Looking for a new England
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In the aftermath of the Scottish ‘No’ vote it is hard to predict how things will settle down. Politicians, excited by the record numbers that cast their ballot, see it as an endorsement of the democratic process and, by extension, a vote for politicians in general. You can still see the warm glow in their cheeks when the matter comes up.
The referendum’s wave of energy is being directed into sorting out the question of what happens now; something for which all parties seem to have been spectacularly unprepared.
Amid the excitement hasty promises were made, and the Prime Minister, honourably, is determined that these will be honoured. No one knows whether the result would have been the same if promises had not been made, but if the ‘No’ margin had been a bit wider one could imagine certain senior English figures in a post-referendum frenzy of kicking themselves.
We in local government, however, must be very grateful that the promises were made because more devolution to Scotland by implication means more devolution of power in England, and that is something we have argued would be beneficial for a long time.
The implications for England came as a surprise to the government, and to almost everyone else. In his post-election speech David Cameron said, “…a new and fair settlement for Scotland should be accompanied by a new and fair settlement that applies to all parts of the United Kingdom”. He then revealed he hadn’t the faintest idea what this meant and that he had asked William Hague and a Cabinet committee to look into it. This was the signal for all and sundry to fall over themselves to get in on the act, contributing an abundance of ideas, most of which have been entirely parochial. In short, it has descended into a bun fight.
The first issue is the so-called West Lothian question: why are Scottish, Welsh and Northern Irish MPs allowed to vote on matters concerning only England when power is devolved to regional assemblies in those areas? With more powers going to Scotland, the question is thrown into stark relief: in a more federal system, who is going to govern England? Hence the chorus of voices yelling me, me, me!
We don’t want a separate English assembly – another layer of government and bureaucracy brings on the shuddering horrors in most of us. Fortunately, whilst this is the most logical solution it is also the least likely: it is too expensive, too elaborate, and way too threatening to Whitehall. No, I believe we can pronounce that one dead and read aloud a suitable poem while we bury it in an old cereal box at the end of the garden with the other short-lived pets.
Only English MPs voting on issues that affect only England is the evens favourite, only recently endorsed by a House of Commons commission. However, this idea is flawed, because it could potentially leave the country in an ungovernable position: a Labour government with a majority because of support in Scotland could be left unable to win any votes on English issues. Eat up those Rice Krispies kids; we’re gonna need another box!
The only viable solution is one that will be anathema to Whitehall power-hoarders: devolution to local government. And why not? Local government is demonstrably the most efficient part of the public sector. Cut after cut has, incredibly, been converted to higher satisfaction with services. Give it the Health Service to manage and it will deliver true integration of local health-related services, better outcomes, and massive efficiency savings. More power to raise taxes locally will deliver faster economic growth through better targeted employment incentives, improved investment in local infrastructure, and more housing.
The Prime Minister considers it “…important we have wider civic engagement about how to improve governance in our United Kingdom, including how to empower our great cities”. I would argue that the existing structures can take the load: there is no need to insist upon elected mayors or create new city regions, because we already have a system that has been stress tested to the extreme and has passed the test. Let’s sort out the Barnett formula so that funding is fair throughout the UK and get on with devolving power to councils.
