Prescott's regional dreams in tatters
By Andy McSmith,
Independent on Sunday
Political Editor
31 October 2004
Read online click here
John Prescott's long-held dream of regional assemblies across England, leading the drive to bring jobs to employment black spots and protecting the economic interests of every corner of England, is on the point of being shattered.
The result of what was to be the first in a series of regional referendums, in the North-east of England, will be announced on Thursday, with early signs indicating a heavy victory for the "no" campaign, which is thought to have collected over 60 per cent of the vote.
Defeat will be a personal blow for Mr Prescott, who has campaigned for regional government for more than 20 years. It would be highly unlikely that the Government would risk a referendum in any other region, and that would eliminate any prospect of regional government in England for the foreseeable future. One of the North-east's leading "no" campaigners forecast yesterday that the setback could drive the Deputy Prime Minister into early retirement.
It will also be a dark warning for Tony Blair, who made a campaigning visit to the North-east alongside the Liberal Democrat leader, Charles Kennedy, that he cannot count on victory in any referendum, such as the one he has promised to call on whether Britain should ratify the EU constitution.
If forecasts are correct, a campaign endorsed by every senior politician in the North-east from the Prime Minister downwards, and by a galaxy of local celebrities, has been defeated by a mixed group of political amateurs led by a former market trader.
Neil Herron, head of North-East Against a Regional Assembly, first came to prominence as one of Sunderland's "Metric Martyrs" - traders who were ready to break the law by selling their wares in imperial measures rather than the kilograms and litres required by EU legislation.
His campaign has a single, easily understood theme - that a regional assembly would be nothing but a costly platform for party politics. The "yes" campaign has tried to convey a more complex message about promoting regional employment and gaining control over large planning projects.
Last week, the rock star Sting, who comes from Tyneside, added his name to the celebrity backers of the "yes" campaign., They include former Olympic athlete Brendan Foster, former England international Paul Gascoigne, businessman Sir John Hall and Middlesbrough's independent "Robocop" mayor, Ray Mallon.
But yesterday Mr Herron confidently predicted that the "no" campaign will win.
Sunday, October 31, 2004
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5 comments:
If this is correct and the "NO" campaign has a resounding success, it wil be a great day for the North East and also for England.
It will be especially beneficial if Fatty Two-Jags also retires as a result, and a smack in the eye for the traitors in our so-called government who are treacherously trying to disassemble England for their own European aspirations. The sooner they are all thrown-out the better.
Crusader
I wonder if all this wil be acceptable to brussels,
They might throw us out now.
They still haven't grasped that if there are regional blackspots, it is because this government like the last is prepared for there to be regional blackspots, and no regional assembly would be allowed to contradict that national policy. What matters most to the government is to maximise the increase in overall GDP, increase the tax base and revenues, and avoid impending bankruptcy. If that means that some parts of the country continue to pull further ahead of other parts, so be it. Rather than tackle the relative shortage of jobs in the north east, the government is cramming more businesses into areas where they prefer to operate, and encouraging workers to come from abroad to supply those businesses with cheap labour - provided that, as they keep saying, those workers are here legally and PAYING TAXES. All of Gordon Brown's projections are based upon a continued high rate of growth, to provide the taxes to meet the future liabilities that he's been building up; without that growth, there'd be a massive smash.
Perfect example of Prescott's joined-up thinking (mind, he probably couldn't do joined -up writing!)was his initial approval a week or so back to build 480,000 houses in the South East, with the prospect of £1.6bn worth of infrastructure and investment.
Excuse me, why not offer a proportion of that investment up here, give ourselves and our children some hope. No, no, far to easy, much rather overheat an already prosperous region.
The man deserves a great big defeat on Thursday, rub their noses in it, and send them back to the drawing board.
We want something better - voting No will mean they (politicians) will have to take notice.
United England
Prosperous, but no longer able to afford houses unless already on property ladder and/or highly paid. Hence, solution - build more houses. Then, need more jobs for the people living in them. Then, need more houses ...
Flood the Channel Tunnel, that would help!
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