tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4411161795798360588.post844597381689541774..comments2024-03-26T09:38:39.888+00:00Comments on Borthlas: DIY is bestJohn Dixonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07447224248021209852noreply@blogger.comBlogger4125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4411161795798360588.post-63540391676540575572009-02-20T08:50:00.000+00:002009-02-20T08:50:00.000+00:00Anon,I think you miss my point. I do not dispute ...Anon,<BR/><BR/>I think you miss my point. I do not dispute for one moment that the current government - of whatever party - has to take a degree of responsibility for the absolute level of GVA; and the longer they have been in power, the greater the degree of responsibility. However, the accusation that Cameron was making was that the current government are also responsible for the <I>relative</I> level of GVA.<BR/><BR/>My argument on that is not whether 'government' bears responsibility (it clearly does), but whether one or other of the two parties which have been in government can be <B>exclusively</B> blamed, given that the situation has existed for so long, regardless of which party has been in government.<BR/><BR/>This isn't about going back over old arguments; it isn't even a particularly party political point. It's about questioning more than just current government policies.<BR/><BR/>I agree that we should be debating 21st Century issues - part of the point which I am making is that 20th Century approaches have failed, and that that isn't the same as saying simply that the approach of the current government has failed.<BR/><BR/>WPH,<BR/><BR/>Thank you.<BR/><BR/>I think we have to start from an acceptance that no government can achieve an exactly fair and even spread of prosperity across the whole of its territory. The expectation is unrealistic. That doesn't mean that the disparity must necessarily be large; and a gap of 25% between Wales and the UK average is surely larger than is acceptable (but don't ask me to put a precise number on what would be acceptable!).<BR/><BR/>The idea that government per se may be unable to achieve the desired outcome is an interesting point for debate. If I believed that government was for ever doomed to be ineffective in that respect, I think I'd probably have to give up on politics. I think that government can do more to promote a more localist economy, and to share prosperity more evenly; but it won't happen if we leave every decision to 'market forces'.<BR/><BR/>And that is perhaps the nub of where the real economic debate within politics lies - to what extent are decisions made by 'government' and to what extent by 'the market'? It's a traditional and old fashioned fault line, but one that seems to have been forgotten somewhat in recent decades.John Dixonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07447224248021209852noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4411161795798360588.post-12696021247556828202009-02-19T22:50:00.000+00:002009-02-19T22:50:00.000+00:00I think this is a very good post indeed (and not e...I think this is a very good post indeed (and not even because you endorse the conclusion I reached over Cameron's comments :-)). I also think you are right to highlight the disparity within Wales, as well as that between Wales and England as being an area that should attract more attention. Undoubtedly, the creation of a Welsh tier of government has helped to do that. <BR/><BR/>Thus far, however, the advent of democratic devolution has failed to close the gap; it is interesting to speculate whether that is because of a lack of power, a lack of time (i.e more than ten years is needed) or - most alarmingly - a lack of <I>possible</I> power.<BR/><BR/>I don't mean to imply the hoary claim that Wales is too small to exist on her own. That is not true. But I wonder whether even individual sovereign governments such as that of the UK are really big or influential enough to change their economies in any marked way. If now - and it is an if - we are left with the really disquieting conclusion that government <I>per se</I> may not be able to effect the sort of change necessary to address Wales's relative poverty.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4411161795798360588.post-4898751410827618192009-02-19T19:47:00.000+00:002009-02-19T19:47:00.000+00:00the WM article says that Rhodri and Gordon are res...the WM article says that Rhodri and Gordon are responsible for the economy for the last decade when GVA has fallen to a record low, what is inaccurate about that statement and how does this equate to the misery that the Tory Government inflicted on Wales's communties in the 1980's as they haven't been in power since 1997.<BR/><BR/>many bloggers reflect the level of immaturity in welsh political life and discourse in all parties, Tory, Labour, Plaid Cymru and Lib Dems where they seem unable to move on from arguments from the 1980's, we live in 2009 and face new challenges, we have record low turnout at elections and if our politicans want to engage with us and really change Wales for the better then they have to start debating 21st Century issues.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4411161795798360588.post-50191389192220621622009-02-19T19:11:00.000+00:002009-02-19T19:11:00.000+00:00The truth is that the brain drain goes in the oppo...The truth is that the brain drain goes in the opposite direction. the whole system is set up so that the best and brightest leave the "regions" and head to London. No wonder then that most profitable businesses are in London.<BR/><BR/>As you say it is therefore the duty of the capital to redistribute.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com