Memorandum by the Wessex Constitutional
Convention (DRA 11)
1. If, in the words of Ron Davies, devolution
is a process, not an event, then it is prudent to maintain maximum
flexibility as to the ultimate outcome, thus enabling potential
obstacles to be imaginatively overcome. This the Draft Bill singularly
fails to do. Clause 151 makes no provision for altering the number
of regions or for altering the name of a region to reflect more
accurately its revised area.
2 The Wessex Constitutional Convention[12]
is supportive in principle of elected regional assemblies in England.
However, our considered view, reflecting the fruits of thirty
years' research, is that the present configuration of regions
in southern England is neither popular nor practical and that
an alternative configuration offers a much stronger prospect of
success. This configuration requires:
(a) that Cornwall (with the Isles of Scilly)
forms a separate region, as advocated by the Cornish Constitutional
Convention and supported by the 50,000 signatories of its petition
calling for the same;
(b) that the South East region be divided three
ways: Buckinghamshire to the East of England; Oxfordshire, Berkshire,
Hampshire and the Isle of Wight to the South West; the remaining
counties to form a continuing South East region;
(c) that the enlarged South West be renamed Wessex.
3. Arguments for change were set out in
a 40-page submission to the ODPM in response to the regional governance
White Paper. The submission, The Case for Wessex, was published
by the Wessex Constitutional Convention in 2003[13]
A copy is enclosed with the hard copy of this memorandum and further
copies, including an electronic version, can be made available
should the Committee so wish.
4. Our recommendation at this stage is that
Clause 151 of the Draft Bill be amended to allow the number of
regions to be increased or decreased and the name of a region
to be changed. We look forward to further engagement in the process
of re-drawing regional boundaries in the South, the necessary
precursor to a successful referendum.
Appendix
THE WESSEX CONSTITUTIONAL CONVENTION
The Wessex Constitutional Convention is an all-party
pressure group. It was formed on 19 May 2001, in response to the
failure of the South West Constitutional Convention, meeting earlier
that day, to allow genuine dialogue on the issue of regional boundaries.
The Convention's aims are:
(1) To achieve the broadest consensus on
the form of self-government appropriate for Wessex.
(2) To campaign for the implementation of
that consensus at the earliest possible opportunity.
(3) To oppose the continuing partition of
Wessex between the "South-West" and "South-East"
regions.
(4) To promote as Wessex the area comprising
the eight traditional counties of Berkshire, Devon, Dorset, Gloucestershire,
Hampshire, Oxfordshire, Somerset and Wiltshire, subject to addition
or subtraction according to popular wish.
The Convention has no paid staff and its expenses
are met entirely by donations from supportive individuals. As
the resources at its disposal constrain the extent of its campaign
work, the Convention has focused on disseminating the results
of research and on responding to official consultations. The Convention
produces a quarterly newsletter, Wessex Voice, and has published
The Case for Wessex, produced jointly with Wessex Society and
the Wessex Regionalists. The public launch of The Case for Wessex
in May 2003 attracted television coverage on BBC South and a strongly
supportive editorial in the Southern Daily Echo.
12 See Appendix for background. Back
13
ISBN 0-9544667-0-5 Back
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