"This would be an extremely expensive exercise, and is part of Prescott's creeping regionalisation agenda, where power is transferred away from local people to remote unelected regional assemblies."
Let me see: it's not that the conservatives, who are making this complaint, were quiet willing to reorganise local government so that big Labour-controlled cities didn't interfere too much in their national aspirations in the 80's, though that's worth noting. It's not that the Conservatives have consistently preferred to centralise, though that too gives pause for thought. It's not either the cost of Conservative reorganisations in the past that gives this a pot calling kettle black feel.
It's that the Conservatives are likely to find that some of their local power bases are left high and dry in a new system. It's also the implication that the system as it is ain't broke so we shouldn't fix it. But it is. Participation in local elections is even more woeful than nationally. Then there's the non sequitor of regional assemblies meaning power is transferred away from local people -in reality it could mean that it is transferred away from local elites who feed off the local apathy and in any case wouldn't it depend on the kind of representation designed?
Admittedly regional assemblies would as of now be unelected, but hang on; Prescott makes no secret of the fact that he likes the idea of elected assemblies ... what the Conservatives ought to have been attacking, I think, is this way of making the case for elected regional assemblies by stealth, because people will demand accountability for the new power structures that begin to emerge. Actually, I think that's quite clever. Hat tip to Prescott if that's what he's up to. The main objection to a regional assembly round here when there was a referendum a year back, was that there was reduplication of political control, it would be an unnecessary [and therefore, expensive] tier of government. Well let's remove some more government, and if it needs regional assemblies to make joined up government, so be it! Problem is that the tier to go happens to be one the Conservatives do well with, shame. Not.
SocietyGuardian.co.uk | Local Government | County councils face axe:Filed in: regionalisation, UK, politics, local_authorities, assemblies
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