tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4732407426313451205.post146776133220532089..comments2024-03-08T15:43:20.236+00:00Comments on Keynesian Liberal: Two lessons from Bradford West.Peter Wrigleyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16481117156930677255noreply@blogger.comBlogger1125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4732407426313451205.post-54597707684804731072012-04-03T06:59:51.650+01:002012-04-03T06:59:51.650+01:00Larry Elliott concludes his "Economics "...Larry Elliott concludes his "Economics " article in yesterday's Guardian (02/04/12) with the following:<br /><br />"The coalition's policy for the regions is some enterprise zones, High Speed Rail 2 and some rebalancing triggered by a cheaper pound. This won't do the trick. A more aggressive approach would be to pump demand into the regions, through public procurement, job subsidies and infrastructure spending. This probably won't do the trick either...<br /><br />The real problem is that Britain is the most centralised country in the Western World. London is the nation's economic, political and cultural centre of gravity. This concentration of power has become more and more pronounced. Break that stranglehold and there is a chance that real local democracy could deliver innovative solutions: regional currencies, green new deals, the use of pension funds to build houses, for example."<br /><br />All of that could have come from the Liberal/Liberal Democrat manifestos of my lifetime. If our leaders had been shouting it from the rooftops, and we had been campaigning regularly on these themes in Bradford West, we might not have lost our deposit, and we might have attracted some like-minded activists to build for the future.Peter Wrigleyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16481117156930677255noreply@blogger.com