I've had a couple of interesting email exchanges with the Lib Dems regarding English Devolution. The Tories and Labour don't reply to emails - I sent a few to Tony Blair a week or so ago but they appear to have fallen on deaf ears.
I've based my decision on who to vote for this time on the party that will best serve me and my country. This time I feel it's the Liberal Democrats (Lib Dems). The very fact that they will replace the utterly undemocratic and unfair council tax is what sealed it for me. Couples who earn £40k/year between them will pay more, those that earn less will pay less. Anyway, I digress ...
Hi,
I've been speaking to my local Lib Dem PPC (Ian Jenkins) who seems to be a very nice man and very helpful. I shall certainly be voting for him at the next election.
Anyway, what I am writing to you about is English devolution. It is something that has been ignored for too long. I see that there is an English Lib Dems party but the website for it says that all decisions are made by the national party. This seems a little hollow, especially when England accounts for in excess of 50% of the population of the UK. I want to vote Lib Dem in the general election and I want Lib Dems to get into power. I also want a proper debate on English devolution. Lib Dems are in a pretty strong position this time round. Nobody really likes the Tories or Labour.
What are my chances of seeing both of these happen?
-=-
Dear Stuart,
Liberal Democrats will strengthen the powers of the National Assembly for Wales and the Northern Ireland Assembly. We will examine how to extend the role of the Scottish Parliament in consultation with the Scottish Executive. In England, both the Conservatives and Labour have built up a powerful but unelected tier of regional bureaucracy. Liberal Democrats will scrap unnecessary quangos throughout England, reform regional boundaries to make them more representative where people wish it, and give people through referenda the opportunity to have a regional assembly to make existing regional bureaucracy accountable. Underpinning these reforms will be a new system for dividing up government money within the UK so that there is fair funding for the nations and regions according to their real needs.
Information Unit
Not quite what I was looking for so I emailed them back. I can't seem to find the other couple of emails at the moment which is odd because I keep emails for years. :D
Anyway, this was all prompted by a conversation with my local Lib Dem Prospective Parliamentary Candidate. I emailed him asking if he supported English devolution and got the following reply ...
As a Welshman, I was pleased to support the idea of the Welsh (and Scottish) devolution. As PR is a part of governance there, it works pretty well, and Lib Dems have helped to secure socially inclusive policies, e.g. scrapping care charges for the elderly. I would like to see the same for England, as long as the whole structure of Govt. is reformed,i.e. less power for County Councils. I don't think the people want regional assemblies in England, so there's no point in pursuing that idea. Please let me know your view on the above.
Regards, Ian Jenkins, LibDem, Telford.
A politician asking my views? There must be a mistake surely? What the hell, any replies will probably disappear into a black hole but I'll reply anyway. To my surprise (pleasant) I got not just one reply but a politician prepared to actually debate with a member of the public ...
Hi,
I certainly think that regional assemblies are completely missing the point.
The proposed regions are political units, not areas associated by historical or even geographical links. The NE Assembly was the one the government thought would be most likely to go ahead. Personally I thought it astounding to think that people in an artificially created region consisting of cities that detest each other would vote for political unification. It really shows how out of touch our illustrious leaders are with reality.
The Scots and Welsh really seem to be getting to grips with devolution and seeing some real benefits from it. There isn't a huge public movement for devolution in England as there was in Scotland and Wales.
I think I can put my finger on the main reasons why this is the case.
- The UK parliament is in England
- The UK parliament is dominated by English MP's
- Before Scottish & Welsh devolution England was equal to the rest of the UK
Since devolution was first taken seriously the government have pursued a policy of ignoring the English devolution movement so as to deny it legitimacy and publicity The Welsh and Scots saw the UK parliament as an English parliament which isn't the case but served the needs of the Welsh and Scottish independence movements as well as the UK government. I think what you've said is spot on although I am unable to find an English manifesto on the Lib Dems website and it does say that English matters are the responsibility of the national party. Are your views shared by many in the Lib Dems and can we expect an English manifesto from the Lib Dems soon?
Can I quote you on my blog and/or the Campaign for an English Parliament website? I am mulling over the idea of a mass mailing to all MP's and candidates to canvass their opinion on English devolution.
-=-
Well, this is a very interesting subject, and one which we could go into detail about. In the space of this election campaign however, I can only repeat my earlier statement, which is that there cannot be a democratic deficit in England. The current syatem is unsustainable,but, in view of the public apathy/hostility towards regional assemblies, I think we may need a new debate on the case for an English Parliament.
I would suggest you try and organise a fringe meeting at our Party Conference in September. Have a word with Party HQ at Cowley Street, SW1. phone is 02072227999.
Or if you want a local debate, I would be happy to attend. Ian
So there you have it, a politician prepared to talk to common people and the secret election date hadn't even been leaked at that time.