The British system of government has for many years been one of the most centralised in Europe. Many more matters are decided at the national level than in Germany or Belgium, for example, where an effective level of regional government has been established.
Recent years have seen steps towards regional government, notably in Scotland and Wales but also on a smaller scale in England. But treating regional and national authorities as representatives of Westminster rather than representatives of the people in the areas concerned does not really change very much.
A federal system would be much better.
In England, some form of sub-national authorities (perhaps the existing regions, perhaps something else) would be directly elected and exercise clearly defined powers. Most of these powers would be drawn from those currently exercised by Whitehall. Such a system could bring the citizens closer to the decisions which most affect their lives. The power of distant bureaucrats would be reduced.
The links below lead to more information on the following subjects.
Latest Contributions
-
Questions from abroad about Scotland
I have often thought that the saving grace of the British constitution was that, given how undemocratic, unbalanced and inefficient it is, at least it is interesting. Each part of the […]
-
Today’s UK: a federal embryo?
By Dr Andrew Blick Summary of the November 2009 Federal Trust pamphlet: Devolution and regional administration: a federal UK in embryo? In the period since Labour took office in 1997, […]
-
Subsidiarity man
I was delighted to find in an old collection of papers this cartoon: it appeared in The Independent some time in 1991, I think, when the term “subsidiarity” first made […]