Power to the people: a step in the right direction
Image courtesy of North of Tyne mayor
Ask anyone if they think ‘democracy’ is a good thing and you can be pretty certain they will say, “Yes”. Anyone that is except Winston Churchill, who was famously equivocal when he said, “ Democracy is the worst form of government except for all those other forms that have been tried from time to time”. More worryingly, a survey published by IPPR in 2022 showed that young adults are not likely to say democracy serves them well. Why is this?
I am inclined to believe that there is a clue to this conundrum in the same IPPR report showing broad support for more decision-making powers to be devolved away from Westminster – and this support is stronger the further north you move. Democratic government must mean government of the people, by the people and for the people. However, steady accumulation of power in Westminster over the past 30 to 40 years has eroded faith that these three essential attributes are being delivered and has strengthened the feeling that government is something being done to us rather than for us.
Compared to other countries, the UK “jumps out in terms of the degree of centralisation” and is “almost the most centralised developed country in the world”. That’s not my opinion by the way; It is the on-the-record opinion of a mandarin in HM Treasury. So, let’s talk about devolution.
Recent negotiations led by the current North of Tyne Mayor, Jamie Driscoll, have ‘taken back control’ (at least to some extent) for the region. People across Northumberland, Newcastle, North Tyneside, Gateshead, South Tyneside, Sunderland, and County Durham will see greater powers and associated funding devolved to a new North East Mayoral Combined Authority.
The UK has one of the most regionally unequal economies in the world, but it doesn’t have to be that way. When the Berlin Wall fell in 1989 East Germany lagged far behind the West in terms of economic development. Now, three decades after reunification, the gap between them is smaller than that between London and the rest of the UK. Germany, of course, has a federal system of government with power devolved to the regions. This shows us that, where there is a will, levelling up can be achieved and it starts with devolution.
John Gowing
For further information on the devolution proposal see:
https://www.northumberland.gov.uk/NorthumberlandCountyCouncil/media/About-the-Council/Devo%20deal/North-East-Devolution-The-Deal.pdf
For further information on the IPPR survey see:
Patel P. & Quilter-Pinner H. (2022) Road to renewal: Elections, parties and the case for renewing democracy, IPPR. http://www.ippr.org/publications/road-to-renewal