OnTheWight always welcomes a Letter to the Editor to share with our readers – unsurprisingly they don’t always reflect the views of this publication. If you have something you’d like to share, get in touch and of course, your considered comments are welcome below.
This from Angela Hewitt. Ed
When you read anything about the why’s of devolution it only talks about communities making their own decisions. Necessary, because communities are different from each other, and the new leaders of these communities will know, based upon consultation etc?! what the community needs and wants.
So, Labour thinks that by making the devolved regions much bigger it will give the new Leaders a better understanding of what all the smaller parish type communities need. Giving “Power down to the communities” is the most common (ad-lib) phrase used.
I think we all know that bigger is not better and that “Small is Beautiful”.
So what is this really all about?
The country is basically bankrupt
Well we know that there is no money and that the country is basically bankrupt – thanks to the government’s – all governments’, extensive borrowing. The only time borrowing decreased significantly was when Thatcher sold the silver to specifically reduce the debt.
Here is an example of how the rich get richer.
During Covid the Government spent 3 trillion on furloughs. Giving it to ordinary people like us. Ignoring the millions given out for faulty PPE.
That 3 trillion went to us to pay our bills and mortgages and food. Some of us even managed to save a couple of grand – how lucky were we?
The rich got richer
But where did that three trillion pounds actually go? Yes, it went to us, and then it went to bankers, lenders and services. They are the ones that got rich. The wealthy, billionaire corporations, once again got shed loads of money from our government.
Not all from our taxes though but from huge loans, which we ordinary people that being the poor, the pensioners, the disabled, the working classes, and also, the middle classes will have to pay back via high taxes. The money is simply going in one direction. The more money that goes to the wealthy means the less goes to us, and so the poorer we get including the middle classes.
The sadness is, as voters we have no choice we can only vote to get poor.
Passing the buck
So, when eventually devolution arrives who is it, which regions, get what little money there is? I think devolution should be called passing the buck.
Trowers.com
Labour’s push towards further devolution is viewed by many as the key to unlocking the potential for growth and prosperity in every part of the country, with regional and local leaders being best placed to identify their communities’ requirements and to harness their potential, however the success of devolution will hinge upon Labour ensuring devolved funding is adequate, that there is equitable infrastructure development, as well capacity and expertise within local government in order for them to manage their new responsibilities effectively.
As devolution evolves it will become increasingly important for Labour to strike the right balance to ensure that this does not simply become an exercise of offloading responsibility, or one which creates greater disparities between the regions, particularly where there is a disparity in funding.
Careful management of the relationship between central and local government will be crucial to this, and again balance will be needed to ensure that support comes from Whitehall without too much influence, and that local authorities can exercise their independence, whilst still allowing for national policy alignment and integration.
National policy alignment and integration can change.
