Still Together

So, it turns out that we can't get rid of the Scots after all.  It isn't as if we didn't do our best to get them to go, sending David Cameron up there and everything.  But still they bloody voted 'no'.  So we're stuck with them.  Not even a trial separation.  But not to worry, in the wake of the referendum, Cameron has been telling us that it is time for us to build a better UK.  Which sounds like a great idea - when is Cameron going to resign?  Surely the resignation of him and his dreadful government is prerequisite for the establishment of a 'better' UK.   Hell, it would make me feel better.  There's been much talk today of how the UK won't be the same, despite the 'no' vote in the Scottish referendum, how it is time to transfer power away from Westminster and decentralise government.  Fine talk, but I somehow doubt that it will be translated into action any time soon.  The reality of UK politics is that parliament jealously protects its position as the UK's sole sovereign decision-making body, reluctant to concede any real power to any other institutions, even if, as with local councils, they are elected bodies boasting the same kind of democratic legitimacy as Westminster.

Sure, Scotland will likely get 'Devo-Max' as a way of staving off any further calls for independence, but I don't envisage either this government or any successor government including the Tories, giving any significant degree of power back to the other regions, let alone Wales and Northern Ireland.  Their corporate masters wouldn't like it - more democracy creates the threat of more pesky regulations, more accountability and more politicians to try and bribe, smear and coerce into subverting democracy in the interests of rapacious capitalists.  To be honest, I doubt that the Labour Party would be in much of a hurry to implement greater local autonomy in the event of forming the next government - they'd doubtless cite the economy as a priority and put further devolution plans on the back burner.  In fact, the Labour leadership seems so scared of offending the Daily Mail it refuses to challenge the current economic orthodoxy of cutting state spending, making any radical policies on the part of a Labour government highly unlikely.  So, much as I'd like to see a greater devolution of political power in the UK, I don't see it happening any time soon, despite today's outpourings.  I'm sure there will be plenty of enquiries and committees set up to explore possible structures for regional government and that these will spend years, if not decades. producing reports, but their true purpose will be to slow the process down and dampen public enthusiasm and expectations for the proposals.  OK, I know I'm a cynic, but I've seen this sort of thing happen all too often in the past.