APPENDIX: THE WESSEX CONSTITUTIONAL CONVENTION
The Wessex Constitutional Convention is an all-party
pressure group. It was formed on 19th 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
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.
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