Where's Michael Howard's Balls?

TORIES CAN WALK OUT OF UNELECTED ASSEMBLIES
12:30 - 25 January 2005

Many readers will remember the recent 'no' vote in the North East Regional Assembly Referendum. John Prescott's attempt to foist elected regional assemblies on them was rejected when they realised what the extra costs would be and how remote the institution would be.

What your readers may not be aware of is that these regional assemblies are already in place as unelected regional assemblies. The leaders and representatives of the local authorities, business, unions and charities in the associated region currently run them. They were set up as precursors to elected assemblies and cost taxpayers approximately £30-million a year. Their official role is to oversee the work of the regional development agencies, which were set up in 1999 to encourage inward investment. They have however also taken over some strategic planning roles from local authorities.

Michael Howard has openly demanded Labour should abolish this unwanted tier of government and has vowed the Conservatives, if elected, will do so. Tony Blair has quite reasonably responded that, in that case, Mr Howard should insist Conservative councillors at once resign from the assemblies.

I must agree with Mr Blair. If the Conservatives believe the assemblies are an abuse of council tax, an addition to the self-serving, self-perpetuating political class to no perceived public benefit, a gross and brazen violation of the principle that there should be no taxation without representation and an initiative with no purpose save to increase the powers of Brussels and to diminish those of democratic national and local government alike, how can they contribute to the perpetuation of such a system?

Mr Howard countered Mr Blair by saying: "As long as they are there, Conservative councillors have to minimise the damage they do."

However, if three-quarters of the appointed members vote for its abolition, an assembly must at once be dissolved.

The assemblies have no claim to democratic validity, but, if all Conservatives now walked out, even the most specious of Labour and Liberal Democrat fantasists could no longer maintain that they had any representative status.

Therefore, what is preventing Mr Howard from dissociating himself and his party from a system, to which they claim they are vehemently opposed? The answer is that the last Conservative Government agreed to the Maastricht Treaty and its support for a Committee of the Regions. It also introduced Government offices for the Regions so they would benefit from EU Development Funds. It is the Conservatives who started the ball rolling in the first place!

This is just another instance of Conservatives paying lip service to the notion of conserving British institutions and freedoms, while enthusiastically collaborating in their destruction.

I hope our current representative to the Yorkshire and Humber Regional Assembly, Conservative councillor Alan Holgate, leader of North Lincolnshire Council, will take this opportunity to address the issue.

David George Baxendale
Elm Way,
Messingham.