Times Letters...Regionalisation

Letters to the Editor

August 12, 2005

Doubts over a region's 'voice'
From Mr David Tolson

Sir, The South East England Regional Assembly (Seera) declares on its website that it aims to be “a strong, credible voice for the region, engaging and representing our member organisations and, through them, the wider public”. Seera consists of 111 unelected members, nominated by local authorities, town and parish councils and environmental, business and other groups.
At a plenary meeting on July 13, a majority of members was declared to have passed, on a weighted voting system, a draft South East Plan for the future development of the “region” up to 2026. While Seera has not yet released minutes of that meeting to the public, it has published a very disturbing analysis of the votes.

Forty-four of the 111 members did not vote. A Seera official has explained to me that 23 of those neither attended nor appointed alternates, while the rest either left the meeting before the vote, or simply failed to return their voting forms. This means that, with 13 members abstaining and seven voting against the motion, only 47 members (that is, 42 per cent of the members, or 45 per cent of the total weighted votes) voted for approval of the plan.

A “strong, credible voice for the region”?

DAVID TOLSON
Kingsclere, Hampshire