Random thoughts

 Andy Burnham

I am away on holiday for the next week so shan’t be able to comment again before  Mr Burnham’s accession into the premiership.  I wish him all the luck in the world.

I've seen him described as having policies not much different from those of Sir Keir Starmer, but being a better communicator.  I think that's a bit unfair, and  still hope he is secretly negotiating with the Libera Democrats and Greens to beef up his cabinet by bringing some of them into it.  

Maybe Sir Ed Davey at the Home Office; a Green at Environment, thus releasing Ed Miliband for the Treasury; and retaining Sir Keir as Foreign Secretary. 

 Overseas Aid

 One of the few things at which the UK is still undeniably "World Leading" is overseas development, so it was both stupid as well as bordering on the criminal for the UK to try to balance our books on the world's poorest.  Yet that is in fact what our two previous governments have done : under Rishi Sunak from 0.7% of GDP to 0.5%, then Starmer a further cut to 0.3%. 

According the today's Guardian (13th July") a group of Labour MPs, along David Miliband, are urging Mr Burnham to support a New Economics foundation proposal to "restore Brown-era international aid spending."  Let's hope Mr Burnham listens. ( See later for where the money could come from. ) 

At the same time let's hope he doesn’t listen to the trade unions wanting to preserve limitless political contributions to parties.  The Tech Bros will always win.The existing proposals to limit them should go much further. 

The World Cup.

 I'm not a great football fan and haven't watched any of the matches, but I do know enough to be aware that Jude Bellingham, who scored  the two goals which  will take us to the semi-final, is "a person of colour."  I've looked up his origins on Google and apparently he's of Irish extraction on his Mother's side and Jamaican from his Father.  

Just the sort of cocktail that exemplifies what is best of modern Britain. 

And he's not alone  A friend who actually did watch the quarter-final tells me that, by the end of the game, only four of England’s players were "White British" and the other seen were all "persons of colour."  One of them was even a Muslim. Wow! 

 I wonder if those responsible for draping our lampposts with now-fading Union Flags and St George's Crosses in the name of patriotism, but with the barely veiled threat of "no foreigners here," many if not most of them probably enthusiastic soccer fans, are capable of putting two and two together?

Hold-ups at Dover and Elsewhere

As most schools break up  by the end of this week there is increasing anxiety and some anger.about delays caused by border checks at Dover and other crossings. 

I hope that those who are delayed and who voted for Brexit, and  are still spouting "we must control our borders," are able to put two and two together.

 As Global Justice Now" points out, most people are fully in favour of "free movement" - for themselves.  It's others whose freedoms should be curtailed (see five posts on this blog in May 2025).

 Where's the money to come from? 

Mr Burnham is being urged to adopt of policy proposed by the Institute of Global Prosperity at University  College London, called Prosperity 2030.  According to the Guardian on 10th July, the proposal is that six key taxes, including;

income tax;

capital gains tax;

inheritance tax

national Insurance contritions;

should be rolled into one and all collected at the same rate.

 I haven't yet read the details, but I do understand  that the UK's taxes are far too complicated after years of minor adjustments to placate this that and the other special interests, and massive simplification should be the order of the day.

 

Genuine commiserations to Scotland. Come on England ! 

 

The Burnham Devolution.

 It is encouraging that Andy Burnham seems as enthusiastic about devolution now that he is likely to take over power at the centre as he was when he was just a regional mayor.  Such consistency is to be admired.

However, desirable as devolution is in our over-centralised state, it should not be confused  with democracy.  Devolution of powers from a central despot to a collection of local ones is an improvement, but will not necessarily be sensitive to the needs of the people allegedly represented, and very unlikely to engage them  (us) in its administration.

In my life- time local government has moved further and further away from the grass roots.  Until the late 1930s Birstall, the  (formerly) industrial village where I live, was “governed” by its own  Urban District Council. Although the proposal to merge us into the neighbouring Borough of Batley two miles down the road was defeated in a referendum by a massive 3500 votes to 25 (with 190 abstentions) the merger went ahead. 

Then in the 1970s Batley’s  Borough Council was itself abolished and we were submerged into Kirklees, administered from Huddersfield, seven miles away. 

We still had a County Council based in Wakefield, which administered large scale services,( for which in education ,for example, it was internationally famous,*) but Mrs Thatcher abolished it in the1980s because it kept falling into Labour hands. ( The Greater London Council suffered the same fate at the same time for the same reasons.)

The de-democratising  process continue. 

The last series of Conservative governments imposed Directly Elected Mayors on Combined Authorities. Ours was certainly against the will of the councillors in most of the West Yorkshire authorities, without the actual public even being asked.

  The present Labour government is abolishing  District Councils and imposing massive Unitary  Authorities. For example, the entire  Surrey County is now to be administered by just  two of these.

 The concept of the US-style directly elected mayors, to which Andy Burnham owes his popularity, (or notoriety, if you prefer) is flawed for three reasons.

First it places the emphasis on the personality of one individual rather than on the policies of a group. An engaging, (or flamboyant) personality can be an  important asset in politics but is not sufficient on its own, as  Boris Johnson’s performance as both London Mayor and Prime Minister illustrates.

Secondly, with the exception of London, where the mayor is accountable  to the elected London Assembly, the other mayors are accountable, if at all, only to  delegates on Combined Authorities, not directly elected and largely unknown to the people they are meant to represent.

Thirdly the existing directly elected mayors have often been seen as, and could easily remain, agents of the central government, dishing out largesse from Westminster  largely on Westminster’s instructions, in the manner of Santa Claus mayors.

 For devolution to revolutionise both our democracy and economy   we need leaders not only with powers and tax-raising ability, but democratic legitimacy through having been chosen by the people they represent at regional, county, town and parish level.  

*  Correction.  A comment below points out that the Internationally famous education authority was its predecessor, the West Riding County council  (WRCC) which was abolished in the 1970s reforms,   The succeeding West Yorkshire County Council was not an education authority.  Apologies.