UKC

Sauce for the gander.

In reply to stroppygob:

I honestly don't think many Yes voters in Scotland would have a problem with that.

In reply to CraigB:

I don't think too many English voters would either.

In reply to CraigB:


Nope, nor me, Craig, but on the other thread that is exactly why I laid out a 'timetable ' for no powers after a No vote.

NO question of powers on the Ballot, no mandate for more Powers.
No appetite from any of the parties for giving Scotland ( or anyone) any more powers.
Calls for more powers for other regions, will 'ensure ' that what Scotland gets 'given ' will be the minimum that can be dressed up to sound substantial, but will in reality be only what the Westminster parties will want to concede . ( and what will they take away to compensate?)

( the key point here is, the Scots have No negotiating position after a No vote . )

In reply to stroppygob:

Yes the English to seek independence from the English. Could be an Onion headline.

In reply to stroppygob:
So how would an English parliament be different from an rUK parliament? Since Wales and NI are merely devolved there would still be rUK issues to decide but surely the majority of business would disproportionately concern the English. Would you really have a massive duplication and consequent costs to have two institutions? If not, what are these English-only issues Redwood refers to?

In reply to stroppygob:

I have no interest in 'English Independence' but a bit more regional autonomy would go down well with me.

In reply to The New NickB:

God save us from the Council of the North that I heard some dreamer proposing yesterday. We live in a tiny, densely populated island that is economically, culturally and militarily integrated into European and international institutions. Why the hell would we want to fragment into even smaller and individually completely unsustainable regional entities, with yet another useless tier of administration?

The only levels of government that really add anything are our Euroconstituencies and our parish councils.

In reply to Jim C:


I'm not sure about that. Any further referendum, triggered by a failure to deliver, whether sanctioned by Westminster or not would I think deliver a Yes and the UK parties will be aware of that.

In reply to Dave Garnett:


Greater powers to city regions in particular would be beneficial.


Euro constituencies make sense. Parish councils!?!

In reply to The New NickB:


Parish councils are where the really important local stuff happens; how often the verges are cut, planning disputes, parking... OK, you need some sort of District Council structure as well to handle the recycling, local hospitals etc, but Parish Councils barely cost anything.

In reply to Dave Garnett:

Large parts of the country don't even have parish councils.

In reply to stroppygob:

Before the War, about 40% of taxes were raised and spent locally. During WW2 emergency measures were enacted where this rose to 80%, now it's nearly 90%.

I think if 'County Councils' or their equivalents were raising more taxes & spending it locally, we would all feel much more connected to decision making.

To use a hateful IT term, the 'Locus of Control' would shift.

In reply to stroppygob:

I agree. If there is a No vote, I would like to see MPs representing parts of the UK not affected by a devolved matter (be that Wales, NI or Scotland) not able to vote on it, just as English MPs cannot vote on those matters affecting Wales, NI or Scotland.

Neil

In reply to Neil Williams:

Neil, you'll not find too much disagreement on that from amny people in Scotland. The political classes.. well that's a different matter....

In reply to blurty:

Are those percentages inverted?

In principle, I would love to devolve more power (and tax-raising powers) to smaller regions of government. It is exactly how I believe countries should be run. But in practice, local government is run with people on the make. Do I want to give them more powers? Not bloody likely!

In reply to rogerwebb:

Ok, I will re-phrase that Roger, they 3 parties conerns about having to give the same powers to other regions will overide any possibility of giving meaningful powers to Scotland, sufficient to kill the demand for independence.

And the reason that is for sure is that even the most generous interpretation of what has been promised, already falls far short of full powers, and well short of Devo Max (which was in itself only a stepping stone) .

That is not to say that they will not TRY and pass off what they do offer as much better than it is , and the SNP even may join in by trying to portray their defeat as a victory.

In the end it will be a little more powers than they have already, but I believe it will not be enough to stop the demand for a further referendum in my lifetime.

In reply to Dave Garnett:



Do PC's have any power on planning, and parking ?

In reply to stroppygob:

I'd vote for independence from London!

In reply to Jim Hamilton:

Yes, you can opt to take a planning appeal to the parish council and give evidence in person. At least, you can at ours.

In reply to grump gnome:

Wish people would stop knocking London and the South -east. I am base din the North-West and I deal globally. London is an economic global powerhouse, we should all be grateful for the economic benefits it brings us all. God knows what it would be like without it.An economy barely able to afford the NHS , benefits etc.

In reply to neilh:


Exactly.. There are issues but having the one of the global powerhouses in your country isn't something to regret..

TBH in an independent Scotland the issue with the SE will just be replaced by the central belt dominance...

In reply to Dave Garnett:



but can they decide the outcome, or rather put forward their views to the next council layer ? (without, in a couple cases I have come across, really grasping the issues !)

In reply to neilh:


Well said. This anti-London and SE is nearly off the scale of stupidity and ignorance. Our country has everything, from the wilds of the Outer Hebrides to the global powerhouse of London. Any smaller units, it seems to me, would be much weaker. Going exactly the wrong way in 2014. But it's happening all over the world, and I fear global disaster (fuelled by this myopia) is not very far away.

In reply to Jim C:





I sincerely hope you don't mean that Jim. You deserve to be around a lot more than five years.

In reply to Dave Garnett:

Who are you? Good points with which I agree, particularly the increasing administration and bureaucracy. We need less not more. I hope that doesn't sound a bit like IDS.

In reply to Gordon Stainforth:

Well said yourself. Apart from Ulster and a few Basque separatists Europe has enjoyed the rewards of political and economic unity. There will always be niggles but there have been no major wars.
Of course we all support national identity such as in Yugoslavia and the USSR but is Scotland so different to England?

Ian Jones, Leith resident.

In reply to Ian Jones:

I hope I don't sound anything like IDS!

I understand the romantic pull of a Mercian or Wessex devolved identity but I think I've been somewhat disillusioned by seeing Regional Development Agencies competing to persuade US or even European investors that only their region can provide the resources, workforce and subsidies they are looking for, or all trying to establish R&D clusters when we can only realistically establish one or two world class sites in the whole of UK. Some things just need critical mass and we really can't have them democratically allocated to all parts of the UK equally.

There's a real danger that too much devolution simply distributes mediocrity evenly throughout the country.