As Kier Starmer fiddles with Democracy down South by cancelling Local Elections to build mini-kingdoms. I thought maybe it was worthwhile reminding ourselves of the biggest failure in Scotland’s Local Authority history, that being the Unitary Authority (UA) of Strathclyde.

Many will have forgotten about it but Labour have form when it comes to running these UAs. Strathclyde was once the biggest UA in Europe…..which dramatically failed in its objectives. Some say it was good….. it’s all a matter of perspective…..political perspective as well as lived experience.

So knowing this why is Starmer so hell-bent on changing the system South of the Border when the Tories ditched the idea? Some say its because he’s about to get thrashed by Reform at next years Council Elections.

That might well be one reason but the other may be more sinister. These UAs have more powers and less hands-on from the Government which makes them ripe for more Privatisation, given most are already covered by Freeports, SEZs and City Deals you begin to get the picture……Democracy is no more…. Magna Carter no more, it’s called gerrymandering, moving the chess pieces around the board. Where a Political Party moves the boundaries in favour of their own Party and why not when you have put the kings in place through Privatisation. Labour are in love with Private conglomerates and keep company with some very questionable people….

The Deputy PM cosying up to the head of BlackRock. [BlackRock the largest shadow Bank in the world]

So, what went wrong in Strathclyde, this one-party State?

Well, there were some upsides, some things in some areas did improve but outer areas felt marginalized because the city folks didn’t appear to understand their specific problems or needs. I suppose the area was just too big with too many variations which the poor councillors in Glasgow just couldn’t get to grips with and the country folk up in Argyll began to feel aggrieved. So it all fell apart at the seams and things reverted back to a more manageable size.

The problem with government is they never ask the people what they want and we see a repetition of that today.

Do you remember being asked about Freeports and SEZs at the last Scottish Election…….I don’t!

If there is one thing we must learn before next year’s Election it is to Ask the Right QUESTIONS!

….. and remind our would-be Politicians that they will be held to account.

How long before Westminster interferes with our Local Authorities……have they already begun through Freeports etc?

Worth thinking about.

Joan McDowall.