Yes Argument

STATEMENT OF BELIEF by Anthony H Wilson

.I have long thought that this country is unbalanced and sick; ill with the domination of one city and one region which think themselves to be the whole country when in fact they are a mere 15% of that country. I now believe that the only way to begin to redress these injustices, from health and education provision to the ever-widening wealth gap between the South East and the North West is to achieve an elected regional government for my region. It is a once in a lifetime opportunity and if we do not turn out and vote this autumn, we will regret it for centuries.

The only member of the No campaign for whom I have respect (enormous respect), Graham Stringer, who as leader of Manchester led the regeneration of the city 30 miles down the A580, opened a debate with me on Radio Manchester with the lines, "Tony is right, there are enormous injustices between the South East and the regions of Britain; but what is on offer simply isn't enough." Quite right, honourable member for Blackley, but all revolutions start somewhere. His response reminds me of a starving man being offered a ham sandwich and refusing it. 'I want a steak dinner or nowt'. We must start somewhere to redress the imbalance in the UK. Once we have an elected regional assembly we can shape it and its powers to the needs of the North West. But for God's sake let us at least start.

As for the other members of the No Campaign, they are just turkeys not voting for Christmas

And though this is about taking some of the power away from London, power over our economy, our systems and our self-image, this is not about London bashing. In the final analysis elected regional government would be good for London; since London is the capital of the UK and every major report on the competitiveness of our economy undertaken in the past ten years has pointed up the UK's greatest weakness as it's lack of regional structure and over-emphasis on the drastically overheated South East. "It is", as Channel Four News's new economics correspondent, Faisal Islam, puts it, "grim down South." What is good for the North West is good for the country and hence also it's capital.

My favourite battle cry was given to the Necessary Group by the excellent and truly honourable member for Ashton in Makerfield, who together with his main man Prescott has kept the Blair government true to their promises of devolution. The McCartney line is simple and resonant; "Decisions that fundamentally affect our lives should be taken in the North West, by the North West, for the North West; not in the South East, by the South East, for the South East."

Simple, or maybe you prefer the battle cry of the No Group; "London knows best".

Anthony H Wilson



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