IN a recent letter from Ian Morris of the UK Independence Party, I think I detected a request for an explanation of the Liberal Democrats' support for devolved regional government (Evening News, August 21).
It is based on two principles: subsidiarity and democracy. The first says that public policy decisions should be taken as close as possible to the people those decisions will affect.
The second says that such decisions should be taken by accountable, elected representatives. Much of so-called national policy made in Whitehall is insensitive to regional differences.
The Tories went some way towards recognising this when they set up the Regional Government Offices.
The current Labour Government has built on this by creating Regional Development Agencies. But there is still far too little opportunity to scrutinise these bureaucracies.
Moreover, there are other regional quangos that are effectively beyond any democratic control.
Regional government is already a reality in the UK, with the Scottish Parliament, the Welsh Assembly and the (sadly rather impotent) Greater London Authority.
Liberal Democrats believe that the option of directly-elected regional government should also be available to those English regions that want to pursue it.
But first, popular support would have to be demonstrated in a region-wide referendum.
Contrary to what Mr Morris seems to believe, the move towards regional government is not instigated by the European Union, although the EU has sensibly adapted its structures to accommodate the devolution already successfully implemented within other European countries.
PAUL H GRIFFITHS, Worcester Liberal Democrats, Switzerland.
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