Speech at County Hall, Exeter. July 15th, 2005.
In the Regional Development Committee meeting in Brussels last month the subject was "inter-regional, cross-border and trans-national co-operation."
From micro to macro co-operation you might say. But they failed to discuss a very relevant display at an exhibition put on by the Dutch presidency in Brussels last December. It predicted the EU's position at various dates in the future. By 2010 six new member states will have joined and ten more
will have applied to join. By 2022, the EU (then called the United Unions) will sign a free trade agreement with the Association of SE Asian countries, the African Union and Mercosur (South America), granting each other full access to each other's markets. In the same year agreements are reached on
unrestricted travel, elimination of border control and right of employment between the four blocks, creating the largest single market and political sphere on earth. What you might call MEGA-MACRO co-operation! I have been accused of making this up but I took the precaution of taking photos of the
displays. How on earth could a Mega-Superstate on that scale possibly work ? Imagine the level of immigration with no border controls over such a huge area. The EU is already getting into serious difficulties, even at its present level. Following the "NO" votes on the EU constitution from France
and Holland and the impending failure of the euro in Germany and Italy, even Tony Blair the keenest of Europhiles, admits that the leaders of the EU's member states have lost touch with the public. THEY NEVER HAVE BEEN IN TOUCH WITH US! The EU was conceived and pursued in a way which deliberately r
esulted in a democracy by-pass. The SWRA has a similar parentage. There has been a rapid build-up of quangos such as this SWRA with no public involvement other than the spurious attempts to use Constitutional Conventions to establish a huge hunger for elected assemblies. In the only democratic tes
t thus far, in the North East, there was a comprehensive rejection of the whole idea. Ignoring the people, dancing to the ODPM's tune and building up huge pension liabilities as a future burden on the public purse when it is not an elected body - that is not the way to gain the public's support -
if indeeed that is even sought ! Finally, I understand that at least three members of this SWRA failed to declare a pecuniary interest when their council approved the subscription to this Assembly. If untrue I stand to be corrected, but if it is true, this violation of the LGA is apparently not dee
med important by the Standards Board, showing further ignorance of the standards required in public life. I repeat the challenge that I made to the CEO last November that the future of this unelected Assembly be put to the test by offering a referendum to our South West voters and taxpayers - what
could be more "inclusive and sustainable" than that? (check out my other videos on Google Video, Yahoo Video) (Disclaimer: Views and opinions presented here are for informational and educational purposes only and may not necessarily be those of the makers of this video.)

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