Power to the regions
From Mr Torn Langdon-Davies Sir: Leo McKinstry ('Regions of the damned', 12 July) has an excellent way with anti-government invective.
But let's get real, Leo. Toryism of the kind you so eloquently present has been decisively rejected in two general elections, and the agenda of Blair and co. is the way it is for us in the shires whether we like it or not. That's national democracy.
Two years ago, in the throes of the footand-mouth epidemic, the government introduced, under the auspices of the South West of England Regional Development Agency (Swerda), a range of measures including the introduction of eight Market and Coastal Town Initiatives (MCLIs) in Devon. These allow rural communities to create their own visions and strategies for the future. In Crediton, for example, we now have a plan created by local people, with the understanding that all the government agencies responsible for regional spending will read it and act on it.
Ultimately, it is the responsibility of all of us to respond with faith and hope to such initiatives, and to empower the local population in the process.
It is true that New Labour has little mandate in the South-west. We are therefore doubly grateful that such an opportunity is afforded to us, given our effective disfranchisement in Westminster.
Tom Langdon-Davies
Newton St Cyres, Exeter
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