Last week I chaired a cross-party panel on the future of the Union with Adam Tomkins MSP, Andrew Dunlop, Emma Lewell-Buck MP, Carla Lockhart MP, Carwyn Jones AS/MS, Gisela Stuart, John Denham, Nick Timothy and Robert Salisbury. The full report can be read here: https://www.newbletchley.org.
Ideas included:
- Acknowledge the scale and immediacy of the constitutional challenges now facing the Union and the country.
- Set out a vision of a shared purpose.
- Adopt a style and language designed to draw national and local leaders into a consensus on the way forward.
- Implement strong changes to intra-governmental machinery as a practical necessity and a sign of good intent.
- Open up a wider public discussion about the best way of achieving shared objectives including the relations between and within the nations.
- Ensure that the Union works for all 4 nations, and provides the best shared endeavour response to 21st century challenges.
- Reset England’s machinery of government.
- Improve local governance and relationship between the centre and local government.
(Thanks to Nigel Hall of NewBletchley and Prof John Denham for their help facilitating the meeting and preparing the report).