So Manchester is getting a mayor, and the applause appears
near universal. To my mind, however, for socialists, proponents of devolution,
Labour supporters and proponents of accountable democracy, this represents not
a bright new dawn, but a repetition of the worst elements of devolution which
has been experimented with over the last forty years. Hopefully, Labour will
wake up and burst this bubble – not through wholesale opposition, but the bold,
brave and universal devolution that the whole of the UK needs.
So what’s my opposition, and why? And what’s the response
from socialists who want a new constitutional settlement?
