily to somewhere else. London won't be allowed to reduce its taxes, and no one is going to volunteer to pay more for some other region. The worse some regions perform, the more other region's taxes will have to be used to prop them up. Poor regions can't reduce their taxes to produce more growth either - as they have more demands on the money. Richer regions can't lower their taxes without making poorer ones even less competitive. Its a recipe for begger my neighbour policies , and/or irresponsible spending and inter-regional strife.

    Its also impossible to divide the country up into regions - without causing more discontent within the regions. Kent isn't Sussex. Cornwall isn't Devon, or Hampshire or Wiltshire or Bristol. and none of those share the same problems or advantages.

    The only things that could be devolved are things that are already devolved - like regional planning. But its perfectly clear that Labour northern councils are looking at this as a way to escape austerity budgets . Thats just a silly escapist idea.
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