But doesn’t liberalism require an English Parliament if we want one?

As Liberal Democrats, we believe that decisions should be taken at the most appropriate, most effective level. We believe that ceding certain powers to Europe is a good thing, although we’d really rather have a more democratic Europe, with open decision-making, better scrutiny and meaningful reportage.

We also believe in localism (and for our newfound allies in the Labour and Conservative Parties, this means release from the dead hand of centralised targets and regulation, and trust that other political groupings, legitimately elected, are chosen by local communities to exercise some freedom of action and should be allowed to do so), which means that levels of government closer to the communities they serve are empowered to take responsibility for service delivery.

We therefore support devolution to Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland, giving them the freedom to raise standards according to local desires, good public policy or mere whim, these being some of the aspects which inform government, be it good or bad.

Labour took the view that regional assemblies were the way forward, in the face of opposition from the Conservatives (it will lead to the breakup of the Union) and ourselves (a misunderstanding of subsidiarity), and unfortunately crashed and burned in the now notorious North East referendum, a model lesson in how not to change government structures. The problem with regional assemblies is that, where the regional boundaries reflect something that people recognise as distinct from the neighbouring areas, there is support. But the South East, or the South West? I think not. And then what do you do?

So, perhaps a move to an English Parliament, with counties below it, is the way to go. However, it does require some major reorganisation in order to make it work. The Conservative proposals do not, to my mind, go far enough, as an English Grand Committee is rather a fudge. Here’s a suggestion from a bureaucrat…

1. Create an English Parliament, elected on the same basis as the Scottish Parliament, Welsh Assembly and London Assembly, i.e, with constituencies to give local linkage and accountability, and regional lists to ensure proportionality.
2. Give Westminster a properly federal role, with responsibility for defence, taxation, foreign policy, and all of the things that need a British response.
3. Revise the role of the House of Lords to enable it to actually review legislation, scrutinise European regulations, and do the things that we acknowledge are its strengths. You can take it for granted that it should be elected.

I presume that the Conservatives are terrified that the introduction of another tier of government would be too much for their friends in the Daily Mail. Fine, so reduce the number of Members of Parliament to suit. You could make constituencies twice their current size fairly easily.

Government structures are not sexy, but we get the government we deserve. Government costs, and good government costs a bit more, but bad government generates things like the Child Support Agency, Railtrack and British Energy. Bargains, weren’t they…