What's Labour's Answer To The Catastrophe That Is Devolution?

[ToraToraTora]

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-55397201
yep you've guessed it, more devolution. Many many more layers of politicians and officials bloating the public sector, bossing us about at every level. Gawd elp us, that's all we need! As TGL once said, the state should be as small as possible, looks like Steer Calmer has other ideas. Madness?

[Etch]

No, I haven't missed you. Oh, sorry, wrong thread!

[Paigntonian]

Yes. The guiding principle should be a governmental apparatus as small as absolutely necessary. Parish councils, town councils, borough councils, county councils, residual regional assemblies, so-called national governments, the UK government, endless quangos...Madness.

[jno]

obviously, what is needed is to place as much power as possible in the hands of one man (not a directly elected one like the USA, of course)

https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2020/dec/01/boris-johnson-publishes-plans-to-take-power-back-from-courts-and-mps

[Paigntonian]

jno: This is a bit concerning.

[ToraToraTora]

I'll settle for the elected parliament and government jno. All the other stuff, devolved parliaments, city mayors, councils etc all unnecessary drains on public finances.

[ToraToraTora]

of course jno would rather the country was run by unelected foreigners.

[Jackdaw33]

I see no reason for concern. We are merely reverting to the status quo ante which has stood the test of time. The FTPA was merely a sop to the Liberals in 2010 as the price to be paid for them entering a coalition.

[ToraToraTora]

JD, SKS is proposing further devolution, regional government etc. Good job he'll never get anywhere near no 10.

[douglas9401]

A bit concerning? An empty headed oaf and his feeble-minded wreckers wanting to hold all the cards should have sirens and klaxons going off.

It's becoming obvious that Mr Johnson is a front for something sinister. Why else would he remain in place as life as we know it disintegrates on multiple fronts?

[Jackdaw33]

More devolution is concerning. My previous answer was to jno's link from the Guardian.

[KARL]

Gordon Brown in charge ? Really ? In some quarters his name is the very definition of irresponsibility and duplicity.

[emmie]

The Labour leader announced a constitutional commission to look at what powers should go where - and the former prime minister Gordon Brown, himself long an advocate of a federal system with more power for nations and regions, is going to advise it.

oh heavens

[Ken4155]

From TTT's link; "It might also sound like a bit of a fudge; Labour is going to look at moving more power away from London without actually promising anything specific."
Nothing to see here, move on :-/

[ichkeria]

More devolution generally is a good thing.
It does not need to be endless bureaucracy.
Johnson’s instinct is centralisation and to ignore the devolutionary bodies already set up

[emmie]

i am not so sure Ken. If Keir gets his way if they next get in power then who knows what might happen.

[Ken4155]

According to many of AB's 'experts', Emmie, that's a very big 'if'.

[emmie]

Labour could do well at next election, admittedly that's three years off,

[ichkeria]

Labour would have an uphill battle to gain a majority without returning in Scotland. To do that they need to seriously threaten the SNP and to do that in turn they may need actually to acknowledge the case for another referendum.
This government greatly worries me as does the story party generally. We have an incompetent cabinet and a PM with it seems scant regard for law and institutions. Not in fact all that traditionally Tory at all, Labour can make headway also by attacking it on those fronts.

[ToraToraTora]

ich: "More devolution generally is a good thing." -how?
"It does not need to be endless bureaucracy." - but it will be, gawd even the local councils now have a "cabinet" paying a salary, when before it was all voluntary and all they got was subsistence.
"Johnson’s instinct is centralisation and to ignore the devolved bodies already set up " - excellent, devolution has been a Brobdingnagian disaster, costing gazillions, we should un devolve now.

[ToraToraTora]

emmie: "Labour could do well at next election, admittedly that's three years off" - real Labour have not won an election since 1974, if SKS wants to win he'll have to become the Tories.