Whatever happens after the Brexit negotiations the problem of ordinary folk not having a voice in the ever expanding global village will remain. Leaving the EU will not make a jot of difference to isolated Stoke or distant Newcastle. I firmly believe that the only way to give people a meaningful voice over their day to day living is through devolution.
As a Liberal Democrat I am excited by devolution.
Devolution is about bringing power, influence and decision making closer to those it affects. It is meant to mean “Power to the People!” So where is the enthusiasm? Where is the excitement? When did you last talk about it down at the pub or around your dinner table?
The truth is that the devolution conversation is limited to politicians who in their clunky, British, evolutionary way discuss, and agree, things like Combined Authorities and Local Enterprise Partnerships. One step at a time! This hasn’t stirred the local populous and I don’t see many people manning the barricades. We need a singular vision, focus and leadership to thrill people, to show them that there is an exciting future for where they live. A future rooted in their quality of life both at work and at play. This, and only this, will generate the clamour for change.
To develop a coherent and exciting picture for devolution we have to cover a lot of ground including the areas of life we want to devolve alongside the actual power we are transferring from national government. For me permission to spend national taxes under the watchful eye of Westminster is not devolution. Hence I have called this first article Part 1 and rightly or wrongly I am going to start with the geography of devolution.
Like all good presentations I will start with a joke:
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