Time to give rural areas more power

Withallthistalkaboutdevolving more powers to Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland, please spare a thought for by far the most populous and largest ‘nation’ in the UK namely England.

Isn’t it about time that those of us north of Watford and west of Whitchurch got a piece of the action as well?

Let’s put the concept of the elected mayor on the back burner for now. It might work in majorconurbationsbutnot in rural areas like mine.

Instead, let’s explore the necessity firstly of streamlining what currently exists of the emasculated rump of once proud local government by creating unitary councils outofwhatisstillleftofcounty and district councils and investigate the feasibility of the representatives of unitary councils getting together in regional assemblies. Youdon’t need more elections.

Let those already elected to unitary councils nominate representatives to elect aleader and cabinet to run the big things democratically with the detailed local knowledge that no number crunching civil service in Whitehall can possibly possess.

They can leave the rest to us, if theyarepreparedtotrust us to do the job.

But hasn’t that been the problem? Cllr John Marriott

Lincolshire