Today, I wish to raise the issues of what individuals are supposed to do if they believe that government in western democracies: a) place too much emphasis on centralised government and b) that there are too many advisers and administrators working for them.
Briefly conceive if you will, of a system not unlike that of the UK and I believe you will see how local government provides priceless advantages over central government. There are around 600 representatives for the population of 60, 000, 000. How much interaction do these people have with their elected representatives? I would suggest not very much and this lack of contact is bad for the electorate. Consider how the Victorians valued civic pride and how government really did take place on a local level in so many ways during that period. Town halls or similar structures were the centres of debates about local policies regarding planning permission, social policy etc. Consider how civic structures such as those in Leeds, Manchester and Staines were built with generous donations from the inhabitants of the locale – now imagine something like that happening today and it is much harder because with a lack of regular contact with inhabitants and local law makers initiatives such as these fall by the wayside. In the past representatives often lived close to their electorate so their interests were similar. Administrators assisted of course, but the system was prevented from becoming too flabby and inefficient because ultimately local people were able to see inside the machine and assess how well it was doing its job.
Central government today is extremely expensive. Consider for a moment the parliament at Westminster. This year, Mps alone have put in a collective expenses bill of £86 million! You can bet that the European Union Parliament (who has even less contact with the electorate than Westminster does) has similar expense levels too. And here is the reason why these representatives will keep smiling – you can’t change the governmental system without them doing so – and how many Mps do you suppose will change a system which allows such a high quality of life with so little comeback, not many! And if you wish to start a party which promises to take less money for government you will stand very little chance of being elected because you will be competing against an advertising/advisory panel funded with millions of pounds. Such is this wonderful thing we call western style democracy. Personally, I feel it is only one stage removed from a dictatorship.
Instead, I propose a considerable alteration to the hierarchy of power. Place more powers in the hands of local government. The more important issues, such as national security, foreign policy etc, should remain centralised, but the remit of central government must be kept as low as possible. Essentially for every level you move up the chain of power, the number of issues they control should decrease. Representatives of central government might should also face a double election to ensure they are really popular. In this system, MPs in a central parliament are elected to office only when the local electorate and local councillors agree on a suitable candidate.
Do you think Westminster would like you to join in my way of thinking – no minister!
