Cameron on the Decentralisation trail.

[Patrick]

David Cameron will tomorrow pledge to deliver the most dramatic redistribution of power in living memory as he attempts to deal with the concerns of voters left disgusted by the row over MPs' expenses.

In a broad-ranging article in the Guardian, Cameron declares that he would trim back the powers of the prime minister and boost the role of parliament to win back public confidence.

"In his article, Mr Cameron writes 'Through decentralisation, transparency and accountability we must take power away from the political elite and hand it to the man and woman in the street.'

Nothing new about that! Back in the early 90's I was working in a Government department - and all the talk was moving out the London offices that dealt with the regions to the regions they dealt with. This followed on from the Tax people moving to Nottingham and other "Big Government" moves mooted or suggested at the time. It lasted until the big crash then no-one could afford to move anywhere.

He's well and truly jumped on the "Honesty" band wagon, but does anyone else feel, like me that he's still the little boy on the mountain crying "Wolf!"

[swl]

He's a PR man. He spent 7 years doing PR before joining the Tories. This is just more flannel and we wouldn't have heard a word of it if MPs hadn't been caught at it. Sunny D will say anything to get his arse in the big chair.

[Alpha Hooligan]

Better Cambo than Bottler Brown.

I hope to see labour ejected and not come anywhere near power for another half a century...they will certainly never get my vote again.


AH

[swl]

It's the old story Alph. We don't vote for the politician we like, we vote for the one we hate the least.

[Alpha Hooligan]

Aye, that has a ring of truth about it...


AH

[Patrick]

If he started talking about changing the voting system too! That might be something.





_{Still couldn't bring myself to vote for him though.....}

[trubble]

Yes, Patrick. I hear ''Wolf'' too. He is being unrealistic in his stated goals. He is the most likely bet to become Prime Minister and he is setting himself up to fail in his people-power policy imo because it's not his core belief, it's not what his party are about.

Labour had a more power-to-the-people philosophy and look how they managed to screw it up.

It's something that has to be done from very hardline core beliefs, for Cameron and the Tories it would be massive sacrifice.

"In his article, Mr Cameron writes 'Through decentralisation, transparency and accountability we must take power away from the political elite and hand it to the man and woman in the street.'

LOL!!

Who would have ever thought a Tory Leader would be talking like the Marxists.

It's potty.

But it's my beliefs, so I wish him every success in it.

[trubble]

May 25, 2009 22:25:11 GMT swl said:

It's the old story Alph. We don't vote for the politician we like, we vote for the one we hate the least.

I will be voting for the 2 politicians I really believe in in the next local election, and for MEPs...MEPs..do you know what, for the first time since I turned 18 I might not vote.

[Flatypus]

Didn't Thatcher and Reagan come out with all this stuff about rolling the state back and individual freedom? Yes - if you are a 'Corporate Individual' potentially immortal, unassailable, with the Hierarchy unassailable for anything their god may do and their god accountable to nobody.

We've heard it all before. Only Communism begins to offer the support that allows total freedom and Communism does not go far enough in recognising family commitment as central to the purpose of society instead of a personal frivolity contrasting with it. What we need is a humane version far to the Left of Communism, the sort of thing Matriarchal pagans were trying to do 30 years ago.

[housesparrow]

So far as I'm concerned, "decentralisation" "transparency " and "accountability" just mean adding more and more layers of bureaucracy, employing more and more pen-pushers and hamstringing those charged with delivering services.

Piffle, the sort of ideal world you describe may work well in a small, uncomplicated society with common values, but is unrealistic surely in the society we have now?

[Patrick]

I have half a mind (but you already know that) to read this article. A brief look through does seem to tell me that it's the same old stuff made out to look like it's coming from the "speaking from the heart" wing of spin.

Oh! and here's the electoral reform bit:

"But it's also why a Conservative government will not consider introducing proportional representation, as many participants in A New Politics have demanded. The principle underlying all the political reforms a Conservative government would make is the progressive principle of redistributing power and control from the powerful to the powerless. PR would actually move us in the opposite direction, which is why I'm so surprised it's still on the wish-list of progressive reformers. Proportional representation takes power away from the man and woman in the street and hands it to the political elites. Instead of voters choosing their government on the basis of the manifestos put before them in an election, party managers would choose a government on the basis of secret backroom deals. How is that going to deliver transparency and trust?"

Meaning that all David Cameron wants is a massive majority just like Tony Blair's so he can forget all the fluffy promises he made too! and if he's really lucky - he's hoping to be able to invade another country as well!

[Patrick]

Now they're talking!

David Cameron said today that he would take part in cross-party talks with Labour to develop plans to boost the power of parliament.

The Conservative leader was responding to an offer from Jack Straw, the justice secretary, who wants the talks to start soon and to come up with plans for parliamentary reform before the summer recess.

[trubble]

I blame Obama for this cross-party relations fad.

[Patrick]

May 26, 2009 15:24:47 GMT trubble said:

I blame Obama for this cross-party relations fad.

_{Just don't mention the Spanish thing!}

Incidentally, Google "Tony Blair" together with "People Power" and it gets you quite a few speech hits.

[Patrick]

This morning's question;

Can anybody spot the slight disparity between Cameron talking about giving more power to the people one day and then giving his full support to Julie Kirkbride the next?

Hand's up!?

[Deleted]

Cameron should want to win Bromsgrove at the next election ( which will be in the autumn btw ) If the female half of this thieving double act is still the con. candidate , then he will lose Bromsgrove . Ergo - she is history . If he doesn't see that then he won't be the next PM.

[alanseago]

Nice David reminds me very much of Silly Ron Reagan, learning the lines penned by his masters with absolute sincerity, looking the camera straight in the eye and speaking to 'people like us'.
I expect him to start bending his right hand at the wrist and jabbing his stiffened fingers at his left nipple because he thinks that is where his heart is.

[Patrick]

Apparently we've got it all wrong now. Julie was just doing it to help with childcare and we're all very bad for picking on a humble young lady who was just trying to juggle home life with being an MP.

Do all banks give you mortgages if you tell them it's to help with looking after the children?

Or am I just getting muddled again.

[Patrick]

May 28, 2009 10:45:27 GMT alanseago said:

Nice David reminds me very much of Silly Ron Reagan, learning the lines penned by his masters with absolute sincerity, looking the camera straight in the eye and speaking to 'people like us'.
I expect him to start bending his right hand at the wrist and jabbing his stiffened fingers at his left nipple because he thinks that is where his heart is.

I'm going to have big problems when I see DC now - with that in mind!

[Flatypus]

May 26, 2009 6:32:35 GMT housesparrow said:

Piffle, the sort of ideal world you describe may work well in a small, uncomplicated society with common values, but is unrealistic surely in the society we have now?

Missed you. Yes of course it does, so we need to change that society to something more humane! Or at least human-orientated. You build your big society out of lots of little ones, co-operatives of co-operatives. You do the same perhaps, where large organisations are necessary, though for manufacturing, machines can do most most of it. The largest employer in Spain works like this, a relic of the Republic that survived Franco. I don't know a lot about it, save that KSR quoted it in his utopian novels and it is a real business.