The defeat of New Labour’s assembly plan for the north-east corner of Northumbria, in 2004’s referendum is often claimed as proof that regionalism is finished. Advocates of a triumphalist English Parliament cite polls showing support for regional assemblies now trailing at 9%. They forget that polls used to show a thumping majority in favour, UNTILContinueContinue reading “Jam Tomorrow: New Labour and the New Jerusalem”
Author Archives: WR_admin
Just Say No
Margaret Atwood’s dystopian novel, The Handmaid’s Tale includes a scene of community punishment. Not punishment IN the community but punishment BY the community. The oppressed Handmaids are goaded into participating in the execution of enemies of the regime, ‘particicution’ to use the precise term. For the fascist-fundamentalist state in the novel, the method of executionContinueContinue reading “Just Say No”
The Consolation Prize
On Thursday, voters in Salford decided in favour of having a directly elected mayor. It was also a local decision to call the referendum in the first place. Bristolians are being forced to hold a poll whether they like it or not, under the so-called Localism Act. The £475,000 it will cost has to beContinueContinue reading “The Consolation Prize”
Whose Regions?
An earlier post this week examined the consequences for Wessex if Scotland votes to dissolve the union. It could be a unique opportunity to demand and to create a new England, with regionalism and decentralisation built in to its fabric. More likely, it could usher in a new age of political repression, economic polarisation andContinueContinue reading “Whose Regions?”
Whose Poet?
“’William Barnes, you say? What possible relevance could he have today?’ ‘Well, I suppose people who like Dorset might be interested, or some local historian or Wessex regionalist, but as for me…’. So goes the reasoning of many. It is false reasoning…”Fr Andrew Phillips (2003), in the foreword to a reprint of Barnes’ Views ofContinueContinue reading “Whose Poet?”
Whose England?
Smile at us, pay us, pass us; but do not quite forget.For we are the people of England, that never have spoken yet.G.K. Chesterton, The Secret PeopleTen years ago last month a petition of 50,000 signatures calling for a Cornish Assembly was delivered to Downing Street, to the home of a Prime Minister renowned forContinueContinue reading “Whose England?”
The Sack of Wessex
Pressure is being piled on MPs to toughen scrap-metal legislation in a bid to stop thieves stripping out our infrastructure in search of a quick profit.There was a time when metal theft was more or less restricted to opportunist pilfering from building sites and removing lead from the roofs of abandoned churches. Not any more.ContinueContinue reading “The Sack of Wessex”
Needling Doubts
News reaches us that Occupy Bristol are finally departing from College Green, after weeks of treating PUBLIC open space as somewhere to set up their own Third World shanty town, having first failed to find anywhere more relevant to squat. Surprise, surprise, there are syringes all over the place. It seems that those who wantedContinueContinue reading “Needling Doubts”
Politics, Philosophy & Economics
Politics – featuring the unacknowledged death of localism.Philosophy – or the message behind the medium.Economics – coming soon to a petrol station near you.Because understanding what’s happening is the first step towards influencing it.
End of the Beginning
When the London Stock Exchange closed yesterday, it became possible to compare the year-end positions for 2010 and 2011. The FTSE 100 was down 5.6% over the year. Banks fell more sharply. Oil and gas shares rose. The High Street remains in dire straits, partly due to the impact of online shopping, partly due toContinueContinue reading “End of the Beginning”
Wessex Regionalists 