Balkanising England?

John Redwood was quite right to get up in the House of Commons and denounce Harriet Harman's English regions committees idea. Nobody apart from New Labour apparatchiks, the European Commission and the quango merchants want them.

What Ms Harman is trying to do is stuff a few Labour backwoodsmen onto these committees to run things in defiance of the electorate's wishes. In the "South-West" there is a Conservative and LibDem ascendancy. Labour is the minnow party. In the "South-East", the ridiculous region that goes from Oxford to Dover, the Conservatives overwhelm all other parties. However, just like New Labour say they "won" the last election (with 20% of the total electorate's support!), they are gearing up to run these two regions with gusto.

I hope none of this nonsense comes to pass. We already have ministers for the regions. The one dumped on the West Midlands is Ian Austin. He describes himself as “the West Midlands' man in the government”, but I doubt if he will be terribly effective.

The people of England don't want fake regions. They don't want to be controlled or cajoled. What they want is fairness in government and for England to be one country with its counties, its heritage and its culture. New Labour wants something radically different.