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
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Latest proposals on Lords reform will make little difference
A new White Paper has been published on reform of the House of Lords, the latest in a long series of such publications since Labour won the election in 1997. […]
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Ken Clarke’s proposals for English votes
Another twist in the saga of how to reconcile English governance to Scottish devolution has been proposed by Tory MP Ken Clarke. The problem is that Scottish MPs can vote […]
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Is Cornwall a nation?
An interesting piece has just been published in the UK section of this website, examining the relationship between Cornwall and the rest of the United Kingdom. (Read it here.) Formally, […]