Silliness Unlimited
Northerners in England should be encouraged to move away to the south-east of England in a bid to promote urban depopulation regeneration in northern England, according to wonks at Policy Exchange, one of D-Cam's favoured think-tanks.
This, obviously, will do the Tories' electoral chances no good at all in Wales. The summary to the report, Cities Unlimited, (no one reads these reports, do they?) says,"The key recommendations from the report are to increase the size of London by allowing landowners the right to convert industrial land into residential land in areas of above average employment; expand Oxford and Cambridge dramatically, just as Liverpool and Manchester expanded in the 19th century and for the Government to roll up current regeneration funding streams and allocate the money direct to local authorities."
The Tories have already activated their 40 degree spin cycle and have publicly disowned the report's conclusions, which one of the authors said would be interpreted as 'barmy'. Quite.
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13 comments:
The co author of the report Dr Tim Leunig of the LSE is in fact a member of the Liberal Democrats!
Most "think tanks" appear to be full of garbage. Also, a prerequisite of being in a think tank is to possess a brain!
there was a similar report in the 1930's about shutting merthyr tydfil down and moving its residents to the Vale of Glamorgan when unemployment was at its peak, so like all ideas even the silly ones they come back around after all.
Then again, Breton families were deported to the South of France, but that was to prevent them speaking their own language and naming their children with Breton names as opposed to trad French and Saints names.
This shows quite clearly why the Conservative Party needs to widen its views away from the so-called Notting Hill Set. Certainly, it should start looking to Wales and other rgeions for new ideas.
Unti the Conservatives embrace the idea of devolution leading to full parliamentary powers leading to independence and self-government for all the nations of Britain they will make no headway in these areas.
Alan - they did in the recent Assembly and Local Government elections.
So why did David Cameron suggest recently that the union between Northern Ireland and Britain should be strengthened and the Party be called once more "Conservative and Unionist"?
Only Plaid want independence, and they're hardly making great leaps and bounds. What Wales needs is gradual and constructive devolution leading to full parliamentary powers, not independence.
This shows the danger of relying on the press for a story. One of the co authors of the report Dr Tim Leunig is a member of the Liberal Democrats.
Reading the summary on the Policy Exchange website it is clear that the main report has some interesting ideas particularly about the role of local government. It is also clear that the report isn't just arguing for a simplistic movement of population from the old northern industrial cities to the south east.
This is a classic example where perhaps people should read the report,draw their own conclusions and just rely on the newspapers.
We should point out that although the Think Tank is associated in a small way with the Conservative Party, it is not Conservative poliy. It does however provide difficulties for David Cameron because of the association. It's not as if this came straight from Conservative HQ. It's a think-tank at the end of the day.
The next Scottish by-election, if taken by the SNP, will bring home some real truths to the tories.
The arrogant belief that the South-east of England is somehow the most desirable part of the British isles, given the rates of crime and social deprivation, is somewhat delusional.
It should also serve to animate the Welsh voters who still are undecided about serving the crachach of Cardiff, or the lords of London .
Or is it that the sweatshops and warehouses of London are running short of desperate souls to toil in the name of avarice?
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