This century MPs have argued over where power lies under the heading of devolution. The so called progressive parties have favoured devolution of U.K. government power to regional Parliaments and Assemblies for Scotland, Northern Ireland and Wales. They have denied the same to England, seeking to break England up into false regions and enlarged city regions, devolving power to elected mayors.
Instead of making people feel empowered the extra overheads and tedious arguments between devolved governments and national government over who is to blame for anything  have left many electors unimpressed. Electors in England are reluctant to vote in Council and mayoral elections, leaving the task to a minority who do. The more devolved government you have, the higher the overhead costs an£ the more disagreements over powers and responsibilities.
Contrary to Gordon Brownâs view that allowing devolved government would stop Scottish independence the Scottish Parliament gave the SNP a great platform and got them a referendum on leaving the Union. They still use the Parliament as a platform to demand more powers and independence despite losing the referendum. The London and Manchester Mayors used their pulpit to denounce the national government whilst playing down their responsibility for poor transport, housing and planning under their control.
Now public spending and taxes are so high what many people want is true devolution to themselves, not to another layer of government. Government does too much and interferes too much. I will be considering things government should do less of.
December 22, 2024
Every thing they do is only to avoid an English Parliament
December 22, 2024
Correct Keith. England makes up 85% of the electorate and we are forced to subsidise the rest of the UK without representation. Scotland with its free university fees and nhs prescriptions, all paid for but denied the English.
All the shipbuilding for the Royal Navy sent to Scotland instead of English shipyards
Devolution had made the English second class citizens in their own land.
December 22, 2024
Indeed many taxes like IHT, stamp duty, ULEZ, higher rates of income tax are largely designed to hit the more affluent part of England. I say affluent, but if you have had to borrow ÂŁ500k to buy a small matchbox then 40% tax on most of you ÂŁ100k salary to repay the mortgage you are rarely that affluent.
December 22, 2024
Where should power lie obviously with the people in referendums they can initiate, recall petition. Not with the latest set of MPs often fraudsters who were elected on the basis on endless pre-election lies that they have no intention of even trying to deliver. Pre-election lies and on the basis that the others have to go and you are the only way to do that. Not with lawyers and supreme courts who invent whoe new new branches of law using things like âthe right to a family lifeâ.
December 22, 2024
Spot-on Ian.
December 22, 2024
Plus Reeves gave an extra 3.1 billion in the budget for Scotland as a thank you for voting Labour and now whoever gets in at Holyrood next year, Labour or SNP, intend to reintroduce the winter fuel allowance. Meanwhile many pensioners in England will freeze to death whilst our taxes go to keep everyone elseâs grannies in the rest of the Uk warm. And when this happens, you can bet there wonât be a peep out of UK MPs squatting in English seats about the unfairness of it all. There never is. This is why we need a dedicated English Parliament where only those elected in England get to make decisions for it and start standing up for it for a change, unlike now.
December 22, 2024
The last thing we want is an English Parliament because then they could disband the British Parliament and scrap our British Constitution leaving us defenceless.
Stop calling for your own destruction!
December 22, 2024
Power should essentially lie with the electorate via it’s instrument Parliament. Nothing, be it our own judiciary, quango, or international quasi judiciary body, should be allowed power over our own Parliament. Between national elections, when major questions arise, such as Nett Zero or HS2, we should ascertain electorate opinion via referendum.
To allow the above to function for the benefit of the UK as a whole I see no point in devolution, or mayoralities other than as advisory functions. They dilute and disfunction national direction. Another essential is the quality control of those who are allowed to sit in Parliament. While there may well be many of appropriate talent, there are far too many who are yet to rise beyond the level of student union mouthpiece. Recognisable success in the real world should be the starting point. The third great weakness is the worldly experience of our civil service. They may be suited to running a none existent empire, and be potentially highly intelligent, but I would like them to have achieved success in a real world activity. They might then not be so quick at withdrawing our only ship in the Falklands as they did, or at proposing fantasy solutions to the Chagos Islands injustice. They need contractual discipline with less inbreeding. They need to realise that they are a workforce at the command of Parliament, not the political entity some of them consider themselves to be.
Within government, I would like to see a ministry of contractual excellence, real world, professionally manned, to oversee the myriad of infrastructure projects badly run at excessive expence by existing ministries and quangos. Not another Treasury or OBR I would add.
Essentially once you have all the above elements in place, the UK requires a major churchillian figure to drive it and take the electorate on the same journey. As of this moment we only have one, I hope he surrounds himself with lieutenants who might one day succeed him. Quality is of essence.
December 22, 2024
Well said. It’s possibly noteworthy that since Mrs Thatcher, apart from Gordon Brown, all PM’s have studied at Oxford University. So, quality….what’s the problem we’re not seeing?
