The one eyed Scottish Idiot

[Suff]

You just made my point Ossie. Much more poignantly than I ever could have.....

[TheOstrich]

I asked a question.

Why was it necessary for Birmingham City Council to have linked the procedure for Sutton Coldfield's devolvement from Birmingham with a wider Community Governance Review covering the whole of Birmingham, and how will this affect the timescale for the devolution of Sutton Coldfield?

I'm sure the irony of my question will not be lost on Suff ....

Got a load of blah from our head ward councillor (Tory) in reply, which didn't really answer or address the point I was making.

Anyway, according to the paperwork, there should be a Green Paper by January 2015 leading into a White Paper (Final Agreed Options, which sounds like a bit of an oxymoron) to be issued in February 2015, and some sort of launch at what I think is the Highbury Hall Conference and Banqueting Centre in Moseley the following month. (This is the cash-strapped Birmingham City Council we're talking about, of course ... ). Quite what they are going to be launching is unclear.

Bet you get your bleddy Devo-Max before we do, Suff ....

All that aside, it was quite interesting. Good report on the work of the Community Police Tasking group, (so I now know the whereabouts of some of the local drug dens), and from the Residents Association about ongoing skullduggery employed by the developers in advance of the Planning Enquiry into proposals for newbuild housing in our area. Everybody very cross with Amey who are contracted to maintain our city highways, and are putting in a sub-standard performance. Potholes are multiplying and we aren't into winter yet. The City Council awarded Amey a 25-year contract back in 2010, so what do Amey care?

Anyway, we got given choccy bikkits on a plate at the meeting tonight, so I may go to the next one ....

[Suff]

Bet you get your bleddy Devo-Max before we do, Suff ....

Just to be clear here. I never asked for Devo Max. I always argued that Scotland should either be a fully participating part of the UK, no devolved parliament, no special case, no control of taxes etc, etc, etc.

Or

Scotland should be completely independent.

I think the whole Devo Max is a travesty which should never have happened. Created by ultimately desperate politicians who were at the 11th hour, with their lies laid bare before them, pending disaster. I also believe that they were not entirely sincere and that their forked tongue promises will, again, in a few short years, drive the Scots independence debate again.

I also happen to think that a Mayoral system, much like France, with split taxes and split responsibility, would be very good for England. But only if there is an equal level of responsibility in local elections and local voters. Sadly I don't see the English voters being sensible enough to vote on real issues rather than party lines. It drives very real political changes in France and makes the political landscape incomprehensible to those of us in the UK. Where I live in France is right of centre for the local Mayoral elections (those who impact their daily lives), but left of centre for central government. Much of France is the same, giving the impression that it is some socialist workers paradise. In fact this is very far from the truth.

So I feel that the entire "English Question" is a knee jerk reaction in response to a panicked 11th hour activity by politicians facing a serious threat. As per all UK knee jerk reactions, it is likely to be very bad, not thought through and extremely detrimental to the population at large whilst being very beneficial for the political classes. At least until the English voters get their collective act together and start voting for change. Like the Scots did with SNP.