CAN YOU IDENTIFY WITH THE SOUTH-WEST REGION? (21/03/02)

Government wants Regionalism. It is part of Labour’s plan to give away our independence to Brussels and become just another European region. It pretends it is devolution. It is not.

if Government were committed to devolution, they would allow local councils to decide on their own spending priorities. The proportion of money that is “ring-fenced” has grown from 5 per cent in 1997 to over 12 per cent this year and a projected 15per cent for next year. In Somerset this represents £60million. This rise represents a failure to deliver devolution. It undermines the integrity of Somerset’s councils.

It was not so long ago that the Prime Minister’s spokesman said, ‘we need regionall government like a hole in the head.’ He was quite right. However, as usual, Labour have done a U-turn.

Conservative leader, John Smeaton, commented, “Regions are entirely artificial creations. They do not reflect any kind of regional loyalty. What does Penzance have in common with Swindon, or Gloucester with Plymouth? People cannot identify with a South-West region that would stretch from the outskirts of Birmingham to the Isles of Scilly. Somerset residents have strong local loyalties. I think it is disgraceful that Government want to override local sentiment and establish their own super-quango.

Local Government is responsible for a quarter of public expenditure. Westminster should be more careful about destroying this tried and tested system.

As bureaucracy grows, Government will argue that a Regional Assembly will be required to keep it under control. Bureaucracy has a habit of justifying itself. As regional red-tape blossoms, so Labour’s placemen on any Regional Assembly will feel increasingly indispensable and will draw more powers to themselves.

‘I do not accept the argument that regions will unite England. How can 9 regions, competing for handouts from the EU, unite the nation? Regional Assemblies will mean the death of local democracy. ‘Somerset is already underfunded and neglected by Westminster. We must campaign to keep our unique county and local democracy.’