The Tory Party is not for Turning, oh wait...
Recently on John Redwood's Diary we've been treated to some of those 'cast iron' pledges that politicians like to come out with:
The Conservatives are – amongst other things – pledged to abolish ID cards, centralised computer projects, and English regional Assemblies and RDAs.
John Redwood's Diary, 7th March 2010
Good news – Conseravtives still want to abolish RDAs. RDAs have failed to narrow the gap between richer and poorer regions, have often got in the way of private sector led growth and development, have failed to deliver good transport systems and have been very bureaucratic. I look forward to their abolition, and hope we will save some money on all the bureaucracy.
John Redwood's Diary, 5th March 2010
Now we learn that the Conservatives have performed a u-turn on Regional Development Agencies:
THE Conservatives have admitted they will not scrap regional development agencies as they seek to end policy confusion just weeks before the General Election.
Two members of David Cameron's senior team, including former Chancellor Ken Clarke, were forced to send a memo to all Tory MPs in the hope of finally clarifying their proposals.
So having made a u-turn on English Votes on English Laws they've now done the same with Regional Development Agencies. Whatever next, "Tories propose elected regional assemblies"?
Why won't the bastard Labour or Conservative parties ask the people of England how we want to be governed; why are they so afraid of democracy?
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Cameron is still very
Cameron is still very slippery over the question of a Welsh referendum. In a Western Mail article last week he was quoted as saying “We have said very clearly that if people in Wales want a referendum on law-making powers, we will allow that to happen,” he said. “Not just ‘we won’t stand in the way’, if we’re the Government we will make that happen if people ask for it.” In later interviews he changed that to ‘if the Welsh Assembly asks for it’, even though he knows perfectly well that the Assembly has voted unanimously in favour of a referendum! I wouldn’t be particulary surprised if the Tories try to resile from holding a referendum in Wales. It’ll be interesting to see the wording (or lack of) in their manifesto on a number of these issues.
They're extremely slippery.
They're extremely slippery. Cameron is an eel in a suit. Some promises on Health that they made were omitted from the Draft Manifesto for the English NHS.
There is no ideology or semblance of an end plan as far as devolution goes. I imagine they'll play the situation in Wales by ear, and do as little as they can get away with. The situation in Scotland will have a great bearing on how well a Cameron government can contain English and Welsh demands. They realise the inter-connected-ness of Scottish, Welsh and English nationalism, so they won't make any pledges to any nation for fear of arousing the others.
Cameron has ordered his MPs not to mention the English question, it's a policy of containment at the moment, possibly in the hope that the SNP will make a big slip up in Scotland, the Tories will make gains in Wales, and will be able to claim a mandate for England.