The Case for a new Local Democratic Order

by Roger Warren Evans  1996

part of "Building a New Britain"
an alternative approach to devolution and local governance. 
Published by the City Region Campaign                                                 Page 2

Pages One - Two - Three - Four - Five - Six - Seven

• Continued... This primary structure would not be discretionary.  As with the District/Boroguh government at the present time, it would be of universal application throughout the territory of the UK, throughout England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland, for town and for country, for London and for "the Provinces". This system would represent a practical expression of the Union, delivering to every citizen a common structure of public life: citizens would know where they stood, and could look to these three elected councils to be responsible for the governance of their local community.  In some parts of the UK, they would be supplemented by provincial authorities, interpolated between region and nation.

Strategic Role

The regional council would be the "strategic" authority for its region, and in that sense comparable with Labour's proposal for the London city region.  Unlike Labour's formula, however, the regional council would be responsible for strategic policy in every sector of local government, with the District Councils retaining responsibility for all service delivery and administration.  The regional authority would share with national government the oversight functions in respect of all regional quangoes, also sharing nomination rights. The details of that conjuncture would be the subject of negotiation, and might well vary from one region to another.

Salaried representation

As a representative body, the regional assembly would be relatively small, consisting of salaried political representatives, along the lines envisaged by current Labour proposals for Scotland, Wales and London, namely either one or two per Parliamentary constituency.  It is envisaged that Regional Assembly Members would be paid at salary-levels comparable with that of MPs, making such savings in allowances as would be appropriate to allow for the omission of London commitments.  There would be no direct financial incentive motive for a professional politician to move to Westminster, and away from the key challenges of city regional governance.  The creation of city regional government would herald a real re-balancing of the institutions of the UK state, that should be matched by changes in the pattern of popular representation, allowing for the future reduction in the number of Westminster MPs.  These new city reginal positions would open up new political opportunities, and constructive political careers, to future generations of citizens concerned with the public life of their communities.

Traditional local government

The new regional authority would in constitutional terms be in every respect a conventional UK local authority, without the power to legislate but with the right to raise its own taxes within specified statutory limits, and with the additional relaxation of the ultra vires rule to generate a power of general competence sufficient to permit locally-financed innovation.  The Banham and Cooksey Commissions were given the unrealistic task of opting for either unitary counties or unitary districts, or accepting the status quo: that was an insufficiently radical agenda.  We are for a two-tier all-purpose system of local government, with full functional integration, capable of handling both large-area strategic integration and small-area service delivery.

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