There is within England proper, an organic movement which pre-dates, and refutes, the official 'top-down' concept of imposed power devolution into amorphous regions. This movement has comprised such organisations as 'The Wessex Regionalist', 'The Council for the North', 'the Movement for Middle England', and others, which reject the concept of bureaucratically imposed regions from a non-identifying centre. The Imperial belief that "Power Devolved is Power Retained" does not, as has been found in Scotland, Wales and the events regarding a Mayor for London, satisfy grass-roots aspirations of democratic devolution and subsidiarity.
The Invitation below has recently been received from a new organisation, "DEVOLVE!", which seeks to harness these movements into a consolidated action for a form of regionalism that recognises the aspirations of the people within these organic regions. Regions which essentially seek to recapture the identities of the English Heptarchy.
Tyr-Gwyr-Gweryn, as a Cornish Rights organisation wholely supports any move which provides a focus for the English people also to re-establish for themselves a self-identifying future. It is, surely, that from such organisations and movements that respect for others will reign supreme and which will be the ultimate catalyst for true democratic principles. Any recognition for Cornwall must be obtained based on the truths of history, geography and a regard for Cornish Rights but Devolution for England without a Cornish Dimension [as proposed by the Imperial Establishment] will confirm a policy of genocide against the Cornish people.
Alexander Thynn, Marquess of Bath Dr Martin Jones, Regional Geographer (see biographies below) | |||||||||
On: Thursday 13'" April 2000 | |||||||||
| Devolve! stands for: | a people's England, an England of many peoples. | ||||||||
| Devolve! asks: | Westminster? A tier too many?? | ||||||||
| Devolve! says: |
Let the regions of England decide regional issues.
Let each locality decide local issues. Let the peoples of England decide cultural issues. | ||||||||
| Devolve! is: | non-party political. | ||||||||
| Devolve! will: |
Give platform to regional movements throughout England.*
Encourage debate between regionalist viewpoints. Explore new ways of opening up the democratic process. Promote the participation of all cultural traditions within a new democracy. | ||||||||
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*Devolve!, in co-operation with other movements, is sponsoring a second Whose Regions?
conference on Saturday 17th June 2000 - in Launceston. Kernow. More details for this second conference may be viewed by selecting this
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| APPENDIX - to Devolve! Invitation to Launch | |||||||||
BIOGRAPHICAL NOTES - MAIN SPEAKERS | |||||||||
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Alexander Thynn, Marquess of Bath, is the doyen of regionalism in England. As Lord Weymouth he contested the Westbury parliamentary constituency in February 1974 as a Wessex Regionalist, and thereby pioneered the concept of regional devolution in modern England, to complement long standing autonomy movements in Scotland, Wales and Cornwall. By 1979 he was able to lead a group of seven candidates contesting seats across Wessex from North Devon to Windsor. 1979 also saw the first direct elections to the European Assembly, and Lord Weymouth duly contested a Euro-seat covering West Wiltshire and most of Dorset, which they chose to call 'Wessex'. He subsequently joined the SDP because of its commitment to regionalism and on his accession to the House of Lords in 1994 took the Liberal Democrat whip, speaking on regionalism in the debate on the Queen's Speech in 19971 and again on the proposals for Regional Development Agencies in November 1998. In this latter speech he proposed that after the regional 'heartlands' had been identified, the actual boundaries should be decided by local referenda so that no locality should be coerced into a region with which they failed to identify. Sadly, when the RDA's came to be set up local opinion was ignored.
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Dr Martin Jones is a lecturer in human geography at the University of Wales, Aberystwyth. He was appointed to this post in 1998, having been a Simon Research Fellow at the University of Manchester. He published his first book last year: on the Training and Enterprise Councils (TECs). Martin's current research interests are on local and regional economic development in England and Wales. His current research project, funded by the University of Wales, is exploring the implementation of the English Regional Development Agencies. This focuses on the establishment of RDA boards and their regional economic strategies. His research is also examining the re-construction of regional and sub regional identities through the introduction of RDAs. An update from the above launch will be published once received | |||||||||