December 22, 2024
“whatâs the problem weâre not seeing?”
The WEF/UN Agenda 2030 with its Stakeholder Capitalism.
Many people are waking up to this but unfortunately not enough.
December 22, 2024
Agreed Peter, fine content and comments from Agricola.
However, as the University of Oxford is one of the few best, itâs not strange that clusters of those who quality to become PM happen to have studied there.
The worldâs finest 10 watchmakers might be Swiss men, but if that is so, how would replacing them with Welsh or Russian women highly-skilled in different crafts improve the watch-making workshop?
December 22, 2024
Only Parliament allows others power over it (and therefore us).
December 22, 2024
Agricola, you argue that “Power should essentially lie with the electorate via itâs instrument Parliament” and that “Nothing, be it our own judiciary, quango, or international quasi judiciary body, should be allowed power over our own Parliament”. This is exactly how things are now. You have just desceibed rule one, and the only rule, of our constitution – Parliament, and only Parliamnet, decides. It never ceases to amaze me how you Brexiters have such little understanding of our country
December 22, 2024
Surely power follows the money. When government takes 47% of everything we make, and uses it to employ jobsworths by the million to get in our way and make our lives difficult, there can be little doubt where power really lies.
December 22, 2024
Exactly.
Tax, borrow, waste, over regulate & kill the economy then make us pay 3 times what we should for energy! Sould work well!
December 22, 2024
Iâd be interested to know where you got that figure from and the breakdown. I have long argued that âgovernment takes half our moneyâ. My reasoning was simply adding income tax, NI, VAT, council tax, duties on fuel, parking charges, taxes on insurance premiums etc. Iâd love to see some actual figures.
December 22, 2024
Then why give away the power to tax? On what authority was the EU able to tax us via our Parliament?
December 22, 2024
@Nick +1
December 22, 2024
Quite. And regional devolution in England is intended to ensure that local “power” reports to central Government – not local people.
December 22, 2024
I would rather more direct voting by the electorate – along the lines of the Swiss system. With the results of the votes binding and not cast into the CS swamp.
I also think – as Sir J wrote recently- the CS needs to be revamped, it is no longer fit for purpose.
Whoever is in charge does not appear to be carrying out the wishes of the many (although I really hesitate to speak for the many).
What is being done demonstrates neither brilliance or any particular depth of understanding in dealing with the many complex issues we face.
If the electorate had more votes – as per the Swiss system- then your blog would have even greater value.
December 22, 2024
Increased direct voting would both make membership much more attractive and also create a clear distinction in relation to other parties. Increased membership would a) generate more recurring income for the party, and b) facilitate two way communication between the party and its members.
December 22, 2024
The problem with more direct voting is that half the electorate are idiots.
December 22, 2024
Who counts the votes? Who asks the question? Who decides when to ask the question?
That âwhoâ has ALL the power.
See the Biden âelectionâ. See the âBridgenâ election.
Staggering results – unchallengeable.
December 22, 2024
What is being proposed for England is not devolution, it’s division. English devolution means an English parliament just as the Scottish and Welsh were granted. But unlike the Scots and Welsh we’ve never been given a vote on the issue.
December 22, 2024
In the North East we voted decisively AGAINST the proposed Mayor. The notices of the Northern Powerhouse structure are still unravelling, a 140 bedroom hotel bought by them for a couple of million has just failed to sell for ÂŁ700,000 on auction.
December 22, 2024
MPs are local, and each represents a large area, as well as balancing what is best for the UK as a whole. Local government is well-served if County Councils manage important matters for folk living within their similar boundaries, and are held accountable. Parish Councils are even closer.
Opposition between countries within the UK causes conflict. Tony Blair created the complex mess and nuisance of country Devolution, spoiling the UK.
Restricting smoking in public places was one of the sensible things Blair introduced, but so much of his other input was dangerous idiocy, which would have been better if stopped at source, or where possible should be reversed.
December 22, 2024
Devolution and regionalisation have come at too huge a cost. Never mind that too much of the economic cost has fallen on England, having so much disparity with national government has made the whole thing a farce. The rules over universities is but one example, but there are constant fights over power.
Power grabs are common.
When Blair set up devolution, did he set up any rules to make the whole thing effective? Did he provide a means of taking back devolved power when it was clear that abuses of power were common place? N0, and there have certainly been times when it seemed like things were not right.
Despite Brexit we still continued ahead with regionalisation because so many in power want to remain close to the EU model.
Once globalisation comes to an end we badly need to bring the UK together as entity, without regions.
December 22, 2024
Devolution is a mirage. What we are seeing is nothing more than the construction of another layer of Socialist bureaucracy. It’s not about democracy but about divide, conquer and control